Far Cry 2 vs Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon
Far Cry 2 is an FPS open-world game (2008) while Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon is an FPS open-world game from Ubisoft Montreal (2013).
Quick answer: Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon rates higher, 7.6 to 7.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Far Cry 2 is the cheaper at $9.99.
What each one is
Far Cry 2 is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon under FPS and Open-World.
You are a gun for hire, trapped in a war-torn African state, stricken with malaria and forced to make deals with corrupt warlords on both sides of the conflict in order to make this country your home. You must identify and exploit your enemies' weaknesses, neutralizing their superior numbers and firepower with surprise, subversion,...
Far Cry® 3: Blood Dragon is THE Kick-Ass Cyber Shooter.Welcome to an 80’s vision of the future. The year is 2007 and you are Sargent Rex Colt, a Mark IV Cyber Commando. Your mission: get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
In the wake of a rebellion against the old government of an unnamed African nation, civil war rages between the rebel forces' two political factions, the United Front for Liberation and Labour (UFLL) and the Alliance for Popular Resistance (APR). While each claims to represent the people, they are equally brutal and exploitative with the civilian population. The situation is being worsened by the Jackal, an arms dealer distributing efficient low-price… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Windows version was the best-selling game in North America during its opening week. The 360 version was fourth, while the PS3 version was fifth. According to a report by the NPD Group , Far Cry 2 was the fifteenth best-selling Windows game during November 2008. (Wikipedia)
No Wikipedia detail on file.
At a glance
| Far Cry 2 | Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.2/10 | 7.6/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (76%, 18,720) | Very Positive (87%, 19,720) |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | 81/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | $14.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2008 | 2013 |
| Developer | — | Ubisoft Montreal |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Far Cry 2 vs Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Far Cry 2FPS open-world gameFar Cry 3 - Blood DragonFPS open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Far Cry 2Open World, FPS, ActionFar Cry 3 - Blood DragonFPS, 1980s, ComedyThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Far Cry 2Score 7.2 · 76% on Steam · 85 criticFar Cry 3 - Blood Dragon ✓Score 7.6 · 87% on Steam · 81 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Far Cry 218,720 reviewsFar Cry 3 - Blood Dragon19,720 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Far Cry 2 ✓$9.99Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon$14.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Far Cry 2PlayableFar Cry 3 - Blood DragonPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFar Cry 2 and Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon (GamingPickz Score 7.6)
- The cheaper right now: Far Cry 2 ($9.99)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open WorldFPSActionShooterSingleplayerFirst-PersonAdventureAtmospheric
Where they differ
MultiplayerRealisticSandboxSurvivalExplorationStory Rich
1980sComedyCyberpunkSci-fiRetroFunny
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Far Cry 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Far Cry 2 | Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Minimum CPU | Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, Pentium D 2.66 Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ | 2.66 GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo E6700 |
| Minimum RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Far Cry 2 · Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Far Cry 2 and 1 for Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon in scope?
Far Cry 2 has drawn 18,720 Steam reviews. Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon has drawn 19,720 Steam reviews.
Is Far Cry 2 or Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon rates higher (7.6 to 7.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Far Cry 2 or Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon?
Far Cry 2 is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $14.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Far Cry 2 or Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon?
Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon rates higher, 7.6 to 7.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Far Cry 2 is the cheaper at $9.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.