14 DAY TRIAL // It's going to be a bumpy ride going into the fall release schedule. Ubisoft has finally revealed a clear release date for its upcoming shooter frenzy called Far Cry 2 and the game is set to debut in close proximity to other eagerly waited titles like Dead Space, Resistance 2 and Fallout 3. The new Ubisoft shooter will make it to stores on October 21, for the North American market, and on October 24, if you happen to live in Europe.
The game will sell for 49. 99 $ on the PC and for 59.99 $ on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The publisher is also talking about a Collector's Edition for the game which will probably retail for around 79.99 $. It is set to contain a book called "Art of Far Cry 2", which will include artistic rendering of some of the objects you will see in the game, a guide book which will offer precious clues regarding the game world, a making of Far Cry 2 DVD, and a full map which depicts all the 50 square kilometers of the game world in full detail. It seems that this Collector's Edition might only be available through some retailers, although no details have surfaced.
One thing I don't understand is why Ubisoft chooses to get the game out in Europe a full three days after the North American launch. Taking into account that Ubisoft is based in France and that representatives of the company have more than once said that the European market is especially important for the publisher, it would have made sense to launch the game at the same date on both markets. It couldn't have hurt to make the North American customer wait three more days.
Other than that, Far Cry 2 is shaping up to be a great game, with a wide open world, interesting tactical challenges and gorgeous visuals. Be sure to check it out in late October.