The world of Far Cry 2 is comprised of varied elements, right down to the races of your enemies--which at first seems a little strange given the setting. When asked why there were white and Asian enemies in the middle of Africa, Amancio explained that this fictional country has seen an influx of foreign mercenaries due to the promise of blood diamonds.

"Once the government collapsed and they realized there were no big diamond mines, these mercs basically declared bankruptcies, so these guys are stuck there," he added. "They don't want to leave because they have too much invested in it. So that's why there's a big diversity, there's white guys, black guys, Asian guys. It's a big variety of people."

When further questioned as to whether this was simply a cute way of getting around having only black people as foes, Amancio stressed that Ubisoft's game is simply using Africa as a setting, and is meant to be apolitical in nature.

"Our game is really not about any of the--it's not political, it's not about any of the problems that are taking place in the African continent. Our game is about a self journey, about trust and betrayal and a journey into the heart of darkness. You have to go and find this man, this merchant of death, but to get to him, the things you have to do, you're sort of becoming him. It's an analysis of morality. So thats the subject, that's the goal of the game. Not anything political, or anything racial or whatever. We really didn't want to draw attention to that, because that's not the issue at all--it never was."

Even the zebras and other animals--very impressively animated, by the way--are politically correct.

"You can [kill animals]. We don't offer any reward, because we don't want to encourage people to kill wildlife. We stayed away from any species that was even remotely considered endangered. We really didn't want to go there."

Eventually I managed to focus on my mission long enough to place an explosive charge on the water pipe, completing the quest and triggering a confirmation call from Frank.

The demo ended with a look at the glider. Yes, gliding is back, with even more travel potential considering the open, expansive nature of the game. Soaring over the detailed landscapes below, it seemed like there was no way the console version could hold up to the level of detail I was seeing on the PC--but a glance across the room proved otherwise.

After watching the Xbox 360 version for a good while, I had a hard time finding major differences between the two, other than some occasional pop-in on the console. Luckily Amancio, lead artist that he was, had some insight into that particular facet of design.

"There are resolution issues--the PC always runs at a higher resolution, higher textures. Lighting calculations are also more precise on the PC. We have real-time radiosity--this stump here is being illuminated by these rocks here. There's actually light bouncing going on."

Even still, textures and geometry on the 360 looked incredibly close to the PC version. This is because the game was created with relatively lower-resolution textures in mind, the focus being on artistic detail over pure texture size. Leaves were streaked with individual veins, and wood textures had a convincing grain to them.

As for the multiplayer component, Amancio noted that it will have plenty of modes, with a class-based component likely to play a part. He also went into detail on the game's expansive multiplayer map editor, which will also be included on the console version along with a map rating system a la LittleBigPlanet. Users can download maps straight to their console hard drives.

"It will also ship with a level editor. And the level editor, I can tell you, it's probably going to be the most powerful level editor of this generation. One thing Instincts did really well is that it shipped a really cool level editor on console. Our level editor is in that vein, but next level. It's really powerful. We basically give you the same tools that we have to create this game. So I think the maximum map size is half a square kilometer, which is huge.

"We're also planning on doing something where maps are rated, so that way you don't have to sift through 500 maps and say, 'Is this map good?'

Three years ago, who would have thought a non-Crytek developed Far Cry sequel would have been anything but a quick cash-in? Now the reality is that, after almost an hour of taking in Far Cry 2, I still don't feel like I've seen even a fraction of the big picture. The way the developers talk, Far Cry 2 could be a truly epic game, with an ever-changing story, true freedom of progression, and a wide range of activities to keep you busy.

And though you won't be physically pushing aside ferns, or blowing every hut into tiny little pieces, the sheer diversity of art on display is just as impressive. Moving from an idyllic river setting to a barren desert in the span of a few minutes, watching the breeze whip at a patch of grass, you see that Ubisoft is very much crafting a living, breathing world in Far Cry 2, rather than a simple collection of levels.

It's a little bit S.T.A.L.K.E.R., a little bit Grand Theft Far Cry, and very intriguing. Time will tell whether the potential has been fully tapped.

Far Cry 2 is set for release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 later this year.