Halo in paradise. Plus raw, primeval super-powers. That's how Far Cry won our hard hearts first time out on Xbox. And as a super-slick shooter with sweet vehicles and some of the best jungle we've ever laid eyeballs on too. And jungle looks set to remain the heart of this sequel - but this time around troubled hero Jack Carver looks to be heading for a safari.
Where? Well, we'reguessing the African country of Mali. Much of it is set in the Sahara desert, which would account for the helicopter-and-plane-desert-crash art that leaked from Ubisoft HQ a couple of months back; while it's also home to the Niger and Senegal rivers, forests and a French colonial history which backs up the imperial-looking mansion set deep in the bush in one of the other pics. And of course, if you're the sort of maniac that's obsessed with obscure illegal experiments, such as Far Cry's baddies are wont todabble in, you want a massive country that's easy to get lost in, to be rich enough to bribe local officials and assemble a private militia, and have access to natural resources. Which is Mali again: it has got a ton of phosphates (useful for biochemistry), gold (useful for being very rich) and uranium (you can guess that) - the sort of cocktail insane scientists with an eye on world domination simply love.
So, we reckon it's a perfect setting - but there are a few things we'd like to add to the wishlist. Africa is full of lions and crocodiles and hippopotami and stuff, right? So let's have a few of them roaming the bush to make it even more dangerous. You could be hiding in a bush when all of a sudden a tiger rips your face off! And the local wildlife could give birth to a new range of feral abilities - develop skin as thick as a rhino, the speed and camouflage of a cheetah and a neck the length of a giraffe! Anyone? Alright, maybe not the last one...
