Far Cry 2 = GTA IV

I’ve played a bit more of Far Cry 2 and thoroughly enjoyed roaming the African landscape as a mercenary hired to hunt down The Jackal, the region’s most powerful gun smuggler. The game is like a cross between Fallout 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, open-world sandbox play from the former, hardcore first-person shooter from the latter.

Actually, Far Cry 2 resembles more closely another recent release, Grand Theft Auto IV. In fact, other than setting, the two games could almost be fraternal twins. FC2’s core game play model is almost lifted directly from GTAIV. I’ve read numerous reviews of FC2 and am surprised that no one mentioned the uncanny resemblance between the two games. For instance, my Irish mercenary receives missions via his cell phone. And when I need to get from point A to point B, I simply jump into the nearest abandoned vehicle. There is no currency in the game but diamonds, which I can use to buy equipment—mostly guns, but later in the game I think I can buy other stuff too.

I’m not criticizing FC2, just pointing out that many reviewers hailed it for its open-ended game play and sandbox nature without mentioning the obvious inspiration the developers got from other bestselling material. I mean, even the game’s cover art looks like that of GTAIV!

Be that as it may, the game is a lot of fun and now that I’m done roaming the Wasteland, I plan to hunt this Jackal down.