Hands-on with Far Cry 2

Ubidays 2008 in Paris provided a chance to play some of Ubisoft's forthcoming goodies for the year ahead and beyond. There were three that particularly caught my eye. The first was Tom Clancy's HAWKS, which I told you about last week, Tom Clancy's EndWar (preview coming soon) and Far Cry 2.

Of the three it was Far Cry 2 that impressed me the most. Who would have thought that when CryTek and Ubisoft parted ways that Ubisoft would be the one creating the better FPS following Far Cry.

Crysis is certainly a technical masterpiece, but as a piece of storytelling and as a game it really is lacking. Far Cry 2 on the other hand is shaping up to be one of the games of the year.

PC, PS3 and Xbox 360

I was taken through the various versions of the games by several Ubisoft developers who are clearly proud of their creation. The PC game is the lead platform and it shows - it looks fantastic.

However don't think the console versions are going to be second best. Walking close to a tree in the Xbox 360 version I was amazed at the texture detail in a game that is focussed on providing such a large playing area.

The PlayStation 3 game isn't as far along yet, but the aim is to have it looking just as good as the Xbox 360 version. However it was hard to judge how far along it is yet as Ubisoft didn't want to let members of the press get their hands on it.

Welcome to Africa

As you know Far Cry 2 is set in Africa in 50 square kilometres of varied terrain. The game world actually comprises two separate 25 km2 areas, the second of which opens up once the player is around one third of the way into the game.

Ubisoft told me that it hasn't been decided yet whether there will be any loading when you travel between these two areas or whether the transition will be made by streaming - as the rest of the game operates.

Should a loading pause exist it at that point it will be the only one the players ever see, the rest of the time exploring the brush, towns, villages and hills in the game will be a beautiful seamless experience.

Beuna Vista

Far Cry 2 really is a very beautiful game. The focus Africa has clearly inspired those involved in the game's art direction and the result is a lush warm palette, with beautiful rippling water, entrancing skies and lush vegetation. Animals wander the land obeying logical behaviour - such as moving to water holes during the day.

The vegetation is destructible and dynamic, it sways in the gentle breeze. The long grass is particularly gorgeous and it makes one want to run one's hands through it Gladiator fashion. Destroyed plants will even grow back over time - so it's unlikely there will be a "deforest the world" Xbox 360 achievement.

The world is lit by a harsh sun, dynamically. I was given a demonstration on the PC version - the day night cycle was sped up so I could see the sunrises, sunsets, harsh noonday sun and the night-time.

Night has posed something of a problem for the developers. In reality it would just be pitch black out there in the bush. So a careful subtle range of colours has been gradually tested to the point where night-time is conveyed while at the same time ensuring you can see where you are going.

To some extend fighting at night is actually a little easier than in the daytime. Picture the scene, you're attacking a village of bad guys armed with a flash suppressing H&K MP5 while your enemies are gunning for you with AK47s. Just shoot at the flashes and you're done.

Storytelling

One of the neatest features about Far Cry 2 is the way the game's story is told. At a Q&A event during Ubidays we were told in no uncertain terms that the plot is simple - we've got to find and kill an arms dealer called The Jackal. That's it. The depth is in the freedom we have to accomplish this goal.

What makes the plot unique is who you will actually play. There are 12 buddy characters that you will meet in Far Cry 2. They will often help you out in missions, provide weaponry, need to be rescued and the like. But at the start of the game you will pick one of these characters to play as. From that point on they are removed from the story - as you will be playing that role, making your own choices.

How this will pan out in the full game will be very interesting to see, it's not the kind of thing one can assess during short playtests in a controlled setting - but I really love the idea.

Newton & Einstein

You'll need your wits about you in Far Cry 2. This isn't a world where you can rest. Ubisoft is deliberately keeping you in the game world - you don't pause to the look at the map for example - you open the map while being fully in the world.

Enemy soldiers patrol constantly, there's a feeling of danger all around. The guys are smart and will attempt to flank you and use the environment to their advantage. They'll even make use of vehicles to chase you, so if stealing a jeep from a camp you'd do well do disable other trucks and jeeps first.

But you can do the same. All that dry grass and those wooden buildings look kind of flamable don't they? How about trapping some bad guys into a rock culvert then lighting he grass, that might work? It does. Fire even flows in the direction of the wind and leaves the ground black and charred, but will grow back later.

Toasting

The combat works so well in the game. The controls feel just right already and the choice of weaponry is fabulous.

Take the flame thrower for example, in a world this dry it's the idea weapon for scaring the living crap out of your enemies. Just because you can't see that guy shooting at you, doesn't mean you can't start a fire that'll reach him eventually.

It seems along with Alone in the Dark dynamic fire is this year's lens flare.

The RPG is rather neat too. My Ubisoft guide told me this particular weapon would take several spins to arm in the real world, to prevent the user being blow up if firing accidentally at a close target. This has been modelled in the game.

I fired a grenade into the ground and it didn't go off, instead it bounced up and away into the sky. We watched if fall for some time before realising where it was going to land. One hasty retreat later I saw the grenade explode beautifully where I had been standing. Excellent.

Can't Come Soon Enough

Far Cry 2 wasn't the game I was most looking forward to playing at Ubidays 2008. But by the end of the event is was the game I was most looking forward to getting my hands on.

The screenshots show a technical and beautiful marvel, an epic recreation of African landscape.

But that's now the whole story. The game seems to play as well as it looks and if the finished articla lives up to this promise we're in for a real first-person shooter treat later this year.