Surely the game suffered that I tested it on PC.
It's possible the game suffered that I tested it in 2014.
And maybe it suffers a bit more if you compare it to what you experienced in so many others...
With MMOs providing true crafting, single-player roleplaying games like Skyrim going further in terms of customizing, freedom of play and exploration, and with much more balanced spawns and more impressive visuals, more efficient optimization, a PC player might find a harder time knowing to what game he should compare Far Cry to.
The game would still be above some "storydriven" FPS in terms of length and freedom. Compare it to the Crysis series, or the COD series, and you would still find Far Cry 3 has some awesome strengths. But it just cannot stand comparison to today standards in terms of gunplay, freedom, or visuals on PC, for superior titles.
My feelings were opposite, in almost every single word, of the current official review.
Stealth and weapon accuracy, or gunplay, did not feel enjoyable at all. That is something that surprised me the most.
Being dismayed by a game that was rated so high, leaves a sad impression. So what is going on here?
How can we explain that the game felt this average?
Let's begin.
And let's begin with one of the things often mentioned as a strength in the series: the visuals.
For players who have Skyrim, visuals in FC3 also didn't look that great; moreover, they just do not "behave" that well, do not contribute as much to the gameplay. It must be noted that I played on High Details; I had absolutely no lag on High Details, but I could not play on higher details that than, or I would have had some lag; on a far above average computer, that can run other games to almost max details without any flaw, the game thus felt not optimized. Many PC players might encounter a likely situation.
Other games with freedom, like Skyrim do have impressive visuals. Far Cry 3 does not. It feels slightly dated in 2013. Vegetation, paths, details, enemies, vehicles and places look very standard, to the point of feeling even dated.
Although the game does provide some freedom, the visuals do not help that feeling. Landscapes and paths still feel a bit virtualized. Gameplay-wise, the paths are still a bit forced; you can still proceed to a point with walking besides the road, but overall you don't have that many ways to reach an area. Areas are also very close to each other.
I really felt the freedom as subpar, when compared to any game that "does provide" freedom. It is only good when compared to the most limited linear storydriven FPS, meaning, the games that provide no freedom at all.
Spawns and spawn rates are also illogical. Things spawn at you every 15 seconds, and animals continue attacking you even when it is known that they have absolutely no chance to win here. It is as if they would be famished, whereas there are so many less dangerous animals they can easily kill nearby.
The nature behavior isn't only irrealistic, it also doesn't contribute as much to the gameplay as it flaws it.
As a positive note though, harvesting flowers and plants felt more natural and interesting. Also, the detailed descriptions is a good addition.
But many things do not work that well. Looting is often awkward, as interactions are. You have to get very close to the corpses/weapons you want to interact with. Moreover, looting even looks broken. It is as if they just did not know how to balance their game, or how to prevent the player from being overpowered because of the spawns in FC3.
Is that logical, or realistic, to kill an enemy equipped with an AK (as many are), to have to fire six to ten hits at mid range to down him, to prevent him to fire and empty his mag, and yet to... find two bullets on him?
Looting ratios look broken. You also can't, say, put a pistol on your back and carry another weapon; to carry two weapons, you have to craft things. I don't mind crafting or having to make holsters, it is an interesting point. I just still do not understand why we can't, say, put a pistol on our back, because you know, trousers.
But overall it's the gameplay, and gunplay, that really didn't feel that good.
The bullets don't look like connecting realistically to the targets.
Of course, when you play games like Hitman etc, you understand the gunplay is sometimes a bit "helped", and that you easily connect to critical areas. But here it is the opposite. The gunplay feels flawed.
But another major flaw, that people could easily understand and observe, is that we really do not feel related to the people we try to save. We don't know them, so we have a hard time caring about them. It is as if we should force ourselves to feel things.
Story-wise, also, voice acting is unequal among versions. People who play the game in other languages might have, or not have, a good experience. I had myself to switch to english voice acting, because french voice actors (or french words) felt dull.
English voice acting feels better, but sadly, people there just limited there to the f*** word they they use all the time... , which is quite different than in french.
With a few exceptions, Vaas also didn't feel like anything else than an average punk. Sometimes I appreciated his acting, sometimes I just felt it dull and standard. The hero also feels like a standard, normal person, put in a not-normal situation. I really appreciate that kind of story arc, but I didn't feel immersed by the way they implemented it in the game.
The character is a bit dismayed by what he does, but he does it nevertheless, and without a second thought. It doesn't feel like you would have to kill two boars, six goats and half a dozen dogs to feed, yet you kill them and gut them, and flay them, and do the same just the next minute.
Also, since you have no freedom in terms of dialogue, or even action, it adds to the unimmersive impression that things are a bit virtualized here.
Far Cry 3 impressions to me when playing it on PC, was of an unbalanced, not so immersive game, with visuals that do not contribute to the gameplay, and one of the worst gunplay I've had in a FPS. Crafting is simplified, nature behaves unrealistically, story seems standard, characters are unsurprising.
This was a rather average experience.
Guessing from the overrall reaction about this game though, your own experience might vary. People have different standards with games, depending on what they experienced thus far and what they enjoyed. It's quite possible that if you enjoyed previous Far Cry titles, you will also like this one.
But otherwise, it is my hope that my review will help you get some information, and adjust your possible expectations.