Sheer class.
Before I go any further, it seems important to stress that this is an excellent game, utilising beautiful graphics. Consequently, if you only just reach the minimum requirements, you may have a somewhat different experience to me. My specs for reference are 3400+, 2 gigs pc3200, X800XT. I play with all settings on max, 1280*1024, so my comments on the graphics will largely draw from this experience. I used to have a geforce4mx, and of course, with this you miss out on the dx9 effects such as water reflections and shadows. Without further waffling therefore, here we go...
Graphics - 9/10
The graphics on this game are without doubt some of the best out there, and whilst it came out many months ago, it is still able to easily rival newer key titles such as Doom 3 and Half Life 2. The tropical paradise setting is brilliantly crafted; grass wafts in the wind, palm trees are immaculately detailed and waves lap up onto the realistic beaches. Not only is the vegetation good looking, but it is also functional, as it will aid your quest to remain hidden from enemies. Gun models are fairly well done, and the enemies you come across, ranging from mercenaries through to mutated monkey "trigens" are also well detailed, even if the mercenaries do appear a little 'shiny' at times.
Best viewed from the sky in a hang glider, the environments in Far Cry stretch into the far distances, and give a real sense of scale to the levels. Though some of the indoor levels can be somewhat dark, there is generally a good balance between enclosed areas with little lighting, and expansive vistas of sheer beauty. For all the 6*** geforce owners out there, there is also the added bonus of being able to apply High Dynamic Range lighting to the game, making the sun ultra bright, and creating some visually brilliant shadow effects. Water is also stunning, with reflections and realistic behaviour, it adds to the tropical feel. Therefore graphics are generally well polished, even closer up, textures still don't get too bland.
Gameplay - 9/10
Perhaps the most important facets of a game is how it plays, and though I have been compelled to play through this game 3 times, there are still instances that frustrate me, leading to a lower score. Firstly, Far Cry is far more tactical than most FPS's out there. To be successful, you will need to use cover wisely, and on your HUD, there is a useful meter to show how visible you are. Enemies are both the highlight, and the downfall of this game. AI is generally excellent, and mercenaries in particular will attempt - mostly successfully - flanking maneuvers and attempt to use tactics, rather than just running straight at you, though they sometimes do this in the indoor levels.
Tactically, there are different ways to play this game, but with the ability to only carry 4 weapons at once, you will have to make some choices about short, and long range weaponry, as well as availability of ammo, which may often be in short supply. Despite the fact that you can only carry 4 weapons at any one time, the variety of weapons is fairly extensive, and should keep the player interested with alternate firing modes, such as grenades, and zoom features, such as on the OICW. The binoculars will also prove a useful device for spotting enemies from afar.
Use of vehicles is also very well utilised in the game - variety includes 4x4's, a buggy, patrol boat, and fork lift truck amongst a few others. Many of these vehicles have mounted guns, and as such it adds a fun factor to trekking through the jungle. Level design also means that there is never a single linear way to an objective, especially on the outdoor levels. You may find that flanking the enemy can be more beneficial than taking on the enemy camp head on, or may choose to go in a ll guns blazing to cause a distraction. This, combined with the number of difficulty levels (5 in all) really add to the replayability of the game, but more of that later...
So with all this praise, why do I have to deduct points form a seemingly perfect system? Unfortunately, the answer is due to the large amount of bugs, which none of the patches seem to fix. These mainly consist of enemies getting stuck, or turning away from you, firing at no-one, and yet still hitting you. I hoped that the patches would sort this out, but sadly they haven't, and take away from a perfect score.
Sound - 8/10
Sound is generally well done, but the mercenary conversations can grate sometimes. Sound effects are all good, with weapons sounding as they should, and plants rustling as you pass. However, the voice acting on the part of the main characters is not carried off very well at all, and the attitude of Jack Carver may sometimes leave you wondering why they had to spoil such a good game with poor voice acting. Lip synching is fairly good, although more recent games are showing a greater grasp of this aspect in games. Trigens however, do sound genuinely scary, and atmosphere is well done in these levels.
Story/Replayability - 9/10
Without giving too much away, my introduction should give you some idea of how the story begins. Despite my frustrations with the voice acting in cut scenes (through which the main parts of the story are told) the story stands up quite well with a few good twists. That said, it is nothing particularly revolutionary, yet solid nonetheless.
Replayability is the best feature of this game though. Apart from the flaws that I have pointed out earlier in the review, it is a thoroughly enjoyable game, even only considering the single player campaign. The higher difficulty levels really do give a different gaming experience, and the ability for the mercenaries to kill you in a short burst of rifle fire on the highest difficulty, regardless of how much health you have will prove challenging to the most hardened of FPS veterans. There is also to auto-balance the AI, which means the accuracy and damage that the enemies do will adjust during the levels, depending on your progress.
Whilst people have had some compatibility problems with multiplayer, once working correctly , this part of the game is also extremely addictive with different game types to try your hand at. It is no perhaps as popular as UT2004, but there are good severs out there. The real replay value lies in the single player campaign, which is lengthy, varied and more importantly fun throughout.
Overall, I give this 9/10 as it is a great game, that I would encourage every FPS fan, or even those new to the genre to at least consider, especially now that it is down in price, yet it is flawed in some aspects, steering me away from giving it a perfect score. Without the bugs and with better voice acting, this would without doubt deserve a 10.