Far Cry 2 - Reception

Reception

Far Cry 2 has received positive reviews from game critics. The graphics that went into the open-world design and the African setting were generally praised. Critics also liked the intelligent enemies who actively hunt for the player, but noted that it was occasionally unresponsive. Some critics, such as Terrence Jarrad in the first Australian review of the game, praised all three aspects: "The unique setting, brilliant AI, and palpable atmosphere make Far Cry 2 a quintessential gaming experience."

The main criticisms of the game were the long time it took to travel from one objective to another, constantly respawning enemies, the lack of information within the plot, and the not-so-compelling storyline. The IGN review pointed out another minor issue, with the difference in the save system: the PC version allows players to save at any time, while the console versions only allow players to save at certain points.

Additionally, some reviewers noted that the focus on immersion sometimes goes too far (to the point that the game became annoying at times), and was sometimes killed by bad game-design choices and game glitches (some inconsistent textures and generic character models, magic map, instant spawning of enemies at check points, the diamond caches, the effects of malaria being overused, vehicles and firearms jamming).

Game Informer gave praise to the console save system because it gives a sense of realism to the game. While IGN criticised this, GameSpot noted that the console version's save system gave the player more of a sense of urgency as it made death seem more consequential. GamePro praises Far Cry 2, saying: "Its detailed presentation, feature-rich gameplay, and palpable sense of placing players in another world yield a bar-raising effort."