Far Cry 2 - Hands On Preview

Set within the surprisingly diverse landscape of Africa and chronicling the war between two rival factions (UFLL & APR) and the mystery behind the enigmatic arms dealer The Jackal, Far Cry 2 proposes a vastly different experience to the 2004 original from CryTek. Pushing supernatural influences and the South Pacific archipelago to one side, Far Cry 2 focuses on a grittier, more realistic experience and looks all the better for it.

Much has been made of the technology behind the game and the promise of the open-world design, and having recently taken a view at a virtually complete build TVG feels confident that Far Cry 2 will deliver on the bold promise it's shown since being unveiled last year.

Taking on the role from one of nine hired mercenaries sent into Africa to capture the Jackal, Far Cry 2 begins with a taxi ride from the downtrodden local airstrip, introducing you to the sights with the archetypal introduction sequence employed in FPS titles since Half Life exploded onto the scene. After waiting for a herd of oxen to cross the road and an early encounter with the local militia, the end of the journey reveals one of the major concepts that comes into play, you're suffering from malaria. Exactly why a crack operative didn't visit his local GP one week prior to flying out to Africa is beyond us, but hey what do we know, our idea of an exotic break is a weekend in Skegness.

Malaria does actually have a substantial impact on the game however, with the main character's health and stamina affected by his current sickness. Using a blurred visual effect to convey the sickness after excessive physical exertion, earning malaria tablets by helping refuges to escape the war-torn land keeps the dynamic balanced. Although we've yet to see all of the game, it does appear that Ubisoft Montreal have managed to address a tricky gameplay feature that could have quickly grown frustrating if it had too much of a detrimental effect on the player.

Waking up in a hotel bed to discover the Jackal looming over you and rummaging through your notes, the game begins in a stylish manner before an onslaught hastens your quick exit and rescue. Immediately Far Cry 2 introduces its gameplay dynamic of choosing missions between the two warring factions. We'll have to wait and see exactly how far the repercussions of choosing one over another goes, but from our limited hands on, dialogue does at least seem to address which choices you've made even if you can quite happily choose missions from both during the early stages of the game.

Quite quickly the Buddy system makes an appearance in the game, and it's this element that really could put Far Cry 2 on the vast 50 sq km map. Depending on your choice of main character, two buddies will join your cause by offering alternative solutions when it comes to undertaking missions. But perhaps the best thing to come out of the Buddy dynamic is when the main character dies. Rushing to his aid, your best buddy will drag you out of the action and assist you in the gunfight via a stylish and hard-hitting animated sequence. From our brief experience so far there appears to be a considerable variation to these sequences, which should ensure they remain fresh and dynamic and don't grow overly repetitive. Although we've yet to really delve into the system Ubisoft's accompanying material suggests that the concept will be developed further throughout the game, with the player deciding exactly which buddies continue to have a role in the way in which the game story shapes forward.

After the initial missions for the FLLL which introduce you to the basics of the combat system along with vital necessities such as repairing and driving vehicles, we undertook a mission that involved destroying the weaponry loaded on an APR vehicle in a nearby shanty town. Soon after we had a phone call from one of the buddies promising a better alternative. The choice is up to you, but we decided to trust what few friends you have in Africa and soon found ourselves travelling to a nearby villa, where after a fierce encounter managed to convince the target to provide the wrong co-ordinates for the enemy forces, thus weakening their defences.

This is just a small example of the level of freedom and choice that Far Cry 2 appears to offer. Perhaps the first time we've really seen the free-roaming, sandbox concept taken to the first-person-shooter genre, Far Cry 2 is awash with clever ideas and smart touches. Expanding upon the sandbox concept Far Cry 2 has plenty of optional things to explore and collect. Whether it's picking up the 221 hidden briefcases of diamonds or scouting enemy posts, there appears to be plenty on offer should you wish to deviate away from the main storyline. Providing the game continues to develop upon this throughout the entire game it looks like it will actually deliver on the promise of vastly different, non-linear experiences for each individual.

Coming on top of some truly smart game design and gameplay dynamics, Far Cry 2 also boasts some of the most impressive technology we've seen in quite awhile. Much has been made of the fire system; let's just say it works exceptionally well. Responding to elements such as wind and the current weather conditions, fire provides an important gameplay element to take advantage of as fields, bush, and trees quickly ignite with one of the most convincing effects we've seen in a videogame.

Totalling over 50 sq. km the gameworld in Far Cry 2 is both overwhelmingly vast and more significantly utterly convincing. In fact immersion is perhaps what Far Cry 2 does best. It's the little things like actually physically bringing up a map instead of using a menu screen that makes a big deal. Just be careful where you look, on one time we were crossing over a wooden bridge in a jeep whilst looking at the map and ended up careering through the barriers into the water below. The Far Cry 2 gameworld has all the physics you can imagine but does it in a subtle (non Crysis way) that makes everything seem so unbelievably real.

We've also been suitably impressed by the AI. There's a good sense of them actually being humans instead of automated drones, highlighted by the time we caught a couple of guards unaware - you could almost see the look of surprise in their face! When the opponents are trying to track you down there's an inkling of strategy on their behalf, although we're hoping there's a little bit of work left in tying everything together with the animations as they do have the habit of jerking their guns around in all directions unconvincingly. There were also occasions when the rival militia failed to notice us in relatively close proximity, though we're happy to put this down as niggles with the preview build and fully expect them to be ironed out ahead of release.

In terms of weaponry, Far Cry 2 boasts an impressive arsenal of over 30 guns and tools to get your hands upon. Grouped into Primary, Secondary, and Special (each handily mapped to the d-pad) along with the trusted machete, you can only hold onto one weapon at a time and as such you'll frequently need to scavenge weapons and ammo from fallen opponents. Though this can bring its own share of problems as used guns (indicated by rust) are prone to jam and the recoil is trickier to deal with.

Beyond what's shaping up to be an awesome single-player experience Far Cry 2 also boasts plenty in terms of multiplayer and an impressively intuitive map-editor... but we can't talk about any of that just of yet.