The game will be entirely open-ended and non-linear. Instead of using individual maps, the game will take place in a sprawling nondescript land in Africa, with terrain ranging from Savannah to jungle[1], similar to those seen in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, Just Cause and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. The gameplay area will be around 50 km2. Some members of the Ubisoft Montreal team spent 2 weeks in several locations in Africa filming and photographing native wildlife. The team will use the animal footage and environment photos to create an extremely realistic environment.
The protagonist of previous Far Cry games, Jack Carver, will not be featured in this game. When Ubisoft interviewed players about the original Far Cry in their research for this game, the interviewees didn't find the character very memorable or likeable.[2] As a result, in the sequel the player will be able to choose from around Nine different characters to play, each with a unique look and back story. All of the playable characters will be different types of mercenaries. The playable characters the player does not choose to play will become non-player characters who are friends of the player's character.[2]
The goal of the player's character will be to find and assassinate "The Jackal"[2], an arms dealer that has been selling weapons to both sides of the conflict that's tearing apart a small fictional African country.[3] The way this is done, however is entirely up to the player, being possible to ally with anyone he/she chooses.
Various factions and vehicles will be featured; enemies will include human mercenaries, but sci-fi creatures such as the mutants from Far Cry will not be featured.[4] Furthermore, the player's feral abilities introduced in Far Cry Instincts and its expansions will not be returning in Far Cry 2. A dynamic weather system has been added that varies the weather based on the players ability - if the player is doing exceptionally well the sky will be clear and sunny, but if problems arise the sky will become dark and stormy.[5]
A pre-Alpha video of the game, showcasing visuals and 13 minutes of gameplay, with developer commentary, is available in .zip format at GamersLand [6]. The video showcases many dynamic gameplay features which included procedural breakage of vegetation, allowing players to shoot down trees and shoot branches and leaves off of trees, which can eventually re-grow. The developers also showcased dynamic propagation of fire, and volumetric wind effects capable of breaking vegetation and spreading fire. Man-made structures were also shown to be highly destructible.
The game will be much more realistic with features such as the player having to use a map and compass to get around, and more life or death related features such as having to use tools to dig bullets out of the body and pat themselves down when on fire. Several species of African wildlife can be encountered in the game, and will be able to distract the enemy as well as make them aware of your presence.[7]
The game's producer, Louis-Pierre Pharand, says that the single player will "potentially have close to 50 hours of game play."[3]
During a demo at the DreamHack Summer 2008 event, Ubisoft developers also showcased some new game play mechanics, such as weapon jamming, vehicle damage, propagating fire, destructible environments, adaptive enemy artificial intelligence, as well as day and night cycles, and dynamic weather.
