From time to time I'll buy a game on a whim. Steam makes it a little too easy to purchase on demand. Usually I'll be bored, look through my Steam game list, and then move on to see what's on sale. This time I noticed Far Cry 2 for $10. It's been out for a little while now and I don't really remember much about it from the reviews and what not, but I remember a friend liking it. Or at least I think I do. So what the heck, no real expectations going in. 
 
Here are some thoughts after roughly 20 minutes of play. It's pretty. I know it's a couple of years old now, but scenery, lighting, textures still look pretty good. Unfortunately, the frame rate can get pretty choppy in some parts. Now I would never claim that I have an awesome gaming PC or anything, I consider it to be mid-range, but for whatever reason, the auto detection on the game decided to put all the settings at high and very high so I left them there. Walking around is typically alright, but when I start driving through forested areas, my computer has a hard time keeping up with all the shadows and things. 
 
The gun play is pretty unsatisfying. Granted I've only shot a few people, but the AI doesn't seem all that great. It seems like people will typically just run around a corner to be gunned down by you. One guy ran up behind me before declaring that he was calling for backup. I watched him shoot a flare up into the sky before shooting him. No backup ever came. 
 
I don't have a strong desire to keep playing, we'll see what happens, but after 20 minutes it looks like Steam wins this time.