Don't let the crystal clear water and golden sands fool you: as far as the developer of Far Cry 2 is concerned, videogame tropical islands have become the imaginative equivalent of two weeks at Butlins.
With the sequel to Crytek's memorable PC shooter ditching the shores of paradise in favour of the treacherous beauty of Africa, creative director Clint Hocking believes anyone making a game on a tropical island now is just "cashing in" on the success of Far Cry. And that includes the series' original creator, whose second title, Crysis, is set on, yep, a tropical island.
"Going somewhere you knew was real but was really foreign and exotic, and you never really expected you would get to go in your real life - that's the magic of Far Cry," he told Eurogamer.