Far Cry 3: Meet Citra and Dennis, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

I can’t give you the definition of insanity, but I can give you an example of it: Trying to play Far Cry 3 when the servers are down and every time you pause the game, you have to wait 30 seconds while locked in a loading screen as the game attempts to find said servers. Just so you realize how mind shatteringly annoying this was, understand that all the inventory and crafting options are accessible only from the pause menu. In most games this would just frustrate, but in Far Cry 3 it drives minds to madness. Why? Because Far Cry 3 is a must purchase. No messing around–this game is amazing.

Initial impressions of the game were mixed. The opening sequence is well scripted and the voice acting is both convincing and enthralling. However, the opening premise of the story smacked of cheap Hollywood horror/thriller plots, with the main protagonist and several of his young hip buddies thrown into a world of darkness and corruption. I honestly expected Saw-like twists to come flying out the screen at any moment, and by twists I mean gory deaths.

However, Far Cry 3 never pulls this over-used dramatic tool, instead relaying to you the desperate circumstances that Jason (our hero) has been thrust into. His journey to rescue his friends is a compelling and exciting ride, in which the audience is treated to fleshed out characters, given motivation, and witness to a delightfully dark development of character for Jason. It’s easy to get sucked into Jason’s world, and I found myself changing how I played in synchronization with the story, dropping stealth for a more overt assault when Jason’s blood was up.

Some may find the story a little confused. While the character developments and depth is solid, the side story of the mystical tattoo that Jason sports as a visual level-up guide is a bit out of place. For the most part, the game would have been perfectly fine without it. They mystical side of things can detach you from an otherwise very engaging plot, forcing fantasy into a semi-believable plot. No doubt that those who nitpick at this element will also find Jason’s transition from never firing a gun before to skillfully wielding an M60 in around an hour a little hard to swallow.

Gameplay, for the most part, is your average FPS. You have a limited load-out of guns, health, and skills progress along with an XP system. Where Far Cry 3 stands out is in animation and scope. Almost immediately after taking control of Jason do you realize that he can trip, fall, and harm himself in the way most people would in real life falling off a cliff. Crashing a car in most FPS just means that steam will soon begin to warn you of the cars damage level, but in Far Cry 3 driving headlong into a tree will result in Jason having to peel himself off of steering wheel. You’re venerable, and Ubisoft Montreal wants you to know it.

You can tell it’s Ubisoft Montreal too. It would not be unfair to call Far Cry 3 “Far Cry 2 if the Assassin’s Creed team made it.” Radio towers act as your synchronization points, revealing sections of the map in detail once you have ascended to their highest point. Enemies can be instant killed by sneaking up to, jumping onto, or hanging below and stabbing. Enemy bases can now be taken over installing your own people by eliminating all the guards. And, of course, there is a mystical element to the plot that really doesn’t need to be there.

I could go on with the comparisons, but while they can be made, every one of them makes this a better game than the previous installment. It adds depth, progression, and excitement into what was a very beautiful yet boring game.

Speaking of beauty, Far Cry 3 is astonishingly good looking. I desperately hounded Ubisoft for a PC copy of the game, and was initially disappointed when I could only get a 360 copy due to numbers. However, upon playing the title, I have to admit that this is one of the best looking console games around. Lighting, particle effects, and textures all combine in a seamless way, revealing a picturesque island full of life. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have preferred the game on PC, I am just saying console players have nothing to be jealous of, what’s here is wonderful.

The graphics are even more astounding when you take into account the size and variation of the island. Despite the outward appearance of trees and hills, the local is much more than that. Aside from the varieties of wildlife that will either avoid or disembowel you, the topography of the land makes a real difference to how you approach each mission. Flat open land may give no obvious cover, but also prevents enemies from having vantage points from which to see you dart between foliage allowing for a slow approach. Water may in some circumstances be the only stealthy route into your objective, but that risks attacks from creatures far more graceful and deadly in H20.

Deadly creatures are always a concern when playing, but they also provide opportunity. You can often use the wildlife to distract and even eliminate enemy encampments with no real involvement from yourself. Nothing quite gets the job done like a bear loosed from its cage. They also provide a much needed resource from which you can upgrade your equipment. Animal skins can be fashioned into bandoliers and other such items, which realistically just increase the amount of something you can carry, be it guns, items, or ammo. At first this seems like a great system, but if you concentrate on it like I did, you’ll find yourself with the best load-out well before getting involved in the main story. The enemies were not prepared for me to turn up with 4 heavy weapons and 400 rounds each at this stage in the game.

Weapons can be purchased from vendors, but activating radio towers unlocks guns for free. Again, if like me you do this first, you save yourself a ton of cash and can spend it all instead on upgrades for your free loot like reflex sights and silencers. Each weapon has a distinct feel. I was very concerned with the quality of the FPS experience at the beginning of the game, but I seemed to be having very little effect on the enemy with my pistol, often missing my targets completely. Upon progressing in the game, I see this was intentional, with the first weapon you get actually being that bad. I went from serious doubts about the game to shouting at my colleges about having the best shotgun in an shooter ever. The lever action shotgun is the best boomstick in town, and I urge you to try it.

You can probably tell by now that Far Cry 3 is not a small game. After 20 hours in the game I may have had the best weapons, a full map, and animal skins coming out of my ears, but the main story was hardly even beginning and side quests littered the map. That’s not even including the 100 hidden relics, lost letters, and memory cards scattered about the game. It’s very rare you find a single player FPS title that is as engaging as this without getting on with the main quest. That isn’t to say the main quest is bad.

Aside from the superb story, the level design for many of the main quests takes a detour from the open-world environment and presents levels more akin to the dramatic set pieces from the Assassin’s Creed series. You’ll find puzzles, platforming, and shooting in equal measure and every ounce of it is filled with tension and excitement. The main quest is the meat that Ubisoft wanted you to bite into, the open world was simply the appetizer, and boy, does it taste good.

If I stick with the analogy, that makes desert the multiplayer and unfortunately, it’s nothing to write home about. This is the standard tacked on multiplayer. Several maps are available with a number of customization and weapon options to unlock as you level up. All the great ideas from the single-player are stripped away, leaving you with a multiplayer with poor map design and an interesting flame mechanic. I feel the team would have been better off taking a leaf out of Metro: Last Light‘s book, dropping the multiplayer to make sure the single player was perfect.

The co-op fairs nearly as badly. The open-world is dropped in favor of more traditional linear slogs, with up to 4 players completing objectives that can often be approached in one of many ways. The characters that are found in this mode are occasionally funny, but in a superficial way, as the depth presented in the single-player makes way for one liners. The co-op is not bad, and is fun as long as you have a full accompaniment of players as the game does not alter for player count, throwing the same challenge against 2 that it would against 4. With only you and a partner, the co-op becomes a slog, and often leaves you feeling frustrated that the objective at hand has been designed with more people in mind, leaving you underpowered.

It’s a shame that the multiplayer turned out this way, as it spoils an otherwise nigh perfect package. The single-player is so good that it will be remembered for quite some time. Far Cry 2 redesigned the FPS, but forgot to make it entertaining in the process. The same mistake has not been made this time around. Far Cry 3 accomplishes for FPS games what Spec Ops: The Line did for the TPS: It drives home that the narrative in a shooter can challenge the morals and ethics of a person. Jason isn’t even that likable, he simply has personality traits and emotional responses that we can relate to, and when he is forced down the path he takes, we can understand the changes that occur within him.

Very rarely will I like something so much that I will purchase the game despite having a review copy, but for Far Cry 3, I’ll be purchasing the PC version in the next few days. It’s that good.

This game was provided by the publisher for review purposes on Xbox 360. The game was played for roughly 35 hours and was completed. The single player mode was seen to completion in 30 hours, but not all side quests and hidden items were discovered. The multiplayer modes were played for roughly 5 hours.