Far Cry 2
Fresh from Ubidays, Paris
We've just had the pleasure of a few minutes alone with Far Cry 2 on the Xbox 360 at Ubidays 2008, and the game really is looking quite lovely. Art director Alex Amancio took us through one of the game's stages, taking in a raid on a savannah village, a spot of humid jungle, and, yes, that hang-glider.
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As you may have noticed from the screenshots and videos already available, Far Cry 2 really is a beautiful looking beast, offering up realistic grasslands that wave in the breeze, detailed models of trees and foliage, wildlife and more. The vistas are epic, the shadows convincing, and all in all what we're offered is a very believable world.
As Amancio tells us, the game world was built before the missions were conceived (using an in-house engine described as "amazing"), and thus we're presented with a realistic slice of central Africa. High-ground offers jungles and eventually forests, lower ground is dryer, with parched grasses and bare foliage interspersed with settlements, placed realistically near rivers and streams that lead to sources in the hills.
All this has gameplay application too. Fire, one of Far Cry 2's key elements, spreads faster on the dry grasslands, offering up tactical options - the player directing enemies into their clutches by strategically unleashing blazes via grenades and crude explosive devices. In the hills, however, where the air is more humid, fire won't spread as far, so other strategies must be employed to succeed.
AI is another area receiving a great deal of attention. The game is set in an open world, but throughout this you'll make friends and enemies based on your decisions and actions, new paths opening depending on who you side with in a plot that revolves around the conflict between warring factions in a failed African state. Help one character, and he may help or advise you later, smite him and you might find he'll come after you with an irate mob of hired 'helpers'.
The AI is dynamic and evolving, Amancio talking up the importance of this aspect of the game. Enemies also behave in a realistic manner. This is a world of mercenaries and so most will be look after their own skin ahead of any higher cause, hence why tactics like bombings and fire-starting can hit morale, sending your rivals fleeing. The art director notes that even the narrowed-down demo on show was capable of throwing up surprises, enemies acting in diverse and unpredictable ways.
During play I witnessed a couple of vehicles. First is of course the hang-glider, great for taking in the beauty of the game world Ubisoft have created, not to mention the occasional wildlife (zebras, for example). A jeep meanwhile, is a practical means of escape after you've leveled an enemy village, or you might instead opt to leave it for your foes (having cunningly planted an explosive on the back). Far Cry 2 really does seem to offer a world of possibilities.
Immersion is also vital, says Amancio, helping us bring up the in-game map and compass which appears on-screen held by the player in a manner which doesn't impact the flow of the game. Couple nice touches like this with realistic sound effects, orchestral music, and the game really does look like a convincing world you'll want to immerse yourself in.
The plot should help this, too. Amancio draws parallels with Conrad's Heart of Darkness (or Apocalypse Now, if you prefer), the player assuming the role of a mercenary sent into darkest Africa to kill an arms dealer and civil war profiteer called "The Jackal". As you progress through the game, switching sides between factions battling for control of the nation's natural resources, you'll learn more about The Jackal, hearing and reading interviews provided by a journalist, picking up tidbits of information. In the end, you might start to sympathize with your intended victim, and it is this morally grey experience Ubisoft are keen to deliver.
The manner in which the story will partially unfold via recording and snippets, as well as during dialogue with pals you meet along the way, is reminiscent of BioShock, which is of course no bad thing.
A full multiplayer mode will be included in both the PC and console editions of the game, with a range of modes mooted by our guide for the day. Amancio also tells us that a powerful map editor will ship with the game, offering user-generated content and sharing on both the PC and consoles. How the console side of things will work remains to be seen, but on the Xbox 360 in particular this could be a first.
With the promise of multiple endings, a rich and breathing world which evolves and changes, not to mention rock-solid combat with multiple strategic options, we can't see how Far Cry 2 can go far wrong. With the savannah breeze blowing the leaves from trees, and a realistic world, rich with opportunities and interactivity spread out before us, we can't wait to see more of Ubisoft's opus.
