As promised here is my first review. Enjoy!
Presentation: 9/10
FarCry 2 starts you off from the beginning as a FPS and remains the same throughout the game, but unlike other FPS games, FarCry 2 brings you into a person and a country; a feeling that remains throughout the game. All parts of FarCry 2 mesh together well, giving it a top notch presentation.
Graphics: 9/10
While there are some minor glitches and slow down (it is just going to happen in a game this large), graphically FarCry 2 is one of the best looking games on the 360 out there. Everything from the varying environments, fire, water, to the simulation of the day, all add to the illusion of being in Africa.
Gameplay: 6/10
This is where FarCry 2 draws much of its criticisms, gameplay just becomes repetitive and drawn out. You almost always have to drive to the other side of the map, most often than none just to talk to someone. Cellphone anyone? So you talk to a guy, get your diamonds for the job, go and get new weapons so they do not degrade on you, drive to the other side of the map, kill some people, kill some more people, rinse, wash, repeat. That is FarCry 2 in a nutshell. And while there are many side missions such as assassinations, blowing up gun shipments, helping your buddies, finding safe houses, and extra diamonds it all becomes the same. Other decisions such as limiting the player to essentially four weapons was also a mistake in my in my opinion. You are given a melee weapon (the machete), A special weapon (rocket launcher, dart rifle, LMG), a pistol slot, and main gun slot (machine gun, sniper rifle, grenade launcher, shotgun). Many times I would find myself wanting a Sniper rifle and a machine gun, but obviously this is not possible, being they are the same weapon slot. I would find myself using the dart rifle, a sniper that is good, but is severely limited on ammo and degradation time. With the limited weapon slots I would find myself many times running into a firefight with a pistol. Another reoccurring problem is the A.I. They just seem too good. You would find yourself many times being shot down from a mile away while hiding behind bushes, or being discovered by a vehicle passing while walking around in the middle of the jungle. Another poor decision being your infection of Malaria that you contract in the opening sequence, throughout the game you find yourself having to take pills, pills that you have to travel across the whole world for. This choice just draws out your time in the game that much more.
Controls: 8/10
Control wise, FarCry 2 is your standard FPS. While the controls are familiar to any FPS player, they just do not seem to have the ease of precision as a top notch shooter such as COD 4. While the game does have in game options for sensitivity, I just could not get them to match up with the feel of COD.
Fun Factor: 7/10
FarCry 2 is a slow burn, there's just no way around it. Not to say it is not fun because it most definitely is, it just feels drawn out and overly long. You continually get missions going from one side of the map to another and while the change in landscape is welcome, stopping every five minutes to kill the people you killed five minutes ago is not. Many times I would find myself quitting the game for the night because I just did not want to spend the 15 min preparing and driving to the objective. The fact of the matter is the fun in FarCry 2 comes from its openness. It is essentially a GTA FPS.
Price: 10/10
You can find FarCry 2 for well under its $60 MSRP and even then it is money well spent.
Sound: 9/10
This is a category where FarCry 2 also succeeds. It does not matter if you are walking through the jungle hearing the birds and animals or in the middle of an intense firefight the sound is just amazing.
Replay Value: 8/10
Replay value for FarCry 2 is tremendous. There is just tons of stuff to do. Anywhere from the main quest, the many side missions (assassinations, gun shipments, helping your buddies, finding safe houses and hidden diamonds), the replay value is just there. You could easily spend 40+ hrs playing this game.
Conclusion: 8.5/10
FarCry 2 is an excellent game, but like all great games it has it strengths and weaknesses. FarCry 2 does something never seen before in the FPS genre, a totally open world, non linear game. A game that you feel totally immersed into, and for this it should be rewarded. With as much innovation in the genre it promotes, it also brings along many weaknesses from the past. Ubisoft has definitely found something with this game and I can’t wait to see what they are going to do next in the series.
