Ah, Far Cry - the tower-climbing, outpost-raiding, murder fest from Ubisoft. Indeed, the formula we've all come to expect from the now-notorious game developer but the third iteration has quite a lot to make up for it.
Story / Mission Design- 9
- Revolves around you - Jason Brody - reuniting with your little brother, girl friend and actual girlfriend, and escaping the hell of Rook Island. Also, getting entangled with the business of the local (and rather militarized) local tribesmen
- Island filled with ruthless pirate group led by one of gaming's most popular villains Vaas Montenegro and his less popular but similarly violent boss Holt
- Highly-varied and engaging main missions involve explosive car chases, weird drug-induced trips, fighting an actual dragon god, escaping from a burning and collapsing building, beating your own brother, sky gliding, and of course poker (with your life on bet)
- Some can absolutely get to your nerves - like when you try to kill an infinitely-spawning Vaas in a dream void
- Side missions - like those plaguing Fallout - are surprisingly few, which discourages mocking around while your friends are in mortal danger
Characters / Performance - 9
- Voice acting and animation decent enough to warrant a thumbs-up
- The lead antagonists' presence are always a highlight moment, making you feel infuriated yet charmed by them at the same time.
Visuals / World Design - 10
- Rook Island is one of the prettiest, most vibrant places you'll ever (virtually) be in, although everything looks a bit like they're made of plastic, with danger on every freaking corner - be it constant enemy patrol, lion and cheetahs, crocodiles and sharks, and of course cliffs
- Tower-climbing, in some cases, has never been this intricate, and annoying
- Highly-varied map with well-realized environments
- Character animations when reacting to the environment (e.g., raising the gun when in front of a tree, smashing against the hood when the car hits that blasted tree) is a very good touch
Gameplay - 9
- The spectacular gunplay - the gun sounds and behavior - makes the game an open-world Call of Duty (or Battlefield)
- Despite being eventually feeling like a chore, taking over outposts stealthily is really enjoyable - until you get discovered and those freaking reinforcements and tank personnel arrive
- Plenty of side activities common of open-world games are available, including the poker, not to mention a ton of collectibles
- Perks from the skill tree are pretty darn cool, namely knife takedown
- The plethora of tools made available to you allow for creative destruction and assault
Sheer Entertainment Value - 9
- Together with a highly-charismatic villain, exciting mission sequences, nice gunplay and a good story - but with the distinct Ubisoft mechanics you're required to do - Far Cry 3 is pretty damn enjoyable