I went on a bit of a nostalgia trip and installed Far Cry 2 again. That, and I'd been playing a lot of Elden Ring and Slay the Spire recently, which are full of all sorts of management, synergies and complexities, so I was craving for something simpler. More than 15 years later this is still one of the highlights of the entire 7th generation of shooters for me, and IMO criminally underappreciated to this day. Everyone always touts Far Cry 3, but there's a stripped down grit to FC2 that hasn't been in the series since - or many games at all for that matter. Far Cry 3 feels like an action movie with colourful characters and huge setpieces. FC2 feels like a grim war documentary, and it's more about the evironment and the atmosphere than any kind of narrative. There's a sense of savagery and nihilism that permeates the game in all aspects: characters are amoral, everything is run down and littered with garbage, and the reasons behind the conflict in the game are never elaborated on. The diamond collection element is so simple, yet so elegant: it encourages exploration and alertness with an actual tangible reward, and doesn't litter the map with icons you need to tidy up.
To this day this is one of the most immersive games I've ever played. The lighting in this game feels like it's generations ahead of its time, and the amount of environmental detail impresses still today. The detail extends well beyond the graphics: this is IMO perhaps the only game ever where weapon degradation actually improves the experience by reinforcing the setting. Fire spreads realistically, rocket launchers have a backdraft, weapons accumulate rust and filth as they degrade, the list goes on. With just a single 50MB mod download this game almost looks like it could be released today. The blistering heat of the savannah just pours off the screen, and the extremely minimalist approach to the HUD combined with there never being a single perspective shift creates a sense of place I've seen matched in only a few games. Just look at this sunset, man:
View attachment 10894
In short, holds up like a (heh),
diamond.