Far Cry 2 has the most annoying A.I. in any video game that I have played. They will pin point you from miles away. Others have different problems such as the respawning enemies and the endless driving, but they paled for me.
It really boils down to preference. GTA 4 is a solid game. It's like a GTA game but more serious, and plays better than any GTA game in the past. Also, the DLC is awesome as mentioned previously.
Far Cry 2 on the other hand is a game that sometimes transcends moments in GTA 4, but has a lot of frustrations you need to push through, like constantly needing to blow past checkpoints, and annoying AI.
Anyway I'm fully biased towards GTA IV, because I think it's quite brilliant in it's art direction, writing, extended world stuff, etc. Far Cry 2 had some really ambitious mechanics and ideas, looks really nice and plays alright but in the end the horrible AI, generic feel and frustrating elements completely squandered it's potential, to the point where the game's director uploaded a video where he defended the game stating "it's exactly what we set out to make!" which I always found a bit sad. Learn to take the criticism, god. So again, GTA IV (and it's DLC) are great, I've finished all of it way too many times. The game got better the more I invested in all the detail of the place, the roadmap, the cross-media fake franchises, the radio shows. Even the names of the streets are puns or references to actual NY. I loooved it.
When you upgrade and buy cool weapons far cry 2 is a great chill game, setting the dry grass and trees on fire and firing off explosions and causing chaos, it all looks spectacular and only brain dead scrubs who want only scripted events in their FPS games ala COD didn't like it.
GTA4 is a masterpiece. Glorious graphics, gameplay that never gets old, a world which is filled with great modern day urban city-living stories; and the controller is in your hands, therefore running over hookers is an option that never gets old.
Do you want to play a game where every mechanic basically boils down to feeling like you're controlling a drunk bull on ice? Neither do I.
Get Far Cry 2 instead. It's pretty great.
And if you want to go for the classic open-world format, get Saints Row: The Third. The fun factor, mechanics and characters blow the entire Grand Theft Auto series out of the water, and, Saints Row 2, unfortunately.
Both are great games, but I think that GTA IV is overall a more satisfying experience. Far Cry 2 has a lot of very good subtle touches, and some great moments, but it never comes together as well as GTA.
I think Far Cry 2 may have aged better than GTA4. I regularly play the former (It's bar none my favourite shooter. Fantastic immersion and a real feeling of consequence), whereas when I tried to replay the latter, I found myself frustrated with design issues which have aged very poorly. Things like poor check-pointing really way down GTA4's experience in all the instalments other than Gay Tony, whereas I think Far Cry 2 really stands out as a solidly interesting design. It's one I come back to many times. I thought GTA4 would be one of those, but alas, it doesn't stand up to many tests of time.
That being said, these are both very fine games. Get one, and play the hell out of it.
@jeresur: Do you want a decent immigrant being corrupted by America story with kinda bland mission design or an open sub Saharan African country with a subdued but cool story, good shooting, great feeling of place, and adventure? I like Far Cry 2 better, but they are really different games. One is all about balls-to-wall driving and shooting with somber or satirical writing. The other is measured movement and pace through a really dangerous world, but when you crest a hill, see the sunset beaming across the land and zebras in the grass--it's pretty magical.
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