Far Cry. Yep, I had to post this.

[Mad Max RW]

Far Cry is fucking amazing. Bought it yesterday mostly out of curiosity. It was only $40 so no big deal. And I'm happy I did. At 1024x768x32 with all settings at High it runs beautifully. Everything looks really god damn good. I've been in the tropical rainforests of Hawaii before, and this is as close to that experience as you're gonna get in a video game. There's like a vastness to it. But at the same time it's claustrophobic. You can run for hours in a dense jungle not seeing more than a few feet ahead of you and tree canopies blocking out the sky. Then suddenly find yourself standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out to miles of green mountains with the bright blue sky reflected off a distant ocean.

It's not just about looks, though. Gameplay is very solid. Enemy AI works extremely well outside. They'll talk to each other, target practice, patrol around, whatever. In battle they mostly work in teams. If you're sniping a group of mercs half a mile down a mountain, they'll alert guys you don't even know exist of your position. A minute or 2 later a group will sneak up behind you. They go to wherever you were seen or heard last. That's what I love about the infinite rocks item. Cycling through the types of grenades will bring up one type that is simply a rock. Throw it and they will crack off whatever and alert guys. Throw too many and they'll know where you are. Indoors AI isn't too hot. They attack single file, but still manage to find cover which is good.

Controls are very good. You can lean, go prone, use this awesome hightech binoculars to "target" guys or listen to conversations and stuff far away. There's also an alert meter telling you how aware the enemy is of your presence. Throwing grenades and rocks is easy. It's a separate "Throw" button, so there's no need to switch weapons. Think Team Fortress.

The main weak point of Far Cry is the storyline. It reminds me of a cheesy 80's action movie like Commando or something. Guy gets stranded on a tropical island and has to save his girlfriend while uncovering a strange scientific conspiracy. I'm past the point where you save the girl, then for some reason she wants to split up again on the island leaving you to kill more crappy mutant Apes and mercenaries.

After playing almost nonstop for the last 18 hours I'm still having lots of fun. If you have a decent rig (more like top of the line) then definitely check this one out. When I beat the game I'm going back to play again, because there's so many ways to do shit and places to see it's not even funny.