In case you missed part one, here's the link.

Welcome to Part Two of this ongoing series of every Far Cry main game in chronological order. As previously mentioned, having dedicated 21 years and thousands upon thousands of hours to this series, I have decided to write a review of my experience with each game. Bear in mind this is coming from a PC gamer.

This post will focus on the second game in the series without revealing too much spoilers.

Far Cry 2 continues to stand the test of time with its beautiful African savannah setting

Far Cry 2 (2008)

How many games can you think of that are set in the African savannah and features an open-world concept? Far Cry 2 touches on the realities (maybe somewhat exaggerated) of an African civil war, with warring factions, blood diamonds, and corruption, mixing all of the aforementioned with a graphically beautiful sandbox map. The best thing I love about this game is that it poses a real challenge. Guns jam and break apart after extended usage and have to be replaced periodically.

Scavenging enemy weapons only provide a temporary relief as they’re poorly maintained, in line with militiamen who usually don’t bother cleaning or oiling them. Fast travel, a key feature from Far Cry 3 onwards, isn’t widely available here. There are four bus stations that allow the player to travel to different areas of the map, but that’s as close as you can get. Players will still need to procure other means of transportation or simply leg it.

Stealth, schmealth. The environment in this game is interactive, meaning that if you set something on fire, it burns. Blow up a weapons cache in the middle of an enemy camp, let the fire weed out and thin the amount of enemies you have to face, then go in guns blazing whilst they're still reeling from the aftermath. Now there's your Hollywood moment

Oh, and stealth is pretty much non-existent in this game. Don’t expect to go creeping around and performing silent kills all the time. The game does offer you silenced weapons, but they’re just there to offer players the one in ten chance a stealth shot can be pulled off. In my opinion, this raises the realism, because a silenced shot is – unlike the overexaggerated Hollywood flicks – actually pretty damn loud in real life.

And did I mention the main gripe I’ve seen in many reviews of the game: Malaria. The player is stricken with the illness from the start and has to periodically do side quests to get malaria pills that help keep their fever in check or risk fainting in the middle of a mission. The buddy system is well in play here, with your “best buddy” among a host of acquaintances offering you optional side missions.

With a bigger map and an open world concept, Far Cry 2 also introduced the handheld map, adding to the realism of "all alone in the wilderness", with nothing but your tools and your knowhow to survive

I’m the type of gamer who likes to go at my own pace and explore, and as such, I love this game a lot. I just can’t fathom the idea behind speedrunning. Far Cry 2 touches on the more poignant aspects of civil warfare, and for those who love a good plot, this is one game that won’t disappoint.

Also, as an admirer of bolt action rifles, the only gripe I have with this game is that the M1903 Springfield sniper rifle’s bolt is on the left instead of the right, making for awkward movement when sliding a new bullet in the chamber.

Listen, listen. First of all, the M1903 Springfield doesn't reload from the bottom. It takes a stripper clip of five rounds from the top of its bolt. When a scope is mounted, it usually requires the shooter to thumb the rounds in individually. That is the correct and proper process. Secondly, the bolt is supposed to fall on the right. The only reason it falls on the left is if it was modified for a shooter that is left handed, but the character in game is clearly right handed, as is the case with all FPS games. They had to screw up the one gun in the game I actually really loved *audible sigh*

But what Far Cry 2 brings to the table is less of a linear experience and more of a choice-based concept. Players can choose to partake in the optional side missions or skip them entirely, which has an effect on the outcome of the main mission. As is befitting of a civil war, players may also be faced with tough choices, with each one offering a whole different experience. Besides encouraging “replayability”, Far Cry 2 allows players to be more immersed in the gameplay, with the knowledge that their choices now have consequences.

Thankfully, Ubisoft also saw the appeal in offering players the option of how they wanted the game to pan out and incorporated this feature in all of the future Far Cry games.

In Part Three, I will focus on the third installment of the Far Cry series.

~ Fremont

(Images from Gamerview, YouTube, Gtorr, and GamesRadar)