When Ubisoft revealed Far Cry 2 last summer at Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, we were surprised. Certainly the company's insistence on PC exclusivity for the sequel was surprising, but even more was the stark change in setting, tone, and gameplay. While its PC-only status has changed to a multi-platform release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game still amazes us in the daring new approach it takes as a first-person shooter. Beyond fulfilling our own lofty expectations, Far Cry 2 has the makings of one of the year's finest games.

“We wanted to get a slice of Africa into the game from the plains to the jungles,” explains Producer Clint Hocking. As an unnamed protagonist, you venture across two humongous tracts of land measuring 25 square miles modeled after the wilds of Africa. Your motivation for trekking across such an enormous expanse comes in the form of vengeance. An infamous arms dealer known as the Jackal has become the object of your obsession, leading you to eliminate his warlords one by one. Through thick jungles to dry savanna to dank swamps, revenge drives you forward across the game's beautiful recreation of the African wilderness.

Hocking points out that the variation in terrain only supports how the game plays. “Putting variety into the environment only boosts the variety we're getting out of the dynamic gameplay.” Far Cry 2 departs from the original not just in its setting, but in the dynamic interactions had with other characters and the surrounding environment. The experience is marked by unpredictability. While most games rely on scripting to determine how you progress, this is a game that is wholly shaped by how you decide to proceed through its open spaces. You're free to engage enemies in open gun fights or sneak by without conflict. Perhaps you want to kill a friend and take their gun or even set fire to a jungle. For Hocking and his team, the ability to venture into the world of Far Cry 2 and tackle problems in your own way is at the core of the game's design.

Playing through a mission illustrates his point. Our goal, after meeting with a local named Frank, is to destroy a radio antenna providing communications for bandits camped nearby. Disabling their communications would help the locals out, but you're free to give Frank the finger and go on your way. “You could even shoot him on the spot if you want,” chuckles Hocking. We throw Frank a bone and take on his favor. Pulling up a paper map allows for quick orientation with our position and the location of our objective. Since the camp is a good couple clicks off our current position, we hop into a muddy jeep to drive out of the riverbank jungle up to the bandit camp situated on a grassy hill. Other vehicles in the game include a red coupe and a motorboat that can be used to navigate the various waterways that snake across the map.

Upon ascending to the camp, Hocking instructs us that the best way of accomplishing the objective is to remain as stealthy as possible. Two steps later, however, and the bandits have been alerted to our presence, unleashing a firestorm of bullets. Quick shots with a pistol and an occasional swipe with a machete effectively dispatch a couple of enemies on the ground, whereas switching to a rocket launcher with a tap of the directional pad works in taking out a sniper's nest in the distance. Mind your fire though, as the explosion from the rocket catches an adjacent tree on fire. Leave the fire untouched, Hocking outlines, and it will spread realistically through grass and other vegetation. In fact, even local wildlife will begin to react by rushing out of the area.