Sneek Peek: Far Cry 2

We find out what Ubisoft is doing to try and beat CryTek at its own game.

Far Cry 2 doesn’t have much to do with CryTek’s original masterpiece. That’s partly because CryTek has nothing to do with it, having handed over the name and rights to Ubisoft, and partly because CryTek’s Crysis is swallowing up column inches in the gaming press.

But just because Far Cry 2 is slipping under the radar isn’t to say that the guys and girls at Ubisoft Montreal aren’t creating something worthy of our attention. In fact, it may even beat CryTek at its own game.

The best way to describe Far Cry 2 is to highlight what’s been dropped from the original: Jack Carver’s gone, the idyllic island paradise is out, the linear mission structure has been abandoned, and CryTek’s powerhouse CryENGINE has been extensively modified, so much that it’s almost a whole new engine. Patrick Redding, narrative designer on Far Cry 2, describes a darker, grittier contrast to Far Cry’s luscious, fantastical backdrop.

‘The player starts the game having already been dispatched to a failed state somewhere in Africa, assigned to track down and eliminate an infamous arms dealer,’ says Redding.

‘The country is in a state of lawless anarchy, with all the power in the hands of two warlords and their armed militia, backed by foreign mercenaries. In order to track down his target, the player is forced to make deals and take on jobs for these warlords that are too dirty for their own soldiers.’

Not only is Jack Carver out of the picture, but Ubisoft has taken the opportunity to avoid a single protagonist altogether. Far Cry 2 seems similar in spirit to the team-based mercenaries in Jagged Alliance.

‘[The player] instead selects his avatar from nine possible characters, the remainder of whom appear later throughout the game as the player’s buddies,’ adds Redding.

Similarly, the non-linear gameplay resembles the open RPG-like worlds of Stalker or GTA, rather than the plot-driven structure of the original. According to Redding, the player can change the course of the story and alter their standing with the game’s various factions through a range of mission types.

‘The open-world structure supports a variety of exploration missions and side-quests, each of which rewards the player with valuable resources that significantly enhance his chances of survival.’

Like Crysis, clever use of the environment will play a large role in completing missions. For example, the player could observe the direction of the wind and use a flamethrower to start a bushfire that spreads to the enemy camp, setting all combustible objects on fire. For a game to offer such complexity, however, it needs a suitably next-generation engine like Ubisoft’s new Dunia technology (expect to see an Engine Room on it real soon).

‘Dunia is based on CryENGINE, but constitutes at least 90 percent new technology, allowing it to offer your standard bag of DirectX 9 and 10 effects, as well as managing procedurally generated environments.

‘Our engine supports a lot of new features that make the environment, characters, AI, and animation realistic and believable. We were able to create a fully open world of 50km2, with dynamic and destructible vegetation. Our engine also allows us to have a 24-hour day-night cycle (with a fully dynamic lighting system).

‘We have a procedural sky rendering system that allows us to manipulate the weather according to our wish and the sky adapts. We have new fire technology with a realistic propagation system, so basically everything that looks like it can burn, will,’ says Redding.

Far Cry 2 is due for release in spring of this year on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. You can find more info on Dunia and follow its progress at the official blog site.