Once in a while there comes along a game which is so balanced between audio, visuals and gameplay, all three exceeding your expected improvements that you are left in awe searching for drawbacks. Such a game is Far Cry 3.
Taking place in a tropical island like the first game, this game gives you the control of Jason Brody, a possible college student (if not younger I daresay) who has been captured, along with his friends, by the locals of the island, ready to be sold as slaves. Your objective will be to escape their hold, rescue your friends and find a way off the rock. Pretty simple and clichéd?
Not in the least.
Very few games will EVER give you the actual feel of the character you are controlling like this game will. Jason is a timid simple boy fond of fun and company of his friends. He has absolutely no idea how to handle a gun to save his own life, let alone his friend’s. And yet, as you escape Vaas and his men (the chief of the locals) you will find yourself enchanted by the sheer development of the character over time as he slowly grows up into a survivor, a hunter, and eventually the apex predator. On your way you will meet a cast of wonderful characters, each with his and her own senilities, drive and intentions, who will all somehow fit into the puzzle that is this jungle you are left to defend yourself in.
The island is beautifully detailed with a huge number of side missions spanning throughout the map whose gradual completion will give you the experience you will need to overcome the odds and become a skilled warrior. New additions to game play are plenty – hunting animals plenty to find necessary items to upgrade your arsenal is a wonderful feeling once you get the hang of it all. You can also unlock skills which will start giving your character special abilities to fight against the insanities of the island.
The graphics and specially the geometry of things are remarkable, as even after 20 hours of playing you will never fail to get impressed by the sheer detailing of everything around you and the excellent textures accompanying them. Sound design is another thing of beauty. The voice acting is unparalleled and every single character possesses more conviction in their voices than any low-budget Hollywood movie.
New weapons, their customizations, unlockables and side quests will keep you occupied in between the main missions which on itself will take around 8-10 hours to complete. But since the characters and everything about the crazy island is so well made, you will want to stick around for longer just to experience everything Jason is capable of – which will be quite a lot considering how well you will be able to mix up head-on gunfights with stealth approaches to take out your targets.
Yet some neat features from the earlier game, like the taking out of the map in real-time, public transportation, option to go to sleep (which looked really cool and realistic) are missing which can be the only possible drawbacks you can scrape out. But the positives of sound design, vast choices of approaching every mission differently, the character designs and developments are so overwhelming that you will willingly overlook the negatives to engage in one of the best open world games ever made.