Far Cry 2

Open world welcomes with open arms

Ultimately, the most immediate reference for Far Cry 2 is not Crytek's original, but Deus Ex (Invisible War, sadly), in the way it presents interesting ideas, often slightly heavy-handedly, and features a gently saggy seriousness that can sometimes come at the expense of pacing. The result is a fascinating game with successes and failures that are both equally mystifying; one that rebuilds its story regardless of how badly you mistreat it, and yet struggles to spice up a simple escort mission. Far Cry 2 is unforgettable rather than perfect, then; brilliant, frustrating, sombre and comical, it offers freedom within extremely curtailed limits, and strives to treat its players like adults. In the end it remains, true to its source material, a game that was born to struggle with itself.

Far Cry 2 is a sad case of trying to be too much and ending up being too little.

When set to the maximum settings, this game puts a serious burden on the video card. Of course, the more stout the video card, the more performance you will see in-game. Just watching the benchmark run through its paces, you can see more and more each time it is run. The first time you see the concussive force of an explosion blow through a tree - it makes you sit up and start looking at the small things going on during the benchmark run. Realistic flames that move with the wind, leaves blown off a tree from an explosion, the chicken that get blown clear across the compound as well as barrels that show real damage instead of just flying through the air looking as new as the frame before. All the little things combine to give that 'wow' effect. I cant wait to dig a little deeper into the real game play to see if the benchmark performance does match up with the gameplay.