Far Cry 2

I just started playing Far Cry 2 this week. The open-world nature of the game allows it to be approached differently by each player. I'm going to keep a log of some of my time with Far Cry 2 and see how my experience differs from Jebus'.

This should (hopefully) be interesting.

Entry #1

The sun is going down, dancing its way through the tree tops to the jungle floor. I'm headed to the northwest to destroy a weapon cache of 'shit AKs' for a weapons dealer. He'll provide me with a few new guns for my trouble.

Leaving my safehouse in my dune buggy I stole from a guard outpost, I run into a guard checkpoint. I end up losing my ride after the rebels race toward me in their truck, which I blow up with my rocket launcher, causing my dune buggy and their truck to both explode. I steel another truck from the checkpoint.

On my way to the northwest, I notice an opportunity for a mission from a satellite tower. A man in a Saw like voice gives me a target to assassinate. I need the diamonds, so I head off.

I run into a problem trying to pass through Mokuba. I narrowly miss being killed when my car is hit with an RPG. I am overwhelmed by rebels here and go down. Thankfully, my buddy Marty shows up to save me, and we clear out the camp. It begins to rain as I head through the brush and follow a river towards my target.

My GPS is going crazy while I'm trying to get back to a road. Scouting ahead, I see it's at the top of a hill, which happens to be a safehouse currently guarded. I sneak up the road with my knife ready and stab the first guard before he knows what hit him. He rolls down the hill a bit and in a last ditch effort to stop me, draws a pistol from his holster. Before he can fire I stab him in the chest one last time. I kill the other guard, unlocking my new safehouse. I find the diamond behind the house. It's dark out and raining, so I decide to head out in the morning.

I wake up to my buddy Marty. He's dropped by to remind me of the close call we had in Mokuba. I thank him and head towards my target.

My assignment is circling an airfield. A river runs along it, so instead of confronting the rebel checkpoint, I steal a boat from the dock and head towards the airfield.

The mark is traveling in an SUV protected by two trucks. Using my monocular, I plan an ambush as they drive closer to me. The lead truck is well ahead; as he passes the ridge I'm on, I take out the gunner. The rest of the convoy is on to me. I use the newly freed machine gun on the other truck. The SUV empties and two guards begin firing on me while my target flees. I kill them with my shotgun and grenades and chase down my payday. I almost feel bad for killing an unarmed man. Almost.

----------------------------

Needless to say, my initial impressions are favorable to Far Cry 2 right now. I've spent a little over three hours with it and I only have a couple complaints - respawning checkpoints and AI that can be a little too good at finding where I am. Otherwise, I'm impressed.

The world Ubisoft has created feels alive and open to me. Maybe it's just seeing my hand reach out to open doors, or healing myself with pliers, or having a friend help me during a fight and tell me to watch out for myself, pulling up my map while driving; it feels like I'm in a living, breathing world and not just a floating gun pressing a button to open doors and shoot everyone to get to the next room. I have a choice in how the action plays out, where I'm going and what missions I'm going to take. The dynamic weather, lush environments, fire propagation and graphics also help me feel immersed in this world.

After I finish the game I will post my final impressions of Far Cry 2.