But in Far Cry 2 you can’t simply charge directly at your prey and start swinging away. The mercs are well armed, and won’t hesitate to gun you down if you’re detected. Instead, you must stalk them, approaching from behind. For obvious reasons, night is the best time to attempt machete attacks. The merc AI has limited vision at night, making it easy to get in close for melee kills. Plus, the AI is less when the sun sets and more likely to doze off. But remember, not all machete strikes are lethal. Your victim may fall to the ground and cry out for help, alerting more guards. You can either finish him off with a downward stabbing motion, or simply leave him to bleed out. The more noise he makes, the more buddies he’ll attract. So consider using your wounded victim as bait, ambushing his buddies as they rush over to help. But you’ll need to find a good hiding spot to stage an effective ambush. High grass and foliage are all effective, especially if you purchased the camo suit.

For added style, unlock the homemade and primitive machetes by registering with Ubi.com. If you’ve already linked your gamertag to your Ubi.com account, the process is easy. Just choose Additional Content from the main menu, then select the Exclusive Content option to begin the process. The bonus machetes perform just like the original, but look a bit more intimidating. Happy hunting!

Uzi: Whether you bought the MAC-10 or not, the Uzi should be one of your first purchases in Bowa-Seko. It’s available as soon as you enter the district and at only 20 diamonds, it’s the best secondary firearm you can purchase.

M-249 SAW: If you enjoy sniping and haven’t bought the PKM, seriously consider picking up the M-249 for only 20 diamonds. While it’s less powerful than the PKM, it’s much easier to operate, benefiting from lighter recoil. It’s also very versatile, allowing you to choose more specialized weapons for your primary weapon slot.

AR-16: This is the only assault rifle with a telescopic sight. The scope isn’t as powerful as those found on sniper rifles, but it’s a nice touch and very easy to use; just put the green dot over the target and pull the trigger. However, the rifle has some serious reliability issues. So always pick-up a fresh one when visiting an armory.

MGL-140: If you didn’t buy the M-79, consider splurging on this semi-automatic grenade launcher. This can lay waste to guard posts and other lightly defended areas in a matter of seconds. At 35 diamonds, it’s a big purchase, but it’s well worth it…especially if you like to watch things blow up.

Carl G Rocket Launcher: I love using this rocket launcher for assassination missions. All you have to do is fly the rocket near the target and mission complete. It’s a somewhat common weapon in Bowa-Seko and can be found on some snipers. But it’s a good idea to own one yourself if you’ve got 35 diamonds to spare.

Homeland 37: Sure it’s just a basic pump shotgun, but at only four diamonds it’s a steal. Before going to Mike’s Bar for the first time you have to buy a weapon at the weapon’s shop, during the tutorial phase. Make this shotgun your first purchase.

IEDs: The IEDs (10 diamonds) are the best way to take out convoys and sabotage equipment. You’ll definitely want to make this purchase before going after the weapon convoys. If you place several along a road you can take out the target as well as the escorts.

MAC-10: When you’re not carrying around IEDs in your secondary weapon slot, equip yourself with a MAC-10, available after taking out the second weapon convoy for 10 diamonds. This is easily the best back-up weapon available in Leboa-Sako, ideal when carrying a sniper rifle in your primary slot.

AK-47: Also available from the second weapon convoy for 10 diamonds, this is the best assault rifle in the northern district. In fact, it’s the most reliable assault rifle in the whole game, though not quite as reliable as its golden counterpart.

Dragunov SVD: You’ll need to take out all four weapon convoys to acquire this weapon in Leboa-Sako, but it’s well worth the effort. At 20 diamonds it’s one of the more expensive weapons in the northern district but it’s also the most well rounded sniper rifle in the game. So avoid buying the M1903. Instead, save your diamonds for this semi-automatic beast.

Dart Rifle: If you still have some extra money after buying the Dragunov SVD, pick-up a Dart Rifle for only 10 diamonds. This is great for silently picking off sentries and is most effective at night. But the ammo capacity is very limited and you can’t buy the Marksman Bandolier until you reach Bowa-Seko.

At the bargain price of only 64 diamonds these weapons should be more than adequate to help you get through the six faction missions in Leboa-Sako. Next week we’ll take a look at some essential purchases for Bowa-Seko, the southern district.

Now that I’ve had the chance to dive into the retail version of the game I can finally report on the performance of the gold AK-47. First of all, these weapons are extremely rare and very well-hidden. The easiest one to find is located in the eastern sector of Leboa-Sako. From the weapon shop travel east. On the other side of the mountain (in the southeast area of the sector) is a small roadside shack containing a diamond briefcase and a gold AK-47. Once you have one, hold onto it, storing it in a primary weapon crate when you’re not using it. Otherwise you’ll have to track down another one, and the others are much more difficult to find. So what makes the gold AK-47 so great? Based on my experience, the weapon does not degrade and never jams. I’ve pumped over 1,000 rounds through my gold AK and it hasn’t jammed once, nor has it exploded in my face. That alone makes it worth hunting one down.

Look for the envelope on the table next to this bus. Its contents reveal the location of one of three Leboa-Sako informatns.

The Predecessor: After unlocking the bonus missions, enter the game and start playing. If you’re resuming from a saved game, complete any current objectives then return to Pala, where you’ll receive a phone call from an anonymous source as soon as you enter the town’s cease-fire zone. If you’ve just started a game, complete the tutorial missions then wait for the phone call as you exit the church, after receiving your malaria medication from Father Maliya in the Delivery mission. When the phone rings, answer it and listen closely. After the phone call concludes, an envelope icon appears on your in-game map in the southwest sector: this is where your predecessor’s messages are located, on a table next to a broken-down bus converted into a shack. The shack is usually guarded by three mercs, so take them out before approaching. Grab the envelope on the table next to the flare gun. This will lead you to one the predecessor’s three informants in Leboa-Sako chosen at random: the Moroccan, the Georgian, or the Bolivian. You new objective appears on the map as a white icon. Go to the marker, find the informant, and retrieve the nearby audio tape. You must do this three times to retrieve all three of the informant audio tapes in Leboa-Sako. So after getting the first tape, return to Pala to spawn the next message at the bus in the southeast sector, retrieve the envelope at the bus, then find the second informant’s audio tape. Repeat the same steps to locate the third informant’s audio tape. The informant tapes are separate from the Jackal tapes and reveal more information about your predecessor’s mission and the Jackal.

Go to the post office to retrieve the messages revealing the locations of the three Bowa-Seko informants.

Special Delivery: There are three informants in Bowa-Seko too. You can access them after completing Hornet’s Nest, the mission where you escort the Jackal’s barge. Your phone will ring when you reach Port Selao, and a new envelope icon appears on the map at the post office in the western sector. Sneak or fight your way into the post office and grab the envelope on the counter to reveal the location of one of the three randomly chosen Bowa-Seko informants: the American, Le Francais, or the Brit. Go to the location indicated on the map (white objective icon) to find the informant and retrieve the nearby audio tape. Repeat the process for the other two informants. Go to Port Sealo to spawn a new message at the post office, get the message from the post office, then find the informant and their audio tape.

Pre-Deceased: Once you have all six informant tapes (three from Leboa-Sako and three from Bowa-Seko) you will get a phone call as soon as you enter Port Selao revealing the location of your predecessor. He’s located on the island (Sehlakalase) in the middle of Lake Segolo. Follow the objective marker to the cabin to complete the set of bonus missions.

2. The LPO-50 flamethrower is a great way to quickly eliminate enemies in assault trucks. Duck behind cover and wait for an assault truck to approach, then when it’s nearby, stand up and douse the vehicle in flames. Due to the vehicle’s open sides and rear, the driver and gunner don’t stand a chance. Just make sure you’re not hit by the truck before you can attack-if you’re spotted, the driver will try to run you down.

3. The enemy AI’s vision is significantly reduced at night, making it harder for them to detect you. Hiding in tall grass or behind shrubs can also make it difficult for them to spot you. For best results, stay on higher elevations too. If you’re standing on lower terrain, they’ll have a much easier time detecting you.

4. The turrets on swamp boats only fire in a limited forward arc. So if facing a hostile swamp boat head-on, throttle past it at full speed to get out of the kill zone. The hostile boat must then turn completely around before it can reacquire you, by which time you should be well out of range.

5. If you injure an enemy, they will usually cry out, triggering an alert. But be careful when killing enemies too-alerts are propagated when bodies are discovered too. So be mindful of where bodies drop and try to neutralize targets outside the sight lines of their comrades.

6. When attacking convoys with IEDs, place your first device near a landmark that’s easy to distinguish from long range, such as a tree or signpost. Once you move to a safe distance, spotting the IEDs on a road can be difficult without the aid of your monocular, so using a landmark allows you to easily identify the blast zone. Therefore all you have to do is watch the landmark and detonate the explosives when the convoy passes it.

7. Bus stations function like a warp, taking you directly from one station to another, allowing you to bypass all the hostile forces along the way. The bus is also a great way to get back to town after completing a mission. Use them as frequently as possible.

8. Long grass has grains at the top of each blade and provides the most effective concealment. If attempting to hide in shorter grass (without the grains), enemies will have no trouble spotting you. When using the Camo Suit upgrade, you’re virtually invisible while remaining motionless in high grass.

9. When firing rocket launchers, a large plume of fiery exhaust shoots out the back of the tube. So be mindful of your surroundings. If you’re standing in dry grass, it may cause a wild fire, setting your legs on fire shortly after the launch. For best results, stand on rocks or other nonflammable surfaces when firing rockets.

10. Setting wild fires is a great way to distract hostile units. The AI recognizes fire as a separate threat and will take steps to avoid it, making it a kind of force multiplier working in your favor. But pay close attention to the wind before going pyro. Orient your attack so the wind is at your back, blowing toward the enemy-watch the swaying movement of grass and trees to determine the wind’s direction. Wind can carry a fire quickly, especially when moving through dry grass. Fire is less effective in lush (green) or wet environments. Starting a raging wild fire during or after a rainstorm is nearly impossible.

• Gamestop/EB Games: 6 Bonus Missions (3 hrs of game play) and a Full-Size Fold-Out Map for all Far Cry 2 pre-orders.
• Circuit City: Free strategy guide with purchase of Far Cry 2 on P33 or Xbox 360. This appears to be an in-store deal only, mentioned in the weekly ad. If ordered online, you get a $10 gift card. Free digital download of Far Cry 1 for those buying the PC version.
• Best Buy: Free shipping for online orders; all platforms.

There may be more deals out there so shop around and feel free to post any other offers in the comments  under this post. Later in the week we’ll post some Far Cry 2 tips here, so check back for some crucial survival advice…you’ll need it. Good hunting!

Tomorrow (Monday) I leave for Valve in Bellevue, WA for a 5-day Left 4 Dead crash-course survival training session. This is a game I’ve been eyeing since it was announced a couple of years ago. The prospect of fighting through a class-3 zombie outbreak sounds like a fun. But doing it in co-op with up to three friends sounds like an absolute blast. Plus, the zombie/post-apocalyptic genre has always been a favorite of mine. In preparation, I think I’ll go through some of my favorite George A. Romero movies tonight. And I’m definitely taking Max Brooks’ books (The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z) with me on the plane…even though I’ve read them several times. Anyway, I’ll try to post an entry from the road to let you all know how the game looks and whether my knowledge of fighting off the infected has paid off. If all I say in my next post is, “BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!”, you’ll know something tragic has transpired.

Although I’ve been playing shooters for more than a decade, I’ve only dabbled with map editors in the past. Largely because they were very difficult to use, meaning it would literally take days or weeks to create anything worthwhile. But with Far Cry 2’s powerful tools, creating an awesome map is shockingly simple. Considering what I accomplished in a couple of hours, I’m very excited to see what the community can come up with in the days and weeks following the game’s release. One really exciting feature is the ability to download and edit maps created by other users. So if you upload a map and get a three-star rating, someone else could download, edit it, and upload the updated version and possibly get a five-star rating. But the editor doesn’t get full credit; the original creator’s signature remains on the map for its lifetime. This could result in the formation of a very robust map-making community, with multiple users applying input to fine tune a single map. However, one thing I am concerned about is that the map editor is so much fun to use that there might be fewer and fewer gamers playing the actual maps. But one thing is certain. There will never be a shortage of Far Cry 2 maps to choose from.

It seems that most games on the market strive to provide a great single player experience or a deep and addictive multplayer mode. It’s uncommon you find both in the same title, but I think Far Cry 2 has pulled it off. This isn’t one of those games that will only take you 8-10 hours to complete and forget. Ubisoft is boasting anywhere from 25-50 hours of gameplay in the single player “campaign” alone. And since I recently completed the game, I can say that’s a very accuracte estimate. But it doesn’t end with single player.

The multiplayer mode has 14 maps, 4 different modes, and an addictive persistence system that’ll have you playing “one more round” for hours beyond your bedtime. Most exciting of all is the amazing map editor which will practically guarantee a fresh batch of maps everytime you login. We haven’t seen this kind of free-form user-created content in console gaming before, so it will be ineresting to see how it plays out. Of course, most of the maps will be complete garbage. But the team has already addressed that by implementing a ranking system. So in theory, the best maps will rise to the top. Still, we probably won’t see the really great maps until a few weeks after release. But until then, Ubisoft’s 14 maps should keep everyone plenty busy.

Overall, the amount of quality and content Ubisoft is giving us puts most other titles to shame. After Far Cry 2 it’ll be hard to play a 10 hour game and feel like you got your money’s worth.

Far Cry 2 Links:

• Check out this awesome developer diary chronicling the development team’s trip to Kenya; it’s only part 1 with more to come.
• Here’s another video of Clint showing off the map editor at the Leipzig a few weeks ago.