The original Far Cry was a smash hit and graphical powerhouse when first released on the PC in 2004. However, its eventual transition to the Xbox in 2005 as Far Cry Instincts, was handicapped by hardware limitations. Owning the rights to the Far Cry name, Ubisoft looking for value for money followed with a slightly less disappointing sequel, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution in 2006. Also in 2006, the series made its debut on the Xbox 360 with Far Cry Instincts: Predator, which was essentially a graphically updated version of both the Xbox sequels. Far Cry 2 is the latest game from Ubisoft to sport the Far Cry name and this incarnation truly deserves the number two in its title, and while not a ‘true' sequel to the first game, it is still one of the best First Person Shooters on the Xbox 360 platform to date.

Far Cry 2 has a wholly original storyline (without feral powers or super mutants) and in a change for the series is set in Africa not a tropical island. Unlike traditional First Person Shooters, Far Cry 2 can best be described as an open world or ‘Sandbox' FPS. Players are free to roam wherever they want (almost), whenever they want and are not bound by linear set pieces. Far Cry 2's development team went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their representation of the African veldt looked and sounded as realistic as possible. Key members of the team actually travelled to Africa to get a feel of the land and take hundreds of photos, videos and sound recordings. The results of their significant efforts (and budget) have paid dividends in the final product as Far Cry 2's graphics with dynamic weather and day/night cycles are simply breathtaking and at times it is hard to believe that an open world environment can look and sound as good as it does in Far Cry 2.

On the subject of aural pleasure, the music in Far Cry 2 is up to the very high standard that seems to be common with big Ubisoft releases. Beating tribal drums kick in with the action and significantly contribute to the atmosphere of the game. The voice acting is also very good and helps to bring the characters to life. If you have a decent home theatre system, you will definitely get the most out of Far Cry 2 as the overall sound design is superb.

Included in the graphics engine developed for Far Cry 2 is an impressive fire modelling system. Recently the developers of Alone in the Dark waxed lyrical about the sophistication of their fire modelling which supposedly took five years to develop, but quite frankly the fire in Far Cry 2 leaves it for dead. Fires are affected by the wind and propagate between materials realistically. A savage heat haze can be seen in the air and the surround sound effects are frighteningly effective. Even gas cylinders vent and fly around the environment when shot, igniting more of the landscape in their wake. Far Cry 2 has without doubt the best looking, behaving and sounding fire effects that I have ever seen in a game. The fire effects are so good that they are more than just cosmetic, but more on that later.

In Far Cry 2, players assume the role of a gun for hire, sent to Africa to hunt down and eliminate a notorious weapons dealer known as ‘The Jackal'. However, mercenary ethics do not preclude you from being hired by either of the two warring factions, the United Front for Liberation and Labour (UFLL) and the Alliance for Popular Resistance (APR) or for that matter by a host of other characters that populate the world of Far Cry 2. Once the tutorial tasks are completed, the game allows the player to progress through the game as they please. But if you want to actually complete the game, you will eventually have to complete the main story missions. There are 33 main, 44 side and 12 buddy missions to complete in Far Cry 2. Completing them all could take in excess of a massive 40 hours of gameplay.

With so many missions on offer, repetition is inevitable but just how repetitive the game experience is, is entirely up to the player. Mission set ups and objectives may repeat quite regularly but the open ended approach allows players the freedom to compete similar missions in a variety of ways. You may choose to go in guns blazing or take a more stealthy approach under the cover of darkness. You may want to lure enemies into ambushes or use fire to your advantage which can be particularly devastating. You may even decide to accept a buddies offer to complete a different objective and still get paid.

Buddies are an integral part of Far Cry 2 as you are by no means the only mercenary in Africa. You can have up to two buddies at any one time and it would seem that mercenaries are surprisingly helpful to each other. One will come to your aid if you fall in battle and the other will offer you alternative mission objectives (without fail) after accepting a UFLL or APR mission. Successfully completing missions builds your reputation amongst your peers and accepting and completing missions for your buddies increases your standing with them. Other than looking and sounding different, there really isn't any advantage from choosing one buddy over the other as they all fulfil the same purpose. Having a buddy ready to rescue you should your health reach zero is invaluable and can prevent you from having to load a previously saved game.

Games are saved at various safe houses scattered throughout the massive 50 square kilometre game area. Most are occupied to begin with but once you clear them out you are free to use them to save your game whenever you please. The same can not be said for enemy checkpoints as these are equally scattered throughout the game area but repopulate once you travel a certain distance away from them. This is a real pain and needlessly adds to the somewhat repetitive nature of the mission structure. Permanently cleared or slower repopulating checkpoints would have been much better for gameplay. The massive game area can be navigated on foot (if you are into long slow walks on the savannah) by vehicle (mounted machineguns are a must) or via strategically placed bus stops which are the games version of instant transportation between areas. Random patrols are frequent if you stick to roads and rivers, hence the requirement for your own mounted machinegun or to take an off road path.

The currency of choice in the unnamed African nation of Far Cry 2 is rough cut diamonds. Players are paid in diamonds and can discover hidden ones throughout the game world with the help of their GPS. A green light on the GPS will flash when close to a diamond and then can be used to pinpoint its exact location. You will spend hours diverting from your path to hunt for diamonds, some of which are much easier than others to reach. Diamonds can be used at Weapon Shops to buy new weapons and upgrades. Completing missions from the weapons dealer will unlock a larger inventory to choose from. This system works well and is entirely necessary as the weapons picked up from downed enemies are all but useless as they constantly jam.

It is worth noting just how persistent and impressive the first person perspective of Far Cry 2 actually is. Not since Breakdown on the original Xbox or the recently released Mirrors Edge has a first person viewpoint been so good and the game never breaks from it. There are no traditional cut scenes and the brutal healing animations are a wonder to behold. Driving in the many vehicles found within Far Cry 2's Africa is also done in the first person perspective and this is one of the areas where the game excels. Players feel planted in the drivers seat and the drivers view in Far Cry 2 is superior to many dedicated racing games, however the cars are a little on the slow side.

Far Cry 2 contains a robust multiplayer map editor which fans of the series will love to see included again for them and it's surprisingly powerful and fairly intuitive to use with an Xbox 360 controller. Although, I would imagine that the PC version would be much easier to use with a mouse and keyboard. Nevertheless, anyone with the inclination, skill and lots and lots of time, can create some truly amazing multiplayer maps that can then be uploaded to Xbox Live for the rest of the Far Cry 2 online community to see and use. The calibre of some of the user created maps uploaded so far has to be seen to be believed. This feature alone may significantly extend the life of the somewhat pedestrian multiplayer experience.

Far Cry 2 really shines offline in the single player campaign but a number of standard multiplayer modes are on offer to satisfy your online desires. There are only four multiplayer game modes being, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Diamond (Capture the Flag) and Uprising. Uprising is the only partially original game mode and is essentially all about capturing control points. In Uprising, only the team Captain can actually capture control points and the rest of the team must protect their Captain or kill the opposing team's Captain. As is the standard these days, a class system is implemented in Far Cry 2 multiplayer which allows the player to choose between Commando, Sharpshooter, Guerrilla, Rebel, Gunner and Saboteur classes. The chosen class determines the players weapon selection and hence their style of play. Veterans of FPS will be familiar with this mechanic as there is nothing new here.

One gameplay nuance of Far Cry 2 which is bound to annoy many players is the implementation of Malaria. Essentially, your character contracts Malaria on arriving in Africa and must control it with medication throughout the length of the game. Medication comes in the form of pills that can only be obtained from the peaceful Underground movement. Players are forced to occasionally complete Underground missions in order to restock their supply of anti-Malaria drugs. In Far Cry 2, Malaria strikes suddenly and renders your character all but useless until you pop a pill and it has a nasty habit of occurring in the heat of battle. I can't help but feel that this is an unnecessary and annoying feature that really shouldn't have progressed past the tutorial stage of the game.