Far Cry 2's action, riotous and challenging, does indeed speak for itself, and its AI seemingly already impressively advanced, but it's once the encampment has been cleared and a few new weapons salvaged from the wreckage that we see the features that really distinguish Far Cry 2. He heals himself, triggering a comically gruesome animation wherein he physically prises a bullet out of his hand, and runs for another shack, accidentally shooting an ammo box in the process and sending bullets pinging haphazardly all over the place. During the ensuing battle, the shanty town's buildings crumble under fire as enemies quickly manage to flank the protagonist and flush him out into the open. In Far Cry 2, everything that should break to pieces upon contact with a bullet does so, making the frequent firefights even more chaotic. The levels of destruction have been amped up, too. Before long, we crash into another, larger enemy encampment, and bullets are flying everywhere again as the protagonist dives for cover in a falling-down shack. The enemy jeep spends a while trying to ram us off the road, before changing tactics and trying to block us instead. If there's a vehicle anywhere in their vicinity, they will use it to pursue you, making it very hard to simply run away from trouble, and their behaviour continually adapts to the situation. As well as aggressive, this AI is smart and dynamic. Hopping into the gunner seat of a jeep, the Ubi rep makes a few cursory sweeps of the encampment before driving off into the grassland - and the enemy militia are soon right behind him, having commandeered their own jeep. Immediately the game explodes into action - Far Cry 2's AI is characteristically aggressive, with enemies opening fire at the slightest sign of disturbance. Our demoist begins behind a tree on top of a hill, armed with a machete, and creeps down through tall grasses and a drying-out brook before encountering a small encampment of militia. The development team, our demoist explains, all went to Africa to research the look and feel of the place, and there is a strong emphasis on authenticity by the time the game is released, he claims, we'll feel like we're really there. Even at this earliest of stages, though, Far Cry 2 looks impressive. Most immediately noticeable is the fact that we're no longer prowling around an island Far Cry 2 is set in Africa, and so involves plenty of plains and grassland as opposed to dense foliage and ostentatiously gorgeous tropical backdrops. We're no longer playing as Jack Carver - the development team is keen on choice, and so we will be able to 'play as who we like', although this wasn't elaborated upon. This is clearly a very different game from Far Cry, which is perhaps unsurprising given that Crytek has moved on to new pastures new. As our demonstrator was keen to emphasise, there's no bullshit here.
Instead of parading some incredibly beautiful, dolled-up CG trailer in front of the assembled, smelly press in the inevitably overcrowded showroom, tempting us with what might be without actually showing anything of the game proper, Ubisoft has made the comparatively brave decision to show us the actual, rough-around-the-edges, pre-alpha gameplay, and let that speak for itself no fluff, no teaser trailers, no pre-rendered screenshots.
Yesterday saw its world premiere at the Leipzig GC, and it was a notably unflirtatious affair. Meanwhile, the Ubisoft-developed Far Cry 2 has been developing an entirely different character.
It's a mantle that seems to have been eagerly taken up by Crysis, Crytek's new poster girl - it's been teasing us for years in exactly the same way. In his review of the original Far Cry, Kristan characterised the game as something of a tease, a temptress, shamelessly flaunting its beauty in front of anyone who'd look - and hypnotised by its lip-lickingly lush jungles and shiny, pretty guns, few could resist.
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