User Score
5.6 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 975 Ratings

User score distribution:

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  1. DavidP
    Feb 3, 2009
    6
    The graphics are lovely and immersive (if your system is beefy enough) and I enjoy having the freedom to go anywhere at any time. However, the game's storyline is somewhere between nonsensical and nonexistent, none of the characters have much depth, the voice acting is mediocre at best, the missions are repetitive, and there are some problems with the control scheme. Some points to consider: (1) Perhaps what throws away the game's immersive qualities more than anything else is that even though you're supposedly a "no-name scumbag", the game clearly revolves around you. Ostensibly you are just some guy caught in a civil war between two sides (UFLL and APR), but in fact the supposed two sides are indistinguishable (you can't tell if you are fighting UFLL or APR guys), there are no front lines, and you almost never see AIs fighting each other. Instead, they only fight you. The war does has two sides: you (and occasionally one of your "buddies") against nearly everyone in the entire country. (2) Ostensibly you're in the country to kill the "Jackal" guy who keeps the war going, but for some reason you reach this goal by killing hundreds of random people that have nothing to do with your supposed objective. (3) The control scheme has issues. For example if you want to run for cover, you are only allowed to run straight forward (strafing disables running) and if you are reloading, the game forces you to finish reloading before you can run or switch weapons. (4) The bus stations that take you long distances have no staff. No ticket agent, no bus drivers, riding the bus is free, it's perfectly safe, and it gets you to your destination much faster than driving. Make sense? (5) Virtually everyone in the country is male and heavily armed. There are virtually no civilians. (6) There are magic boxes all over the map. Put your gun in a magic box and pull the same gun out of another box 20 miles away. Or how about the gun shop (which is normally unstaffed) where you buy the guns on a computer and the guns you bought magically appear in a warehouse next door. Make sense? The problem is that while the graphics are highly immersive, the gameplay mechanics are absurd enough to pull you out of the immersion. Expand
  2. Apr 16, 2011
    4
    Nothing on the first one. The first was a sweet game- great graphics, fun story- a really enjoyable game.

    This one? Very repetitive. Clear a camp, come back later and it's inhabited by the same people again...
  3. JesseA.
    Mar 9, 2010
    9
    This game although nothing like the first far cry, absolutely nothing I expected, and really boring at first, turned out to be one of the greatest most memorable games I have played for a while. At first the long car rides to everywhere you go are really frustrating but it just gives you a chance to sit back and enjoy the beautiful graphics and to concentrate on finding precious diamonds scattered around the map so you can buy new badass weapons to fight off enemies in intense fights. I would recommend this game to anyone patient enough to play a game more realistic than the average game instead of teleporting everywhere. Expand
  4. JamesR
    Feb 13, 2010
    9
    Look at the scores people are giving Far Cry 2. Theya re either really high or really low. That obviously tells you that it's not a question of whether the game is good or bad, but rather the game is suited to certain types of people. Don't think of Far Cry 2 as a 'Far Cry' game. It is basically a totally new series with new characters, a new setting and a new gameplay style. I love this sort of open-world shooter. Far Cry 2 does have some bad points though. Enemies respawn way too quickly, guns degrade way too quickly and there are too many enemy jeeps driving around. I also wish the map was a little more open as a lot of the time the roads just go through canyons. It would be really cool if it was just uninterrupted savannah for several kilometres. Unfortunately, however, cliffs and canyons appear every few hundred metres even in the most open areas. This game should have had civilians because not all people should attack you on sight. Ubisoft said before the release of the game that it had wicked car chases but I just find myself switching to the gun as soon as I see an enemy vehicle and blasting the crap out of them. They really should have made patrolling enemy vehicles equipped with no weapons. I would have prefered to work for one faction with an in-depth storyline because I found the story to be the only major let-down in the game. Yes, the game has a lot of flaws but the reason I rate it so high is because it attempted something no other game has before. To get the most out of this game, just enjoy the open-world with heaps of awesome weapons and the ability to kill mercenaries in any gruesome way you see fit. If you don't like this game, it isn't so much that it is a "bad game", but more that it isn't your style of game. Expand
  5. RobJ
    Jul 7, 2009
    1
    There are a 2 main complaints that i have with this game: 1: Its a bit of a misleading title. If your buying this game expecting more of the same fun as the original far cry, buy crysis instead because this "sequel" is Far Cry in name only. the only similarity I could find was the fact that you start the game with a machete and a pistol. 2: There are some brilliant game mechanics (the health system and malaria gimmick were pretty cool, as well as the map system and the car repair thingy) however these great ideas are marred by the fact that the developers seem to have forgotten to put a game around these mechanics. It all looks very pretty and the graphics are nice, but when every mission is to travel to the other side of the samey landscape and kill someone for some reason it gets a bit old. Not to mention the journey to these areas is slowed considerably by random respawning jeeps full of baddies blocking your path. I was basically fighting the same enemies in the same landscape with the objective of fighting more of the same enemies slightly further away. so overall, great game mechanics, but it needs a more coherant and varied main mission. Calling this game Far Cry is like making a new Max Payne game only to take Max Payne out of New York, remove his trademark hair and oh wait. Expand
  6. PaulS
    Sep 15, 2009
    3
    Installing this entertaining baloney is straight forward, as long as you accept SecuROM and toward the end of installation just before launching the game, there is an update and then... presto, the game is playable with no CD running around the African savannah trying to dodge fatigue inducing malaria. The first noticeable glitch is the graphics: sepia tones, bland, dull, drenched as if the hot African sun had scorched the fire prone grass to suck out any moisture from man-made surroundings. The hero, anti hero or idiot takes a vehicle ride and just as he arrives becomes sick with malaria?! Now, you wonder why this game wasnt titled 'Far Crap: Malaria'. When Malaria Idiot becomes conscious he has an interaction with some loser who doesnt look like a Jackal but is definitely human?! Next, Malaria Idiot stumbles downstairs into a shootout and gets shot up?! Now, Malaria Idiot is no more enlightened than at the beginning of this lacklustre gaming inexperience and at the end, Malaria Idiot will wish he were mauled and snuffed out by a voracious, Malaria Idiot eating lion or horned through by a rampaging rhino or after taking an uninspiring swim squashed by a sunbaking hippo. We could even settle for an elephant tusking the Jackal and Malaria Idiot into a painful, snail-slow, 1 to 2 FPS, kick-the-bucket ending. Ubisoft?! U Be Instantly Soft... yes, after playing this, my brain is spam mushy. At least, unlike the creators of this entertaining miasma of faux pas induced fait accompli, I was never a Richard Cranium... Expand
  7. FrancisG
    Mar 9, 2009
    6
    Great graphics overall. The scenery, open space, the "go-anywhere" concept and the choice of weaponery all play in favor of this game. BUT... I feel like they cut corner on the story line / mission types. Go there, kill that guys, steal this and then come back... It's always the same from start to finish. Still I'm addict to FarCry 2.
  8. RichardH
    Jun 9, 2009
    4
    WARNING: Tedium ahead. The first iteration of Far Cry was, while not necessarily perfect, a solid first person shooter. It's big, beautiful world let you approach the varied missions using a variety of tactics making it challenging and giving a sense of achievement. After I played this extremely beautiful game for about 15 hours (I tried so hard to like it), I was very disappointed and felt frustrated that the majority of my actions in the world made little or no difference. For example, I laughed hard when I annihilated one of the infinite-random-henchman-emplacements drove around the next corner and thought, "I wonder how long 'til the henchmen return?" So I turned around and went back only to find the infinite-random-henchman-emplacement teaming with life again. Not a corpse, nor blood stain in sight (Realism, anyone?)! This was my experience when I drove to a mission, when I drove away from a mission, and when I just wanted to drive around looking at the scenery. I laughed at the utterly pathetic plight of my avatar. I agree with Samuel W. This is a disgraceful sequel to a worthy first person shooter. Tetris has what some may not even call graphics and is repetitive yet challenging and extremely fun to play. Far Cry 2 is the most beautiful, repetitive, and mind-numbingly tedious game I have ever played. Poor form. Go play Crysis, the true sequel to Far Cry, and leave this third rate third world game well alone. Expand
  9. DrewL
    Jul 23, 2009
    0
    Miserable. Just miserable. Loved the first Far Cry, and this one manages to keep none of the firsts good points while introducing a whole mess of bad. The menus and interface is clunky at best, and the gameplay is tedious right from the start. Travel to and from missions takes forever with tons of meaningless fighting along the way. Missions are all the same. The storyline is basic and dull. I tried playing FC2 for four hours and had exactly zero minutes of fun. I kept hoping that it would get better and it never did. Expand
  10. DeathWookiee
    Mar 27, 2010
    7
    The multiplayer is fun, but extremely buggy with regard to consistency. It's not unstable-buggy (that is, if you can manage to join a server without being kicked with some cryptic error message). But it's buggy in that you might hit someone in center mass with an entire clip (you know you hit when you hear a certain sound), but then they whip around and kill you with the first bullet from a machine gun, from the hip, from half-way across the map. I have been banned numerous times because people thought I was cheating, when on the advantageous side of this flaw. It's like the developers really didn't spend much time playing their own game online. It may take a while to realize that you're not playing a bunch of cheaters, but rather the game is super-buggy that way. (and you may be banned by people who haven't figured that out yet) But when the game isn't bending reality in inconsistent ways, the multiplayer experience can be really fun. Expand
  11. MikeC
    Jun 5, 2009
    4
    I am utterly disappointed. As a rule I check out the reviews of a game before buying, and probably the biggest mistake I made with Far Cry 2 was looking at the critic score on this site rather than the users'. This will not happen again, as the "professional critics" (I use that term loosely) all appear in this case to have consumed the same dull, murky brown kool aid. I dare not suggest, like some others on here, that they are on the take, but it is more than a little suspicious to see so many rave reviews for a game that has nothing gonig for it besides ambition...and if there's one thing gamers should have learned by now, it's that ambition combined with lazy execution (no civilians? no friendlies/neutrals out in the field except for the Deus Ex Machina buddies? oy) invariably makes for a bad game. Expand
  12. AdamB
    Feb 18, 2010
    9
    Great game, this game makes the mercs in subsaharan Africa look downright cool! This nonlinear sandbox of a game isn't for the impatient, but for those willing to invest a bit of time in a game, the reward is enormous! One last thing: find a big truck and hold on to it for dear life. Your truck is your transportation, your shield, your weapon and your portable road blockade, all in one.
  13. CameronR.
    Nov 6, 2008
    10
    A brilliant and absorbing sandbox shooter. Something I've been waiting for for years. May be an acquired taste for players used to linear progression and structure, but I for one loved being set a task, immersing myself in the setting and then applying myself to pulling off the job. AI is fantastic, as are the graphics and gameplay. The action is wonderful, dynamic and the whole thing has immense replay value due to the dynamic nature of the thing. Two very big thumbs up. Expand
  14. Smith
    Nov 26, 2009
    1
    The game's only good thing is the graphics, the game play and repetitive and dull, enemies are all the same. Most of the play time is driving around since the game always puts the objective at the ass end of the world map. The gore and blood are ridiculous. Nothing about this game is special! The story is almost non existent. please save your money and dont buy it. it is a waste.
  15. MattM
    Dec 25, 2009
    10
    Awesome game. I lived in Africa for 18 years and spent a good deal of time in the bush......this allows me to roam through very well portrayed landscape. A short coming would be that there should have been the big 5... and adding danger to the roaming. Gunfights were great and I loved the story. Scenery was awesome.
  16. Oct 29, 2012
    0
    I like first Far Cry. But this game- piece of **** Good Graphics- that` s all what this game can propose to you. Stupid mission, stupid respawn, boring safari and idiotic story.
  17. Nov 4, 2012
    4
    Bought it after seeing some positive videos on the tube. I regretted it. The graphics are absolutely stunning but the game per se is terrible. Far Cry 2 is basically a terrific map with a terrible game spawning sporadically.
  18. DanB.
    Oct 26, 2008
    9
    Yes, some of it is repetitive. But it is huge, and the milaria isnt that bad. It more forces you to do a underground mission once in a while to get more pills. The map is huge and I was surprised as to how well the over all game played. I expected many bugs and even some fatal ones that once encountered Id be pissed about. I wasn't hit by the marketing, I read about the game before ti was releaced and noticed it behind the counter of gamestop the day it was released and picked it up while getting Fable 2. The variety of guns is great, there are enough ways og getting about, and every mission is different. Expand
  19. QuintonR.
    Oct 29, 2008
    9
    Repetitive missions and mission structure, yes. Entertaining action, yes. I don't look for diverse and in depth missions in fps' (but I hope for them), I look for intuitive and fun ways to do them, which the game was good at supplying. The malaria was more or less a way to emphasize the realism. Did it work? It depends. Either way I didn't find it much of a bother to retrieve medicine or to get guns, I focused on the action, something this game delivers. Expand
  20. JudgeE
    May 18, 2009
    9
    Love it! I started playing it on a PS3 where the graphics and setting are astoundingly gorgeous. The sound track and atmospherics haunted me into getting it for PC. It is a game I wanted to finish from the moment I ran my first mission. Now I play on infamous and NEVER get tired of sneaking around No belly aching for me. Bring it. A soldier of fortune isn't going to last ten seconds in a place like Africa if he rushes in where fools fear to tread and thinks he's bullet proof. If that's your MO, stay out of this jungle. Expand
  21. LadsyM
    Jul 6, 2009
    2
    This truly is a broken game. All its faults are reasonably easily fixable. However, they remain, and between the terrible design decisions (instantly respawning checkpoints), totally thick AI (not as bad as Crysis, but still pretty bad) and the arduous, shameless lengthening of the game, in the form of spending 70% of your play time driving, the crimes this game commits are unforgivable. It is a dog. Expand
  22. DavidB.
    Nov 5, 2008
    10
    One of the most beautiful and immersive games ever created. I generally have a hard time getting into open world games like this...but after slugging through the first few hours and getting a feel of how everything works...I'm totally addicted. (And I haven't even tried the multiplayer or map editor options yet!) Fav PC game of 2008 so far. (Although L4D isn't out yet...might be a close call between those two.). Expand
  23. Sergerqqlala
    Nov 6, 2008
    10
    This game is just cool. The reason it is such a good game is a combination of many small but important game elements. Instead of crushing you under tons different role-playing elements Far Cry 2 breaks it all down into three different sections: Daimonds, Drugs and Guns. The game is gritty without being frustraiting (except on Infamous difficulty). Your guns wear down and you heal yourself by performing first aid depending on your injuries. These elements alow you to feel in tune with your charicter, and your buddys almost take death out of the equation. Instead of constantly pressing the quickload key you are instead asisted by your buddy in question, who drags you out of harms way and covers you as you patch yourself up. This is a refreshing change from haveing to replay a sequence because of some bad luck. On the other hand you do run into a AI glitch every once and awhile but thats a total nitpick. And some animations are a bit stiff, however this anomaly is few and far between and no where as bad as other games. In fact I couldnt help but but admire Far Cry 2's fluidity, sequences are smooth and the graphics in some places are breathtakeing. The story is interesting and changes depending on what charicter you choose. It is NOT Cliched, yes it is set in Africa and involves daimonds but that doesnt automatically make it cliched. I wont talk about the finer parts of the story but let me tell you some scenes are innovative and unique for a FPS. Over all this game may look like a generic jungle shooter on the surface but if you play it you will not regret it. And as a side note I played Far Cry 2 on my PC and had no problems with the controls. The game crashed once throughout 44 hours of gamplay. Truth be told it is an excellent PC game. NOT a Console Port. Granted there is no lean and no prone but i never found the absence of these to be a problem. Truly a one of a kind game. Expand
  24. AlanG.
    Oct 30, 2008
    9
    I own the pc version and i think its bloody brilliant!! I cant believe the amount of people who have given this a low score. I also own crysis but you know what, i think i prefer FC2 over crysis. The AI is smarter in FC2, they dont get confused when you snipe them. The only down side so far is that the enemy take a few too many shots to take down (crysis was the same pre-patch) but 1 head shot still does the trick. I can only assume this problem is made worse on ps3 as aiming with the control pad is difficult. But everything else is just really really good. Anyone who doesnt like this game just cant be playing it right, yes you have the same checkpoints that you have to keep attacking but there's many ways to approach just like crysis but with the added ability of using fire. For instance as you approach a check point take a little time to see where people are, if they're all inside the buildings then why not lob a couple of molotov cocktails into the surrounding fields and watch as the enemy is forced out into the open by the incoming fire (make sure the wind is blowing in the right direction of course) then you can take them out with whatever gun you happen to prefer, or with a bit of planning you can place some explosive in a strategic place then use fire to force people into that area then BOOM, detonate via remote. People have said the cars always break down?? I've been playing for a week and the only time i've had a break down is when my motor has been shot to pieces by the enemy. Even then you can just get out and fix the car yourself. There is a problem with online play as the connection keeps dropping but i'm sure this will be sorted out. Otherwise i love playing online, all the game mechanics still apply online. You can set fire to just about anything, drive vehicles and mend them. You can heal your fellow team mates when they've fallen which in itself can be dangerous and exciting as you never know whether its a trap, the enemy sniper could still have his sights aimed on the fallen man waiting to take down anyone who trys to help. For me this game takes all the good elements from games like crysis, far cry, and even GTA and blends them to make a superb gaming experience. Cant understand how anyone can hate this game Expand
  25. RichardK.
    Nov 18, 2009
    9
    It's evident from other user reviews here that there are two distinct types of shooter fan. The first type demands a deep story, relishes in highly dramatic scripted battles and so is necessarily kept 'on rails' by the game, since this caliber of storytelling is still impossible to do dynamically. Well, Far Cry 2 isn't your game, get back to CoD! The second type relishes in freeform, dynamic gameplay, i.e. sandbox games. We enjoy a bit of storyline too, but not so much that it distracts from our main reason for playing shooters: inflicting epic amounts of violence on unsuspecting, virtual people, choosing our grim methods from a range of options. For us, Far Cry 2 is an absolute blast. First the negatives, since it's far from perfect. Weapon damage isn't at all realistic, with both you and the virtual fodder being able to soak multiple shots. Respawn times for the endless patrols is far too high, and you're rarely able to drive around for more than one or two minutes before being intercepted by another jeep full. The good stuf: both the engine and the virtual piece of Africa you get to roam in look absolutely stunning and realistic. Weapon handling is flawless. Vehicle handling is flawless, easily beating e.g. GTA. Love sniping? This is your game. Love brutely murdering goons with the best in-game flamethrower ever? Got it. Just watching how fires spread will convince anyone with any feel for quality that this is something special. And it still has drama, dynamically employing scripts to create involvement, where LESSER games like the Call of Duty series have to rely on stupid virtual people casually waiting until the player's arrival before displaying their wafer thin emo. It's a shame Ubisoft refused to release an SDK for this, resulting in a distinct lack of mods which could (and would) solve the few annoying faults of this masterpiece. At its current price, anyone who relishes freedom, fun and great graphics should get this. Expand
  26. ThadM.
    May 1, 2009
    3
    I have never been so sad about a game i LOVED far cry 1 and this is just the worst excuse for AI and mission and storyline and voice acting ever they could have just built a new graphics engine and thrown the old far crys ai and story line on this and it would have been a better game whatever you do DO NOT BUY THIS.
  27. FrederickN
    Sep 10, 2009
    10
    First of all I want to state that I do not work for and am in no way associated with UBIsoft or Far Cry 2 other than being a gamer. I have, however, been a professional in the computer industry for over 40 years, building, repairing, designing, programming, and playing. The game's Story Mode is interesting and different than most I've played and displays the most awesome realistic 3-D graphics I've ever seen in a game. You create a profile and select who you are in the game and go from there. The beginner weapons are not to powerful or accurate, unless you get the Fortunes Pack add-on with the game, which has some very powerful weapons, vehicles and extra maps in it. The way that fire propagates with the direction of the wind and type of grass or brush adds a sense of reality to the game. The dynamic weather component and time of day (24 hour clock), adds realism and dynamics to the entire game environment. The story is simple and after you perform the minimal training required to open the game up into 1 of 4 starting points, your play options are almost endless. Healing yourself is a graphical experience you may or may not enjoy, because there are several types of heals that you do to yourself. Unlike most of the shooter games I have, you don't play the game in levels, you simply play the same game with changing dynamics and weapons. The game opens options as you make choices of how you want to customize your game experience as you play, which is like reading a book that you just can't seem to put down. I played this mode for a couple of months before playing multiplayer mode. The multiplayer mode is a first-class first person shooter game. The action is as intense as the graphics is gamer eye-candy. The server interface really needs to be re-engineered, in my opinion, but there are ways to get around the difficulties, which I have found very easy to do. The Far Cry 2 team developed one of the most awesome games I have, but that's not all you get either. There are many more freebies that are also included with the base game. 1.) There is a Far Cry 2 Benchmark test so you can test your system to perform and look any way you customize it and then you can tune the game to play according to reported results. 2.) There is one of the most powerful map editor programs I have ever seen. You can download any map, look at it and even go into the map in "game mode" and walk, run, or drive through the map. You can shoot, get ammo, heal yourself, blow stuff up, and even start fires, just to see how the map looks. The map creation tools are among the best. If you like designing and making game maps, you need to put your creativity hat on and get to work with this feature rich editor. The old phrase; "Amaze your friends." comes to mind when I saw how powerful this editor's tools are. 3.) Launch Server, which needs some brain power to discuss, but not here and now. The UBIsoft forums have great help in getting your server online, which may be a cool thing for you to do, just so you can play with your friends and family. I was looking for a game that I could afford to purchase for myself and some of my family and have it cheap enough that some of my gaming friends could also afford to purchase a copy. The current price for both the base game and the Fortunes Pack made it very affordable. Expand
  28. AntonioM
    Mar 17, 2010
    10
    I have always loved Ubisoft games, such as Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell, but lately it has been seeming to me like video games have become less entertaining over the years. But than I downloaded Far Cry 2 and lets just say with more games like this everyone should still be amazed by video games. Unforgettable game. A must play.
  29. PaulB
    Nov 1, 2008
    9
    Come one people. This game is a good time. The weapons are well modeled and fun to use. The sound is excellent and the graphics are very good. The story is entertaining and the drive time adds to the ambience. Running a road block and putting a set of tire tracks across a few henchmen
  30. I.R.
    Nov 2, 2008
    9
    Don't listen to Rad T. , he's probably played this game for a whopping 10 minutes on easy difficulty. Let me debunk all of his theories: I don't know why he thinks that GPS system is pointless. It's easy to use. I doubt that you'd be able to find your way around this large world without it. The day/night cycle is great. My only problem with it is that the night could be a bit darker. AI on hardcore or infamous is very good - they hide behind cover, flank, cooperate with each other, take the injured to safety, shoot you with their sidearm when badly injured and lying on the ground... Well, I wouldn't call fc2's saving system console like - there are quicksaves on F5. No women ? Then what about Michelle, Nasreen...? The rest of his "objective" thoughts is just nitpicking or plain bullcrap. The only thing I didn't like about this game is the respawning rates of guards on the posts. It gets annoying after a while. Oh, and Far Cry 2 had already been in development when The Blood Diamond came out. Expand
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Combat is thrilling – each weapon packing a solid, vicious blast; movement suggesting heft and momentum. [Dec 2008, p.80]
  2. By adopting a laissez faire attitude to player discretion, Ubisoft has crafted a brilliant follow-up.
  3. 89
    More importantly, it has nowhere near as many bugs as something like "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl," a title that bears many similarities. Add to the roughly 25 hour single-player campaign a remarkably easy-to-use map creation tool and a full multiplayer suite, and you've got one of the most complete overall gaming packages of the year, as well as one of the most ambitious.