Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

I've been a fan of the Far Cry series since the first title in 2004 came out on the PC. I was blow away by its graphics at the time and game play of a somewhat sand box style island. The second installment was a bit of a let down. It vastly improved on the sandbox style and graphics and dynamic engines, but no story and really bland game play. Far Cry 3 took the best of both worlds and spawned this memorable experience!

Graphics

Ok so this is what the Far Cry series (or anything crytek) is known for, pushing the boundaries of modern graphics and physics. And does this game ever deliver. The fact that the game is based on a tropical island (instead of the constant yellow color savanna) really gives it the chance to show off what the "Dunia" engine and "Havok" physics can do. The sunlight bouncing off the big green, shining, leaves and the lightning on a stormy night to illuminate the way is really a joy to watch. Almost every item in the world is rendered with high textures to give you a sense that the world your in is bordering real. The animations are top notch also. Everything your character does is animated from healing his wounds to opening a door and climbing and getting in and out of vehicles, i just love that things didn't just happen in the game, everything was animated. The movement of the animals for a last example, a tiger will stroll around elegantly but when it spots a pig or a buffalo, in starts creeping and hiding. Then it gives chase to it's pray and attacks it, I'm telling you with the great job they did on the animations, it's like watching the discovery channel!

Gameplay

So the game takes places on a island, a rather large island that is split into two and you will want a vehicle to navigate around in. Its a sandbox FPS and is one hell of a fun ride. So what makes this FPS stand out from the others? For starters lets begin with Upgrading. Your not John McClain or James Bond or some special forces guy here, you're just a regular guy who cant defend himself all too well at the beginning of the game. But as you progress you get experience for accomplishing tasks, liberating certain areas and of course killing the baddies. With this experience you can unlock / upgrade features. Features like being able to take more damage or jumping from higher ground stabbing your enemy and throwing his own knife at his partners head in one sleek move. There are 3 main categories you can focus on, stealth and survival, assault and health, long range take downs and mobility. Each time you upgrade you earn a new Tribal tattoo on your left arm. If you manage to upgrade everything you'll have one cool look tat.

One great improvement from Far Cry 2 is Liberating Outpost. For those of you who didn't play Far Cry 2, when you cleared out a outpost the enemies simply re-spawn and reoccupied the area. In other words killing them or clearing the area had no purpose or advantage. This was greatly changed in the new title. Not only can you clear the outpost, it also removes enemies patrolling that area of the map, making life much easier for you. Clear enough of them and you can hunt, accomplish missions and do side quests in peace.

Another key feature of the game is Crafting. Crafting is optional but definitely recommended. The wild life that inhibits the island from animals to plants will allow you, when collected, to create useful items such as a bigger ammo pouch with animal skin or make medicine from plants. Don't have any cash to buy healing vials? Make some by collecting the right plant. It's not as detailed like in some games such as Oblivion or Reckoning but that's a good thing. Crafting is simple and useful, even fun at times.

The weapons in Far Cry at the beginning are limited to be honest at first but there are Radio Towers located all over the island that can be liberated to earn more weapons in the gun shops. Not only does your dangerous climb to the top of the towers reward you with new guns but it also reveals areas on your map, kinda like viewpoints in Assassin's Creed. It's was actually fun to climb the towers. They offer a small puzzle really not to challenging but fun none the less.

The side missions in the game are in abundance. My personal favorite was the Path Of The Hunter missions. They're missions where you embark on a hunt for a rare and dangerous animal with a specific weapon. These missions were tense and fun to play. There nothing like stalking a rare golden tiger in the bushes with a bow and arrow, dangerous but satisfying. They're was also the Wanted Dead missions. These were simply assassination contracts all over the island that had to be completed with a knife. The entourage can be taken out with any weapon of the players choice but the target has to be killed by the knife. As fun as these were, they got a little repetitive and boring towards the end. There's also a few Supply Drop missions. These were simple driving from point A to B in a time limit. And last but not least, the Villagers Side Missions. I loved these because of it's comical approach to some of them and darker tones and betrayal in others. Most of them are relatively short and near the starting point. My only grip with this is I wish they had put in a few more in the world. These side missions gave you a sense of what the insanity on the island has done to the people. And more little collectibles all over, Statues, WW2 letters, Memory cards. Just a lot of stuff

One thing that the developers captured well in this game is you can really play it your way. I'm not saying that like the Hitman or Splinter Cell developers do saying you can play stealthy or run and gun. Well all know running and gunning in Hitman and Splinter Cell sucks. But this game, really you can play completely silent, every weapon has a suppressor or go in guns blazing or even setup ambushes for tactical gamer's. You can really play any way you like and it will work. Kudos to you Ubi.

Story

It's rare that a game shines in game play, graphics and story. This is one of those gems.You play as a young man named Jason Brody. Jason and six of his friends, including his older and younger brother, are on vacation and end up on an island like no other. So you start off the game locked up and tortured and confused. Your captor, who has to be one of the greatest villains in gaming, Vaas, gives you a nice little monologue. You manage to escape his prison but at a dear price. You realize all your friends are captured and it's up to you to save them. As the story progresses it plays with the theme of insanity a lot. Things that were once considered crazy or something you would never do becomes normal. Friends start turning on each other all while trying to save them and questions like what the purpose of life is come into play. I can' t say too much or some great moments will be given away. But i have to say that every encounter you get with Vaas is a great one and you will look forward to meeting him again throughout the game.

Overall

If you've been putting off playing this game, wait no more. It's a blast to play through and an experience you wont soon forget. It has a decent 10 hour campaign but if you do the little extras, you can easily get 20 to 30 hours out of it. They multiplayer is very good also with a great and addicting upgrade system that will make want to go another round. I think gamer's of all kinds will enjoy this title and should not be missed by any.

9.0 OUT OF 10