Far Cry 2 released amidst stiff competition. It boasted TWO large open world maps. Features such as dynamic lighting, dynamic weather, destructible environments, destructible flora, a dynamic fire system and sophisticated a.i. Far Cry 2 is an ambitious title that also receives a lot of flak for its malaria crutch and repetitive mission structure of receive dossier, drive to location and kill or destroy said target. However, these complaints are unwarranted as the objective of all fps is usually to eliminate targets in the first person, and Far Cry 2 allows you a bevy of satisfying ways to do so. Blow em sky high with an RPG, rain fire from above with a sniper rifle, go stealthy with the dart rifle from afar or sneak up on em with your silenced Makarov. Yes, the weapons you choose, time of day and harshness of weather do also effect how the a.i reacts, and the a.i is smart. They suppress you, snipe at you from eagles nests, flank you, avoid brushfires and grenades. The weather and lighting effects displayed across the savannah can be downright beautiful at times, with the magnificent grass density and draw distance. This game really drives on the atmosphere and that's why it is my favorite of them all. I have a soft spot for Far Cry 2, the first person immersion of unjamming a gun, or bandaging yourself up or manually looking at a map just drives on the connection from player to virtual npc in my opinion. I could care less about the respawning npc's and guard posts because I know to avoid certain ones or approach certain ones containing ammo or meds. If i had only one complaint though, it would be the weapons merchant missions. The game is a lot more forgiving if you acquire all the good weapons as early on as possible and I like how they reconsidered this in the third game. With all that said, I think Far Cry 2 is a masterpiece and one of my favorite fps of 2008 and of all time. It still holds up very well and I would suggest anyone fond of fps to give it a try
