Video game review: Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 proves to be a far cry from Far Cry

God knows why Ubisoft decided to stick with the Far Cry 2 naming convention for its latest sandbox shooter. Far Cry 2 isn't made by the same developer as the original PC shooter, it has a different graphics engine, a completely different narrative structure, it doesn't star the same protagonist and it has dropped the tropical island chains for the rolling savannas, deserts and jungles of Africa. And there are no mutants either.

However, once you get over this misconception, we're happy to report that there's an enormously enjoyable game to be found that stands out in completely its own right.

Far Cry 2 gives players a huge, 50 square km playground in which to cause mayhem. At the start, you can pick one from a handful of different mercenary characters who'll you be controlling in the quest to hunt down the elusive arms dealer who sparked the whole civil war in the first place.

The Jackal is really the star of the show, not the shallow characters that populate the rest of the world; you'll piece together his mysterious persona from a handful of personal encounters that take place between chapters and from the interview tapes that are hidden around the environment. His conflicting character is at the heart of the game's deeper message about war and human nature.

At the start, the vague approach to the plot seems bewildering, but as you put in the hours, it all slowly starts to fit together like an elaborate puzzle, which rewards you more as you take the time to investigate deeper and comes to surprising, yet satisfying conclusion by the end.

You rapidly learn that worst way to play Far Cry 2 is to rush around trying complete missions as quickly as possible. You need to savour the open world environment and make up your own mind as to how to complete your goal. You can sneak about silenced weapon in hand, take on foes from long-range with a rifle, or stroll about in broad daylight bombarding everything with rockets and grenades; it's up to you. Taking to the time to plan your attack is where the real enjoyment is to be had.

While the enemy Ai is prone to some staggering displays of stupidity from time to time, in the most part it is dogged and sneaky. This makes combat spectacularly varied as you choose either stick to high ground where you get a good view of your approaching adversaries, or dash rapidly between cover so you can stop yourself getting surrounded. Or you can turn everything to chaos by igniting the bush with flame throwers and Molotov cocktails, a tactic than can yield some beautiful pyrotechnic eye-candy.

Ubisoft has ensured that you have plenty of distractions to prevent you from just careening right through the main missions, in which you play off both sides of the pointless conflict against each other. Using your GPS tracker you can hunt for hidden caches of uncut diamonds, the game's currency, or you can unlock new safe-houses to save your game or take on extra missions to unlock new weapons to purchase. Your fellow mercenary buddies will also offer you alternative means to complete each major mission, with extra rewards for taking the time to do things their way. And as further obstacles to your progress are the ever-present guard posts.

These armed checkpoints and the roving patrol trucks can be the bane of your game life. Trying to drive straight through them will rapidly earn you a belly full of AK rounds, so you'll need to stop, scope out the obstacle, and work out how you want to tackle it. This is when Far Cry 2 is at its most frustrating and repetitive; the frequency of patrols at latter stages of the game and the rapid re-spawn times at the guard posts can turn your game into a bit of trudge.

But the sheer scale of the environment and the freedom you have to do things your way easily overshadows the smaller gripes. The African setting is massive, stunning to behold, brimming with atmosphere and littered with wildlife; it's a true technical marvel. While PC fans may find the controls a little too consoley compared to the tightness and complexity of the original Far Cry, or the more recent Crysis, the capacity for the AI to surprise makes it a highly satisfying experience.

Once you've found your own pace, Far Cry 2 is like having a vast combustible toy box to wreak havoc upon, offering countless hours of entertainment for your money.

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