"She says the jungle... it just came alive and took him"
The bitterness ended there, presented with a gripping story from the begin-inning you have to evade your capture's only to watch your pal die in-front of you, all very cinematic and all in game. Does the epic-ness capture you further ?? What seems to be on the surface a well balanced huge game is indeed a good looking, bright vibrant jungle for you to explore. I was quite shocked at the scenery and simply put "green" atmosphere ubisoft have given the gamer. Far cry 2 was good looking but somehow lacked something. This fortunately doesn't, i am amazed still at how the island(s) look with beach's, temples, and all variety of life roaming the island(s). From the radio tower you de be forgiven in thinking the sunsets were real !!!
Its a huge play area too, you really do feel as if your hiking uo the next hill with villages full of life along the way, some friendly some not so.
i think my fondest moment was being stood by a river (later on in the game) and only to hear on the surround what can be described asa mild rustle, then being dragged under the water and rolled by an crocodile, stabbing it fighting for your life. Ha watching some of the locals being savaged by the wild life can be amusing too, or hearing the cry of death only to see a tiger walking off. Usually your given a sound warning from the creatures i later realized a roar from cats and bears, with the less timid animals running away with a yelp !!
You are presented with "the how to survive in the jungle" speech and this works really well in practice with some known realities like arrowroot curing you if made, other medicines collected on the island like animal repellent are in forms of different colored plant life. Hunting the various anilmal life will provide you with added bonus's you can craft like a bigger ruck sack or gun belt so you can carry more. The extra big stuff can be found through doing special hunts adding to the already games massiveness !
Swimming can be a hazard to due to the sharklife, but after some cunning wizardry (running over them in my boat) you gain extra pelt for that too.
Your told to release the radio towers around the island(s) and you de be forgiven in thinking after you ve done one they will all be the same, not the case. I fell off a few of the more difficult run down towers (usually eaten by a big cat after !!) On doing so your provided with a larger view of the map, then its time to capture the red flags on the map, sometimes with caged animals, these camps (like predator the film) can be approached stealthy or guns blazing, but beware some have alarms and reinforcements come fast and usually in numbers. But to my delight you can release the animals caged and watch them ravage on the unsuspecting tyrants your battling to keep away from. The usual chests containing money are dotted around the island(s) with some added bonus exploratory bits complimenting the vastness. Travel around the areas can be varied with jeeps, cars, boats, with some gliders providing limited air travel. Fast tracking to villages (captured) is available for the non sightseeing non animal lover.
I do have some minor gripes, non of which spoil the fun too much, after a few hours of gameplay some may find far cry 3 samey and a little repetitive, the shi~ty 1st person car view in my eyes only adds to the realism but it got some critisizm in the second, it could have shifted a little faster. Maybe more detail on the animals when skinning, fur i duuno if the ps3 can handle it.
Sadly the multiplayer is a little flat, some nice touch's like end scenes but not as good as the one player.
I was blown away and still am thoroughly enjoying the jungle, one fond moment is diving into a lake to escape a couple of grenade soldiers only to have them fire grenades into the water to flush me out. Ai like this really adds to in my eyes the game of the year.
On playing this some more its truely epic and its just unbelievably fun, so good, i have the second and didnt really play it, this looks and is sooo much better. oh and when you take over the red flagged hostile camps, they too become scarcer and less frequent, you take control, ha a nice touch. so much to do and i heard there's a 2nd island i haven't reached yet, MAD!! smiles so big like when you have alpha Betty spaghetti for tea !
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED, GREAT SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN AND VISUALLY ADORABLE. And now at a great price too.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE