Other than its name, Far Cry 2 has surprisingly little in common with its predecessor. The setting is different, with all the action taking place in an arid, unnamed Central African state rather than the lush tropical island of the original.

The main protagonist has changed too: Far Cry’s hero, Jack Carver, is out, and in his place you can elect to play as one of nine mercenary characters, though our choices didn’t appear to influence gameplay in any significant way.

The story also has little to do with the first Far Cry game. There’s no Doctor Moreau-style sci-fi sub-plot this time round - instead you’ll find yourself embroiled in a much grittier world of arms dealing and civil war.

What you do get is an evolution of Fry Cry’s excellent open-ended take on first-person shooting. Just like the original, Far Cry 2 allows the player to approach most situations from a variety of different angles: go in all guns blazing, pick off enemies from afar or try a sneakier approach.

Further to this, Far Cry 2 presents a vast open world to explore. There are so many places to see – entire deserts, jungles, towns, oases and savannas – that a fold-out map is included in the box, in addition to the in-game map and the GPS navigation units fixed to the windscreens of all the vehicles it's possible to commandeer.

The main task is to track down and take out The Jackal, an arms dealer who's instrumental in stirring up trouble between the factions vying for control of the country. The problem is that Mr Jackal isn’t an easy person to find, so you need to make new contacts and carry out missions for them in order to advance.

On top of that, your character is suffering from a nasty case of malaria (which can flare up at any time and needs to be kept at bay with medication) and just about everyone (except a handful of friendly fellow mercenary buddies) wants to shoot you dead.

Far Cry 2 is a phenomenal technical achievement. On a relatively high-powered PC the game looks stunning, with incredibly detailed environments and sumptuous lighting effects. It can also be an extremely immersive experience and, with a lengthy single-player campaign plus solid multiplayer options, you get a lot of game for your money.