Far Cry 2 is an open world first person shooter that I had seen a review of ages before I finally had bought my PS3. The review and what I had seen of the game really impressed me at the time and I’ve had in the back of my mind to pick it up.
I got a really cheap pre-owned copy and then it sat on the shelf amongst Modern Warfare’s and Flashpoint’s which I worked my way through until I randomly called it up to the majors.
Little did I know at that stage that Far Cry 2 would provide me with literally hours and hours of entertainment.
The setting itself is a fictional African nation in the midst of civil unrest caused mainly by a notorious arms dealer known as “The Jackal” who has supplied weapons to both factions fighting within the country. It is this Jackal that you have been sent into the country to assassinate to try and reestablish order.
Of course plans don’t go to plan and you are left with a nasty case of malaria and a need for cash and places to crash.
You are recruited by the local factions and you go to work, running little side ops for them and missions with friends that you make through the course of the game.
For me the story is a secondary but serviceable storyline to set up the scenario and to be honest towards the end I kind of lost track of it all and started to simply go with the flow and kill whomever or blow up whatever.
The ending itself involving the Jackal was particularly confusing for me as characters seemed to change their whole perspective on stuff, although it didn’t really concern or detract from the experience.
The gameplay itself and the open world experience is really what made this such an engaging experience. The environmental engine is extraordinary, you have the cycle between night and day, vegetation, animals and a second to none fire system.
Far Cry 2 The Apprentice - You're fired!
The fire system is really powerful to a point that you can use your arsonist tendencies to your tactical advantage as massive bush fires rage through outposts and villages. Of course when you are firing a rocket launcher and it lights the tree up behind you on fire and you are caught in the middle of it the appreciation is slightly lost.
Yes, you can have a flame thrower. Yes, it is as fun as it sounds!
Mentioning the rocket launcher brings me to the awesome weaponry that you can find or eventually buy through the game. When you are given a mission to assassinate someone and because you just happen to be carrying a bazooka you aren’t forced into not using it. In fact you can stand up on the hill, nice, safe and sound and blow that poor bastard to smithereens.
Another nice feature of the game is the in game use of a GPS and map. You actually have to take the map out and look at it as you are wandering around, stare at it too long and deeply and you might miss some dude taking a shot at you.
The vehicles are really interesting as well, there are Jeeps and 4x4s modelled off real vehicles (with optional extras) and if your car gets damaged you have to repair it.
The malaria component to the game adds a little extra dimension to the game and forces you on missions that you may not have normally taken if you are as cold blooded as I in game land*. I’ve since discovered too that every time a wave of malaria would overtake me in an inopportune moment was to do with real time rather than convenience in the game story.
The game is not without its problems as with any game I guess. There were the occasional glitch here and there but ultimately one of the core strengths turns out to be a weakness. The open world environment tends to become tedious as you find that every mission sees you having to travel long distances through always hostile checkpoints, I found myself walking places just to avoid the hassle of being shot at on the road all the time.
Overall I really enjoyed the game, it brought me a lot of hours of engagement, many more than I expected as it was weeks that it took which means that I really got my money’s worth out of it!!
I highly recommend Far Cry 2.
Rating: 
*Actually that’s not completely accurate, I always tried to avoid running over the chickens!
