Much more than your average first person shooter. Although it may not be the most deserving, it's my 2012 GOTY.

User Rating: 9 | Far Cry 3 X360
Far cry 3 thoroughly impressed me.

It has an exhilarating introduction, a passable plot, impactful themes, but what it excels most is in its immersion. This is a mature game, with a sense of raw power that is unmatched by any action/adventure game that has come out this year. There will be scenes that will make your eyes widen.

First of all, being the owner of only one console (xbox), I can easily say that this game is the most visually appealing I have ever played. The art direction is simply beautiful. The green of the plants, the serene blue of the ocean, the orange on an attacking tiger. The way you dive into the water and the bubbles surround you. Once you emerge from the water, there is a gleam of sunshine that kisses off of the water's surface, blinding you. When it suddenly starts raining and, a few minutes later, it clears and the sun greets you, you notice that its rays glimmer beautifully off of your rifle. When you're stalking a pig and golden beams of sunshine cascade from the openings in the forest, it's hard not to go, "wow."
If you haven't gotten it by now, this game looks amazing. And I haven't even mention the beauty of skydiving.


What makes the visuals even more impressive is that it is consistently beautiful - every corner of Rook Island has the same amount of detail and vibrancy.

Far cry 3 is a big game, easily packing in a 30 hour campaign, assuming you partake in the numerous side quests. What shocked me the most about this game was just how excellent the main story missions are. There are 38 of them, and, as a whole, the story not particularly long; but, boy, is it exhilarating. And the brevity of each story mission actually works in its favor, keeping you excited and never dragging. The short main story mission is compensated nicely with the plentiful things to do. The game is packed with activities, and to many (including me), the various miscellaneous activities to do in this game are the best part of the game.

I must mention that the voice acting in this game is heavily underrated. Especially Vaas, who has earned his place as the most captivating villain I've ever had the pleasure to fear. His eyes especially stab into you as he is relentlessly unleashing his mix of humor and torment onto you.

There is a leveling up and perk system, though I must say that earning experience in this game is a tad on the easy side. The incentive to continuously level up is extremely high as almost every perk (such as one that allows you to string together knife takedowns) has a "man, what an awesome perk." The number of perks you upgrade parallels with the amount of tatoos you have, adding a sense of connection in terms of progression on two fronts.

Every gun feels weighty and impactful; it's a joy to shoot the weapons. The explosive weaponry, such as the c4 and rpg are especially terrifying and is matched nicely by great explosion animations. What's fantastic is that almost every gun can be customized, and getting your favorite paint on your favorite weapon is a blast.

There are some downsides, namely its lackluster multiplayer and coop. I've encountered minimal glitches in the single player, which surprised me given the sheer scope and magnitude of this game. Also, once you have reached full completion in the single player, there really is nothing to do besides start a new game on a higher difficulty.

Everything that I have mentioned above, besides its downsides, factor into Far cry 3's immersion, which is its strongest weapon.
You can be hunting some deer when a tiger runs by and takes it down. You can be swimming to collect a blue plant as a crocodile jumps out and attacks you. You can be hunting shark, just as another shark hunts you. This game excels in its world and its immersion.

When I reached 100% completion, I had spent roughly 45 hours on the game. The more I think about it, the more I realize what a gem this game was. There's something in this game for just about everyone, give it a shot.