Far Cry 2 map editor: video, shots

Ubisoft has revealed Far Cry 2's impressive-looking map editor tool in exclusive screenshots and video on Eurogamer. Lucky us!

As you can see from the map editor screenshots and the announcement trailer embedded below, the interface allows you to manoeuvre around the level planting objects, toggling a 2D/3D view and taking screenshots or testing the map at the touch of a button.

You can set up a range of mountains, drag a river across the landscape and fill in the landscape with vegetation using a simple wheel system and manipulation tools for laying out things like watchtowers and sandbags. It all takes seconds. There are over a thousand objects, apparently.

It also gives you real-time updates on how full your environment is, and there are slider bars for tweaking environmental settings among other things, with a full range of weather options to specify.

Check out the screenshot gallery for shots of maps running through the editor (the Xbox 360 version), and to get a good idea of the interface, and even a few sample environments created with the editor.

And of course check out the trailer below to get a fuller idea of how it all works. The bit where the narrator jumps from the editor to the game itself and hand-glides across a custom desert is a bit special.

We also recommend checking out the sexy new pre-Leipzig Far Cry 2 trailer and our recent Far Cry 2 hands-on preview from our pre-E3 trip to Ubisoft Montreal.

Look out for more on Far Cry 2, which is due out in the autumn for PS3, 360 and PC, closer to the game's release - or, if you're going, check it out at the Leipzig Games Convention this week.