Conclusions

So far, we focused on what the good parts of Far Cry 2 are, like how cool the health system is and how we like the buddy system which lets you use allies as you need them. Now it’s time to talk about the bad points of the game.

Um…and we’re drawing a blank, to be honest.

That isn’t to say that Far Cry 2 doesn’t have its flaws, because it does. The voice acting, for example, isn’t delivered very well and the actors seem to rush their lines too quickly – but when you’re dealing with a game of this size and quality, is that a legitimate criticism?

The writing is surprisingly well done too. Going in to Far Cry 2 you’d have the suspicion that the game was gearing up to be a plain and simple shooter, easy on plot and sub-text. That isn’t so. Instead, the game has a surprisingly deep selection of characters and motives.

There’s Reuben, the journalist working to expose the massacres to the world. There are the leaders of the different parties each of whom believe they have the interests of the community at heart. Then there’s The Jackal – cold, calculating but shockingly philosophical and not just out-and-out anarchistic; he comes across as a cool antihero in the interview tapes which you can collect throughout the game.


The main flaw with Far Cry 2 is perhaps that it’s a bit samey in places, especially when it comes to getting from A to B. The savannah is very brown after all, so driving cross-country can be a bit of a monotony. Then again, it’s clear that Ubi has tried its best to alleviate this and provide distractions on the way. There are plenty of diamonds to search for and collect and regular guard posts and safe houses to liberate from insurgents.

The combat is as smooth and strategic as you could hope it to be too, so there’s no fault on that side. You can take a silenced pistol and sniper rifle approach if you want or use rocket launchers and molotovs to flush the enemy out. The fire in this game spreads beautifully and can really be used as a weapon to funnel and direct enemies – plus it looks gorgeous.

The enemy AI showcases some basic quirks though – like closing the distance to reach you and then waiting to pull out a sniper rifle to shoot you with instead of a pistol. It’s not a huge issue, but it is noticable and occasionally holds back the game from reaching the brilliance it is capable of. That's the case with some of the filler missions too, which can get repetitive. Completing missions for the Gun Seller for example is pretty much always the same - find the enemy truck, drop a well-timed grenade in its path and reap the rewards.

For the most part though, that brilliance manages to stay intact and Far Cry 2 secures its place as one of the gaming highlights of the year. Really; it is a very, very good game. It feels like a blend of all the things we like about games. It has the upgradeable weapons and tactical options of Deus Ex, the open world and vehicles of Grand Theft Auto and the solid FPS mechanics of Half-Life 2 – and each element manages to be both distinct and at one with the overall game design.

It’s the little things that give Far Cry 2 the edge though; the clever additions that make it stand out and force you to question why nobody has ever done this before.


Take navigation for example; rather than cluttering the HUD with a minimap you instead have a map you can refer to and update when on foot. When you’re in the car though you have a SatNav that fills the role of a minimap – but if you need a larger view then you can pop your map in your lap and refer to that as you drive.

Far Cry 2 isn’t perfect; there’s something missing here which we’re struggling to put our fingers on. It’s something emotional. Games have an enormous power to move players and that’s the one thing that Far Cry 2 doesn’t do that games like Episode Two and BioShock do manage. Far Cry 2 can make you excited and happy, but it won’t ever leave you scared or crying. It just lacks that last inch of emotional impact or philosophical pretension to take it from a truly fantastic game to an inspiring piece of craftsmanship.

If we marked out of 100 then Far Cry 2 would definitely be a 95/100 score, but we don’t. We mark out of ten, and ten is a score reserved for games that go that extra mile and do something to move the genre as whole forward. Far Cry 2 just misses that target, but it should still definitely be on your ‘Must Buy’ list.