When the original Far Cry hit the PC several years ago, it stood out as one of the best FPS offerings in years, with phenomenal AI, gorgeous graphics, and a huge environment to explore. The game quickly became a sleeper hit and one of the best titles of 2004. Now, after a few ports on home consoles, the series is finally arriving in fine form with a proper sequel, Far Cry 2.

Truth be told, the game is a sequel in name only, as it forgoes all of the characters and plot elements of the original for a new roster of characters and a new African environment to explore. However, the one thing that the game does keep from the original is the high quality mark. Far Cry 2 is a fantastic shooter that will give you tons of content, an even larger area to explore and several great and wholly unique gameplay elements, making for a game that shooter fans won’t want to miss this year.

Far Cry 2’s story doesn’t feature the sci-fi elements from the first title, and instead opts for a more realistic setting. Far Cry 2 puts you in a fictional African nation in the midst of a civil war where two sides are fighting for power. A weapons dealer known as The Jackal has been supplying arms to both sides, keeping the war going and getting rich. You enter the scene, a mercenary tasked with finding and killing The Jackal. Unfortunately, after getting injured and contracting malaria, you quickly discover that your mission will not be easy on your own, requiring you to forge relationships and gain allies in order to get to The Jackal.

When beginning your game, you’ll choose from several different possible playable characters to be through the game. You’ll only play as one specific character throughout your campaign, but the other characters will pop up at certain points during the game and become potential allies.

There are several characters throughout the map that you’ll meet at different times that have the potential of becoming your buddies. The game’s buddy system is a great touch, giving you AI-controlled allies that will help you out as you progress through the game. These characters will go beyond giving you alternate means of completing missions, they’ll step in and bail you out if you get seriously wounded in battle, fight alongside you in hairy situations, and adding new elements to the game’s story. Your buddies can also die, which will end a particular story arc (and side missions) for the entirety of your campaign, giving you cause to watch their back.

Far Cry 2’s world is huge, covering an area of 50 square kilometers (19.3 miles) of varied environments, from jungle and river sections, as well as lightly brushed desert areas. The game gives you a very open world to explore right from the beginning, as there are plenty of side missions that you can embark on to gain favor with other important people throughout the area. Load times aren’t an issue either, as they game moves seamlessly as you move from one area to another.

The environment will also come into play when it comes to the great fire mechanic. You’ll be able to start fires (accidentally or on purpose) that will spread realistically, overtaking bushes and trees and even buildings and encampments. This becomes a very important part of your combat strategy, and can help you take out several foes at once without taking too much damage yourself.

Another big element in the game is the map editor. You’ll be able to create multiplayer maps using the very intuitive map creation mode, and share them with other Xbox LIVE gamers to play.

While Far Cry 2 is a fantastic example of what can be done in an open-world FPS, there are a few problems. The huge environment is both a blessing and a curse, as there is an awful lot of walking around in order to get where you need to be. While there are vehicles that you can commandeer and take around, like boats, cars, jeeps, and eventually a hang glider, most of these vehicles will draw a lot of attention from enemies, making it difficult to sneak around and move fast at the same time. Considering the size of the environment, the constant trekking from one point to another can be very time-consuming and monotonous.

Additionally, there are some AI issues throughout, as far as the enemies go. They’ll often do some great duck and cover moves at one point, while running at you shooting at other moments. The enemy AI is pretty inconsistent, and can take you out of the element. They also require a lot of hits to go down, which is pretty frustrating.

Thankfully, the issues with the game are pretty minor when you consider all that it has to offer. Graphically, the game looks incredible, with a huge and gorgeous environment and well rendered character models. The framerate moves great, with no slowdown even during some intense battles.

The sound is also done very well, as the music will dynamically shift when the action gets serious, the voice acting sounds pretty decent, and the sound effects are accurate and very crisp.

Far Cry 2 gives you a great deal of freedom to explore, and a huge world to check out. The game’s various missions will give you upwards of 30 hours of gameplay, and is worth a look from shooter fans everywhere.

Gameplay: 9.0
Aside from the constant walking from place to place and the inconsistent AI, Far Cry 2 is a prime example of what an open-world FPS should be, and will keep you busy for a long time.

Graphics: 9.0
The character models look great, but the detailed and lush environments really take the cake.

Sound: 8.5
The voice work is decent, and the weapon and explosion effects are crisp. The music is great too, shifting dynamically when the action changes.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 9.0
It bares little more than a passing resemblance to its predecessor, but the elements in Far Cry 2 are innovative and fantastically implemented.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The game modes are pretty standard fare, but the map editor is a nice and intuitive feature.

Overall: 9.0
Far Cry 2 is a great open-world game, giving FPS fans a great sense of freedom and tons of content to play through.