Didn't love it.

So... it's Far Cry 2 that you didn't like?
It's a bit hard to tell. :)

Back then the original Far Cry was completely out of my computer's league.
I picked up the game for a few euros a while ago, but didn't try it out yet.
(No experience with any of the Far Cry or Crysis games yet.)

Yeah Far Cry was awesome, but a totally linear game. It was also developed by a completely different studio than the one that developed Far Cry 2, and I've heard people refer to FC2 as a Far Cry in name only (different character, different setting, different gameplay style). It wasn't a particularly terrible game, I just never really got into it and was expecting a lot more based on the hype.

Hmmm, I thought Far Cry was supposed to be a sandbox kind of game where you could travel across the island however you wanted. I suppose that doesn't mean the gameplay experience can't still end up being linear.

When Crysis was announced it seemed to me it was the sequel to Far Cry, until FC2 was announced.

I really should just play Far Cry to at least get an idea about one of the games. :) I suppose I can skip FC2, but give Crysis a shot. So many games, so little time.

It was only really a sandbox in the sense that you could: attack base from cliffs, barge through front door, use sniper to pick off enemies at a distance, cause a distraction, etc. But otherwise, there were no missions, not really any free-roam, nor side missions and minigames. You had objectives marked on a map in a sequential order. Still loads of fun (and I tend to think the sandbox genre is a bit overrated).

If your computer can handle it, definitely check out Crysis. Otherwise, Far Cry is basically the same thing gameplay-wise.