Platforms: PS3|Xbox 360|PC
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Stunning environments, unique characters and the definition of insanity. The latest addition to the Far Cry series brings you all this, and more.
To start off, I have never played the first Far Cry game, but I played Far Cry 2. I thought it was a really good game. Sure it had a run-of-the-mill story, but it was fun to play. Far Cry 3 is a hell of a lot more fun to play.
Compared to the location of the previous game, Fary Cry 3 is a lot more vibrant and feels a lot more alive. You could be sneaking towards your target, unaware that something could have set it's sights on you. It's very much a case of the hunter being hunted. There's a constant sense of danger as you wander around the map on foot. You'll feel much safer and get around much quicker if you travel in a vehicle, but you won't get a chance to take in as much of evironment this way.
Far Cry 3 introduces the necessity of hunting, as you'll need to kill and skin different animals to upgrade your equipment. You'll be hunting things from harmless animals like pigs and goats, to thing like tigers, bears and leopards. You don't have to kill them in any specific way, unless you're doing "Path of the Hunter" quests. These are quests in which you must hunt animals using the weapon provided. They can be clearing out packs of rabid dogs, or hunting rare varieties of the game's animals to get a unique skin required to get the best equipment upgrade.
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| You WILL die hunting this. If not, you're clearly a better gamer than me and I tip my proverbial hat to you... |
In the campaign, you play as Jason, a young man who is captured during a vacation. Jason has no combat experience whatsoever, and is scared out of his mind during the tutorial section of the game. The island is under siege from Vaas, an insane pirate and your pursuer throughout much of game, and his henchmen. As Jason, you join a band of warriors to try and take down Vaas and free the island. This is where I have a problem with the game. From the start, you get that Jason is a daredevil-type of person, but he seems to just join the Rakyat Warriors so readily. He also seems to know what to do in a lot of situations, despite having no combat experience, like I already mentioned. Take for example, when you are attacked by a crocodile in the water, Jason automatically knows how to wrestle and restrain it, before finishing it off like he's been doing it for years. Just a minor inconsistency, but it still bugs me.
Speaking of Vaas, he's one of many interesting characters in the game. And truly, one of the interesting and unique characters you'll ever meet in a video game. I cannot express enough how brilliant Michael Mando, the voice actor, he did with the role. Seriously, get this guy an award or something. Every major character in the game is unique, but Vaas is in a league of his own. The voice acting in the game is great, and so is the motion capture. Just one of the things that makes this game as great as it is.
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| Did he ever tell you the definition of insanity? If he didn't, then you missed out on a hell of a speech.. |
This game gives you so much freedom. It's a sandbox game with a huge map, you can do what you wish. It's an FPS like the previous games, but this time it has some RPG elements in it. There's a skill tree and experience, advancing in the main story unlocks more skills for you to spend points on. There are three skill trees to invest in: The Heron (Long range takedowns and mobility) The Shark (Assault takedowns and healing) and The Spider (Stealth takedowns and survival). You can play the game however you wish, using any of these three styles, or all of them if you wish. I prefer to play stealthily, because to me, there's nothing more satisfying than clearing an enemy outpost when no-one knows you were even there. The extra experience for being undetected is an added bonus. Some weapons are customisable so you can use them in stealth situations, or so that they're better in a firefight. The realistic fire effects from Far Cry 2 are back as well. Fire spreads and can be just as dangerous as any gun, if utilised correctly.
There's a full day/night cycle too, with dynamic weather. And the amount of exploring to be done is unreal. There's caves, WW2 bunkers, temples and so much more. As you takeover enemy outposts, more side missions will be unlocked, so you can earn more experience and money. You can have fun with outposts too, sometimes there'll be a caged animal which can be set free by shooting the cage door. Sit back and let the animal do the majority of the work, then rush in to pick off any survivors if you want to.
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| Ahh Baloo, if only Mowgli could see you now... |
There's plenty to do in this game. You'll spend hours climbing radio towers to reveal the map, liberating enemy outposts, hunting and much more. There's a ton of fun to be had, and a great story to boot. Far Cry 3 is going to be one of the all-time gaming greats, and for me, personally, it's the game of the year. Nothing has kept drawing me back in like this game. Thank you Ubisoft for a great job and I shall give your game...
9.5/10
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