Far Cry 2

First things first - this is not a true sequel. It's got a different developer (Ubisoft Montreal), setting, game play and characters. There are no sci-fi super-senses either. Really, the only thing that connects this African-set Far Cry with its tropical predecessor is the title and the first-person perspective. But no matter, because this Far Cry is a far cry better than the first one. Upending the usual conventions of open-ended worlds, FC2 ditches urban realism and medieval fantasy for a bloody trek through a beautiful but violence-plagued continent. Set in the midst of a central African civil war, you are a mercenary tasked with assassinating the Jackal, an arms dealer supplying the warlords on both sides, neither of which could be considered "good guys." Instead, the game is better broken down into innocent civilians and guilty soldiers. Also, you have malaria, which adds an interesting strategy complication. Other than that you're pretty much given free rein to go where you like within the game's 50 square km landscape - including savannah grasslands, dusty plains and deep jungle - progressing at your own pace, working with locals and battling both factions in your efforts to save lives and bring this war to a close. There could be more wildlife, to encourage longer mental-health safari breaks, but otherwise Far Cry 2 is one of 2008's best efforts.