Far Cry is back with its third instalment developed by Ubisoft Montreal with Ubisoft Massive, Ubisoft Red Storm, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Reflections and it is published by Ubisoft. Far Cry 3 has taken a step away from the African desert of the previous game and gone back to its roots of a tropical island setting.
The general story revolves around Jason Brody. A white, privileged, twenty something adult male on a holiday with some friends which goes awry when you and your friends are kidnapped by psychotic guy named Vaas who is affiliate with a paramilitary organisation run by Hoyt Volker. At the beginning of the game you escape and you take it upon yourself to free your friends with the aid of the Rakyat (a tribal group of warriors who are led by a drug dealing woman named Citra and her trust worthy second in command, Dennis). The story seems very cliché and dated with its premise being a random guy, with no experience in combat, taking on waves of men. The setup is just unbelievable and feels like a story from a previous generation. Rita Mae Brown’s, which is paraphrased from Narcotics Anonymous’ and often misattributed as Albert Einstein’s, definition of insanity (“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results”) is a big underlying theme and plot device in this game. The “insanity” may feel a bit like it is constantly being thrown at you but this doesn’t dampen the effect. I often found myself questioning my actions as I was expecting a different outcome from the same action. Essentially Ubisoft have brought that quote to life which is unusual for a game to try and do something like this.
Drugs are also a big theme in this game. The drug moments a few are far between but it really made sense. The backstory is explained and the drug moments also give an insight into the confused mind set of Vaas and Brody. It is an interesting idea that really worked and gave the story a less generic feel. My biggest gripe with this story was it wasn’t risky enough. It mentioned some great subplots of rape, mass murder, slavery….. but they are never really explored fully. They are just mentioned once and then forgotten. It seems the writers just didn’t have the balls to really go for it as these themes haven’t really been done before in big games and because of this we are left with an empty shell of what Far Cry 3’s story could (and should) be.
The ending doesn’t help either. Throughout the game I got the impression there would be a Sucker Punch/Fight Club twist with Vaas and Brody but this just doesn’t materialise. What you end up getting is an ending the felt very rushed and anti-climactic which also was a bit random. It may just be me but the game was building up for something that just never materialised
Character portray in this game is a mix bag of abilities. The protagonist (Jason) is awful. I am not sure if it was their intention to make him unlikeable but he just doesn’t fit with the whole “decent into insanity” story line. The voice actor did an admirable job but still just felt whiney and out of place. The other friends do show some varied personalities (which brings into question how they are all friends) and the likes of Dennis and Citra are nicely done even if they feel a bit stereotypical. The big one is Vaas. Vaas is an excellently thought out character with Michael Mando doing one of the best performances I have seen in a game. He really got me believing Vaas was real and really drove the story forward which makes is even more painful to see Vaas’ fate happen and before it should have. It is criminal what they did to him.
Far Cry 3 does at least get the gameplay right. They have taken what made Far Cry 2 (for example the fantastic use of fire) great and just built on it. Brody’s animations really draw you into the game, enemies react very well to combat and the missions are varied and are a joy to play. A new thing to Far Cry 3 is the inclusion of the wild life. You can hunt and skin wildlife which can be used to upgrade your equipment. The map is huge so expect to do a lot of hunting in your spare time. The map is hidden until you do a little bit a first person platforming (trust me it does actually work) on radio towers which also gets you free weapons as a reward. You can also attack small bases which, once liberated, can be used as fast travel points. A little disadvantage to this though is the enemies disappear forever once an area is liberated. It would have been better for enemies to still patrol the area (but less often) because once the Island is liberated enemies are hard to find. These liberated areas also offer you extra missions ranging from assassinations to races. This, the missions and anything you do in the game gives you experiences points which can be spent on upgrading you (represented by tattoos on your left arm). The upgrades keep you alive but do not worry about choosing which ones to go for first as by the end of the game you will have all of them. As I mentioned before there are races in this game. Just expect to be irritated by them. Generally, driving in this game feels very loose and the cars really do not have any weight to them. It was so bad it that when I played this game it made me avoid driving.
Graphically this game is good. The environments look rich in detail and the lighting is just superb. However, the graphics are not ground breaking with its generic arts style but it is a pretty game. The motion cap and facial expressions are what you expect from an Ubisoft game (i.e. excellent). The sound (again, like facial expressions, another strength of Ubisoft’s talent) in this game is fantastic. Weapons sound powerful and the soundtrack is mysterious and calming yet fits well with the insanity theme (the main Far Cry 3 theme music is just beautiful). I am not a fan of Skrillex but every time I hear "Make It Bun Dem" it makes me think of that mission burning the crops. Rarely do music and games blend but this is one of those moments.
The Co-op mode and online competitive multiplayer is fine but nothing to get too excited over. Co-op mode provides a small amount of linear missions and follows a new set of characters. It is by no means bad and is varied in the types of objectives it doesn’t pales in comparison to the single player. The Multiplayer is the same in quality. It feels very generic and nothing really there that pushes the boundary of multiplayer gaming (but this is by no means a bad thing). The amount of maps is very small; however, Far Cry 2’s map editor is back. I haven’t played Far Cry 2 for a long time but I noticed the map editor hasn’t really changed that much. But saying this, it is still one of the best map editors on consoles. The community really drive this forward and really show you how imaginative they are. The map editor takes some getting used to but it won’t be long before you are making some high quality maps.
Overall this game is a must. It does have some downsides, mainly with its story, but the core gameplay makes it extremely fun to play. I did notice one game breaking bug which I had to restart my console to get rid of (textures refused to load) and there can be situations where animals can get stuck but these bugs are a rarity. If you are looking for a great multiplayer experience this isn’t the game for you. If you are looking for a stellar single player experience that gets your creative juices flowing with the map editor, you should get this game. It was almost my GOTY
The new trailer for the free 60 FPS update is here.
I'm happy with Part 3 & Blood Dragon getting the 60FPS treatment. I'll eventually try Primal, maybe this weekend.
Following a series of repetitive games, a formulaic approach, and a disappointing last entry, the Far Cry series has been run into the ground.
The trouble with most criticisms of this franchise is that they insist Far Cry 3 was the best game, but the things they claim to hate about the franchise are all the elements that 3 introduced.
Couldn't agree with you more! I've always thought that, my personal favourite is two, the whole atmosphere, mystery, adrenaline, my vehicle steaming up because I've crashed too many times trying to escape and then getting in a shootout, having to pull a bullet out my arm while fire rages and bullets fly, can't beat it
Yep, 2 is my favorite by far as well, and one of my favorite singleplayer games of all time. It was probably one of the last games Ubisoft made before they started homogenizing their franchises to be open world collect-a-thons with unnecessary RPG mechanics tacked on. I enjoyed 3 for what it was, but it was clearly an attempt to make the franchise appeal to a mass audience (which, in fairness, was successful).
That's not the issue. If Far Cry 3 never existed and they just made another 5 or 6 games that were increasingly generic copies of Far Cry 2 instead, would that make FC2 the real problem?
No. It's the lack of creativity and effort that followed that's the real issue.
And there are things that are genuinely different about FC3. Simple example - the story was easily the best. Best main villain by far too but it also has strong themes and wasn't afraid to explore controversial topics. The sequels are much blander.
Comparing the fun and creativity of Blood Dragon to the DLC in the sequels ... also says a lot about how Ubisoft fell off.
Yeah like even Far Cry 4 was decent, not as great as FC3 but they still gave us an interesting story, setting and villain. Pagan Min's random calls to Ajay were pretty funny.
They just got lazier and lazier, pumping them out while making it a little more streamlined each time. I mean Jesus, they gave us a silent protagonist with FC5 which really hurt the main story and are obsessed with pleasing everyone by trying to do two characters, male and female rather than just settling on one to tell the best story they can.
I started FC6 and yes the game works fine but I just wssnt Fun. Do many Ubi games are huge playgrounds but feel empty and doesn't give the feeling of a world which is lived in
I have found that the more recent FC games work better as what I call "background games." Basically what I mean is it's nice to have an active save in one of them going for those times you have 45 minutes to play games and just want to have fun and don't want to get bogged down playing a game online or starting a new game and spending all your time into an annoying tutorial. Like I haven't touched FC4 in years but I know if I had 30 minutes to an hour to play I could hop in and easily be back in the swing of things and attack an outpost and have a good time.
I think a lot of people use big RPGs like Skyrim or Cyberpunk in a similar way.
Yes because FC3 executed those aspects better. Every game since FC3 has just been Frankensteined off the bones of FC3 with half the effort.
Ubisoft gets a lot of hate for their content filling of maps. Personally I enjoy the mechanic when i play an open world game I like revealing hte entire map and doing all the side mission stuff before i go into main missions. Far Cry and the RPG AC maps where a joy to play.
Far Cry 2 was soo unique ... it was ahead of its time and is often misunderstood (thank you Clint Hocking, can't wait for his next game Assassins Creed Hexe)
(yes, FC2 was a departure from from FC1, so in strictest sense, Crysis 1 & 3 are the truer successors)
Yep. Unfortunately there has been so little since then that has scratched the same itch. Really the closest thing has been BOTW, which uses a lot of similar systems (though ironically FC2 came out before Ubisoft put the Assassin's Creed towers in Far Cry, while BOTW had Ubi towers). Obviously it isn't a shooter though. I keep hoping that that some indie dev will put an FC2-esque game out on Steam, but so far I've been left wanting.
I actually enjoyed Far Cry 5 and New Dawn. Far Cry 6 was a joke. It was a step backwards in every way. That was probably the worst Far Cry I have ever played.
Far Cry 3, an open-world masterpiece that redefined the series. Gameplay and storyline makes it a timeless classic that still inspires today.
It's gotta be Far Cry 2 for me, the feeling of that game I'm still yet to find again, just everything about it, I'd kill for a remaster, I'd even be happy with just a bump in resolution and frame rate, occasionally go back to it, think I'm gunna have to do just that now 😂
A remaster of Far Cry 2 would be amazing, especially with the mods that fixed the broken stealth system and the dumb checkpoint respawns. Include those fixes and it would be a huge upgrade over the original.
Enemies respawn in Far Cry 2? Terrible! It's a broken system! Make me a one-man army who can inexplicably hold an entire region!
Enemies respawn in Dark Souls and Zelda? Brilliant! So much more hardcore! Glad the devs took risks!
The problem isn't them respawning. It's that they respawned after just 5 minutes. Like you'd still be in the area looking for diamonds, loot, exploring, etc, and the enemies would just respawn with you there.
Good review. Although the proper quote from Vaas is, "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?"
If your accounting for the grainy mp as well lol this game is decent looking. The SP looks nice for an open world game but character animations and a few other things aren't that good looking. The mp should be included as well when talking about graphics and that is very grainy and a jag fest.
All in all this game is a decent 8 to me but def nowhere near 9's and 10's many games get slammed for a mediocre sp or mp and in this case i see they totally ignore the mediocre mp and grade it as if they are solely grading the sp. They didnt give other titles that pass so they shouldnt do it here notably games like Starhawk (series known for mp, not sp) and others!!!
I tell you the definition of insanity, giving Far Cry 3 less than a 9! Favorite game I've played this year.
Agree about the ending, especially when you are trying to kill Vaas, the effects looked like Brody and Vaas were connected in some way, and Hoyt just seemed like an annoying douche in the way.