Far Cry 2 (PC)

Far Cry 2 has some of the best explosions in the business

Vehicles are great for cover as well as transport

It’s best to keep some of the game’s factions on your side

The environmental graphics are both stunning and highly varied

It’s been over four years since the release of the first Far Cry, and Far Cry 2 has almost nothing in common with it beyond being a first-person shooter with excellent graphics and advanced artificial intelligence. It’s by a different developer, and you now play one of eight different mercenary characters out to catch an arms dealer nicknamed “The Jackal.”

The sci-fi enemies have also been jettisoned in favour of a much more realistic game where survival skills are just as important as a good aim. The rules of engagement--either by stealth or all guns blazing--are entirely up to you.

• Virtual safari: The game features 20 square miles of terrain for you to travel, filled with realistic fauna and flora and fully destructible trees and buildings.
• Fiery realism: With an all-new graphics engine created just for the game, fire moves and propagates exactly as in real-life, with vegetation breaking and snapping realistically.
• The coming storm: A dynamic weather system changes to reflect your mood, with the sky turning dark and stormy during bad times.
• Jungle survival: Highly realistic weapons degrade with use, bullets need to be dug out of your body, and vehicles break down if pushed beyond their limits.
• Buying friends: Meet and co-operate with fellow mercenaries as you pit different factions against one another in a war-torn African state.