Far Cry 3 Review
Crouching, watching from within a bush, I seem my next target. I pull out my camera to survey the land and get an idea of what I am going up against. Oh joy, two snipers and four heavily armed enemies. I look around the surrounding area to start planning my attack route. I check my supply sack and see I have one Molotov cocktail left and eight arrows. Taking a deep breath I slowly start to inch my way towards my prey, making sure I am taking the most direct, hidden path available to me. Half way through my stalking, I begin to hear gunfire break out within the camp. Confused I begin to move quicker, trying to figure out what is going on. To my surprise, I have just been helped by two unexpected friends; two giant black bears. The enemies go down with little effort from the bears and the camp is mine.
That was just one of the crazy events that I witnessed during my first hour of playing Far Cry 3; the great part though is that it still isn’t the best moment I have witnessed with this game. Far Cry 3 is full of moments like this, and infinite others, where you will be totally taken off guard by the sheer randomness that will take place in front of you. The world in which you partake in not only feels alive; it is alive.
Within the first few seconds of jumping into the world of Far Cry 3, you will be blown away at its beauty. Taking place on a tropical island, this is one of the best looking games of 2012 with beautiful beach front locals, stunning waterfalls to jump down, coral reefs to explore and much, much more. It is very easy to lose hours just wondering around the island, taking in the scenery. Not only though is Far Cry 3 a stunning game to look at, its chalk full of quests to keep you occupied through this open-world romp.
Jason Brody, the protagonist of Far Cry 3, starts off this vacation is style. Enjoying a great tropical island vacation with some of his best friends; partying, swimming, skydiving and relaxing – it is everything a great vacation should be. Though things start great, they quickly turn horrible as Jason and his friends are captured by the insane island native Vaas Montenegro and his men. Through the rest of the story you play as Jason as you escape the clutches of Vaas and rescue the rest of your friends along the way meeting some interesting characters and take a ton of drugs.
From your initial meeting with Vaas, it is apparent that he is not all there in the head, yet at the same time he is smart, creative and charismatic. As one of the best overall characters created in this generation of gaming, you will look forward to your encounters with him to see this great character shine; even though he wants to kill you.
Through the progression of the story, you witness as Jason goes through a transformation from a scared boy to a murderous artist. During the beginning of the game Jason is just like most of us; we think we are big and tough until that moment comes when we have to kill. If he had a choice, Jason would run, not stay and fight. Yet, he doesn’t have the choice, and throughout the rest of the game, we watch as Jason grows an emotional shell around him and stacks up a body count into the thousands.
Jason’s adventure through this hostile island is rich and detailed; hitting on topics that few others in the shooter genre even come close to. For the wonderful highs held within this story and great twists, the ending comes up short, never keeping the momentum the first half of the game has. In the end Far Cry 3′s story is still good and enjoyable, but it could have been great and the best this year.
When you decide to take a break from the enjoyable story, Far Cry 3 is littered with things to do and see. Every where you look there is something to do; from take on a hunting request or going after a high-grade target or delivering a shipment of meds – you won’t be bored in this game. Though you will be repeating the same kind of side quests over and over, they each contain slightly various details as to keep them from being stale of boring.
Far Cry 3 is full of wildlife; beautiful, life-like, dangerous wildlife. From stray packs of dogs to wild buffalo to tigers and more; you constantly need to have your wits about you to make sure there isn’t a tiger stalking you, about to pounce. While Jason can make for a tasty treat to the wilderness creatures, he is also a hunter; the highest on the food chain. Using the spoils of a good hunt, Jason is able to craft various tools and supplies to help him along his journey; upgrades to his weapon holster, a bigger wallet, a larger ammo case and so on.
On top of the main story, various side quests and hunting, Far Cry 3′s world is littered in history and drugs. Through collecting various hidden object throughout the world you become more familiar with the history of the island during World War II and what influence drug cartels have on the island. None of the hundreds of hidden objects affect the story of the game, but they do give you an interesting view of the world Jason inhabits and takes you to some very eye pleasing locations.
Multiplayer comes in two forms within Far Cry 3; competitive and co-op. Both options are rather enjoyable, but neither really bring the fast paced, un-scripted excitement that the single player offers. While both work exceptionally well, the gameplay that makes Far Cry 3 so enjoyable and fun, this is not where the game shines.
The competitive portion of the online game features various team death match, domination variants with players ranking up via experience gained from matches. Weapons and equipment unlock as players ascend the ranks throughout the game. An enjoyable addition to the competitive portion of the game is the inclusion of a map editor. Besides being able to change the layout of the levels, you even have the ability to add in wildlife into the maps as well; adding a whole new enemy that teams will have to deal with.
Co-op features a shallow, but enjoyable story featuring four characters. Sadly, instead of them taking place on the open world that the single player inhabits; you will be making your romp through levels where your only path is to go from point A to point B. While the gameplay is fun, the lack of options in how you go about the level is depressing.
