Far Cry 3

At first I was a bit annoyed with the set up - kept crashing! I decide to give my system a fresh install with an image file. I used the latest amd driver - AMD_Catalyst_12.11_Beta8_NET4
Then installed the game for the second time! I have not had one crash. Something worked! The game is excellent!

The only thing I hate is all the skill levels and skinning the animals to get the things you need to play the game. A lot of buggering about, and do we have to really hunt animals, my mind set is ok, but will this trigger off certain issues with the demented society we already have? I still think Far Cry was better for a shoot me up without the hassle of collecting things.

Anyway, this game is still brilliant and i do like the idea that you have to kill an animal to save your skin, that goes without saying when a tiger, leopard, komodo dragon etc is on your heels!
It adds the tension without a doubt! Went to take a short cut cross a river and a crocodile got hold of me! Made me jump and laugh after!

Yes the game will be hard act to follow, just wish they had cut the skinning and finding silly trinkets and looting your dead out etc!

10/10 still!

System used - i7 920 @ 3.4ghz - 6 gig ram hd7970 very high settings to ultra

OK. Let me start by making something blatantly clear. It is mind-numbingly obvious that some people will like this game, and others will not. A review is a matter of personal opinion, and in mine, this game is average.
Let me explain why....

I loved Far Cry. The original was ground-breaking. You needed a freakishly good PC to even run the thing. I had to upgrade my GPU at the time just to play it. The best cash I've ever spent. The water, the foliage, the different tactics, the ludicrous plot twists etc made the game one of my favourite of all time.

Then the second Far Cry came along and changed the rules completely. A FPS RPG kinda game. Still brutal. Still needing a beast of a PC to run. Plot was ok. But what I didn't like was the whole 'sandbox' aspect of it. All of sudden you had to get 'missions' a la GTA or something similar. God knows why they felt the need to change it, but they did. Some loved the game, I never finished it. I got bored of travelling from A to B with the sole purpose of getting given another mission, coincidentally back where I was before.

So seeing the trailers for Far Cry 3, the first thing that struck me was the island. Back to basics perhaps? Well, kind of. The game is beautiful. The jungle, the caves, the beaches, the sea....oh the sea....wow. Like the original, the sea looks astonishing. And guess what? Just like the original, it is a monster to run. First game in two years I've not been able to run on high or ultra high settings. So you'd better have some nice new kit, or some top of the range pc from a 12-18 months ago or you'll struggle to get acceptable framerate.....

....but I digress. The game itself. Storyline and characters are great. Insane nutjobs that portray the despair of your predicament. Violence is high. Guns are great etc etc. So lot's of positives. BUT, and here's where it falls down for me. It is way too random. The intro scene is excellent. Kidnapped by brutal loons? Check. Escape with casualty of loved one? Check. Terrifying chase before sliding down into churning white water a la Arnie in predator? Check...... Pretty good till here, no?

Then all of sudden you're awake in a 'friendly' village, and the frenetic pace is just gone... You meet the 'others' (feels a bit like Lost, although in this case the 'others' are the good guys). They own shops that sell guns (yessssss). They teach you to harvest crops and plants from the jungles and fields and even rivers and sea to make medicine and other interesting stuff. They teach you to hunt wild animals for their pelt (so you can build bigger backpacks etc). You can pick up bounty hunter contracts, kill wild animals to complete challenges, and loads of other stuff.

Backpacks? Collecting plants? Really? Are you kidding me? Do I really feel like playing Far Cry 3 to make myself a bigger backpack, or to make myself an evironmentally friendly aspirin...?

But hey, masses and masses of things to do. Definitely value for money if that's your thing.

BUT, and here it is again....my opinion is that this is just yawnstakinly boring. I prefer a linear game like the original. You had to follow the plot. You could do it in your own way, but you had to keep following the plot. It kept it more exciting and more engrossing. I wanted to keep playing. In Far Cry 3, this is not the case. Its too big, too vague and in my opinion, too boring. I've not finished it, but the side missions just don't relate to the plot at all. I know that's nothing new, but in Far Cry 3 I don't see why I should bother doing them. They're thrown in to extend the length of the game obviously, but why not put the effort into the main plot instead? Don't get me wrong, it's a good game, but it's not what I wanted or expected from the franchise, and I was disappointed.

If you want a fast paced FPS like the original, this is not it. If you want something more like the second, but with more bells and whistles and generally more polished, then you'll probably love this.

Far Cry 3 is an incredible game but it may not be what you are expecting. If you are thinking it's just an FPS, you are probably underestimating the game. Before you buy this game consider two things, one - it's not just an FPS game that you can quickly finish and move on. Second - don't judge this game from the previous Far Cry games. This is an evolving FPS - survival game with strong RPG elements, you can even call it the ultimate survival game. it's the transformation of neophyte Jason Brody, that's you, and great voyage of survival and revenge. So let's start the transformation from his being a novice Robinson Crusoe to Rambo, yes, the professional killing machine.

I didn't compare Far Cry with Far Cry 2, but I do compare Far Cry 2 with Far Cry 3 but before you judge me read the full review, the reason for my comparison is because both are using Duniya Engine, and I loved the Duniya (meaning "world" in Persian, Hindi and Arabic among other languages) in Far Cry 2. One of the best features for Far Cry 2 was that the gameplay is realistic and brilliant and the way you play categorically influence the game. Far Cry 3 is much greater with those elements. There are multiple way of approaching the game.

SINGLE PLAYER
Somewhere between the Indian and the Pacific ocean there is a beautiful tropical archipelago called Rook Islands, Jason Brody, the protagonist finds himself stranded in a very hostile environment worse, his brother Doug killed and his girlfriend Liza disappeared. He is determined to find her and avenge his brother's death, more important, to get out of the Island which is inhabited by savages, crazies, dangerous animals and other aggressive elements. Jason Brody is basically a nice guy forced to fight to survive, unlike the Special Forces operative Jack Craver in Far Cry , or the mercenaries you played in Far Cry 2, he is not a combat expert, but he learns really fast. The basic story is, what I mentioned in the title, the average everyday man's transformation to a deadly killing machine.

GAMEPLAY
Gameplay of Far Cry 3 is very similar to Far Cry 2, non-linear, open world sandbox mode style, where you are free to explore. If you can see it you can go there, the vast open world provides both hostile environment and a beautiful tropical landscape. The dynamic weather system, day and night cycle, can be used in the player's advantage. The tropical jungle (often reminds you of the original Far Cry) provides cover and strategic movements, yet you should remember that as it has its advantages the environment can be equally deadly.

The enemies react dynamically to your modus operandi, Duniya 2 engine presents much more intelligent and polished enemies and hostile yet adaptive environment. You can refine your approach depends on the situation, customize weapons and strategies. You can be stealthy, cunning strategist, run into a situation guns blazing, or even try a mixture of all these strategies, or find something totally new in your style of approach.
However, remember, at the core Far Cry 3 is a first person shooter, so even if you prefer a stealth approach it wouldn't be like Theif , Splinter Cell, MGS, or Sniper Elite or similar games. What you can do here is that stealth approach can be used to your advantage, and it's really great, but that didn't mean you can use a full stealth approach throughout the game, and you shouldn't , if you really want to enjoy the game. However, it has more opportunities to play stealthily and strategically than the previous Far Cry games, much much more opportunities to use the environment to your advantage. Talking about the advantage, there are multiple ways to devise your strategy and the game will adapt to it. For example, when you see the enemies have caged animals you can free the animals and they will take care of the enemies while you can also snipe them at your convenience and safety.

There are a few minor jumping scenes, nothing as wild as the original Half Life, and some of it makes you feel a bit vertigo, for example when you climb the telephone beacon tower, where you can have a look at the massive open world awaiting you down there. "Death from above" is a jump-kill approach, where you can dispatch an enemy by jumping and stabbing to make a stealth approach more effective. You can spot enemies behind the crates like a silhouette and taken them down strategically.
The enemy AI is really brilliant in this game, they try to work together, outflank you, provide each other support and suppressing fire, run to activate the alarm for help, providing frequent and plenty of challenges to the player.

The introduction of the role playing game elements is something new to the Far Cry series. Experience points, skill tree, looting the boxes are all introduced in Far Cry 3. You can see the skill tree as it is, like RPG game style, and the tattoos you are getting is the new skill. The protagonist Jason's transformation is another key element of the game, I have to say, from a neophyte carefree man to the ultimate killing machine, is an awesome transformation. The massive open world of Far Cry 3 offers numerous secondary campaigns and hours and hours of gameplay.

DUNIYA 2
Far Cry 3 features the fantastic Duniya 2, a modified and advanced version of the original Duniya engine. Now, if you are familiar with Far Cry 2, James Cameron's Avatar or Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood you know about Duniya Engine, even if you've played the original Far Cry and Crysis series, you can imagine what you'll get from Duniya 2, because Duniya is based on CryEngine which was modified for Far Cry 2. In short CryEngine 1 is the mother of both the latest CryEngine 3 in Crysis 3 and Duniya 2 in Far Cry 3.
I don't think any other Game Engine has the dynamic and realistic weather effects, fire, volumetric and indirect lighting like Duniya engine. Those who played Far Cry 2 know about how the weather effects and terrain can affect the equally brilliant dynamic fire propagation. Duniya also supports large open world maps without level loading, and great special effects. Duniya 2 went one step further in non-scripted Artificial Intelligence, much more polished weather and geographical system, realistic animation whether it's a ravaging fire or a slithery snake, it's so lifelike, also facial expressions, with totally awesome radiation, lightning, and global illumination, incredible is the only word to describe it. The Island has the best dynamic ecosystem as well, everything is so alive and reacts to everything. When you make a sound or fire your gun, it may not only attract the enemy pirates, but alert the animals too, and some of them can be really hostile. Personally I think Far Cry 3 is the most realistic first person shooter at present and you, the player and your avatar are much closer than any other game you ever played, in Rook Islands you are not playing, you are surviving.

CAMERA
The monocular in Far Cry 2 is replaced by the camera in Far Cry 3, which can be zoomed to investigate enemy movements, patrols, arsenal, strategic locations, weak points, and to study the environment. You can tag enemies and strategic objects with the camera.

MOVEMENTS
Jason is more agile than the Far Cry 2 mercenaries, you can slide to cover or attack, jump to kill, throw the knife to kill while sneak attacking, pull up climb, and a variety of movements possible combined with attack or strategy or part of exploration. One of the interesting features of the Far Cry 3 is the location marker, so you can see where you are heading as it will guide you. So you don't have to check the GPS map regularly like you did in Far Cry 2.

WINGSUITE
Wingsuite a mini parachute is a brand new addition to the game, it's always with you, so if you fall off or jump from a higher place you can use it to safely land or glide a bit to safety, it's like the wingsuite or the parachute in Just Cause 2.

ENEMIES
In Far Cry 3 there are various types of enemies, which you can identified by the icons above their heads.

Pirate Troops
Pirates or mercenaries, identifiable with a skull icon, are the standard enemy you will encounter in Far Cry 3, they are not hard but they operate and co-ordinate in numbers, and quick to mobilize.

Chargers
Identifiable by the electric charge or flash icon, they seem high on something, without fear, even dare a suicide attack on you. They ran into you and keep attacking until you are dead or they are. The chargers with Molotov cocktails are particularly good at this, even when they are engulfed in flames, they will keep fighting. Chargers are dangerous as they can inflict damage even through body armour.

Sniper
SVD sniper can be identifiable with the marksman target icon, and can be located by their sweeping laser sight. They can see you from a distance (obviously) and their shot can be really damaging, often remove two cells from the health bar, also reducing body armour.
RPG snipers don't have the laser sight, and when they spot you they retreat to safety and spray your area with RPGs or anti-tank rockets.

Heavy
The heavies are the troops with full body armours and carry light machine guns, they are identifiable with the armour shield icon. Once they spot you, they will walk towards you, blazing their machine guns, spewing shell cases, like an army of terminators.The heavies who do not carry machineguns, carry flamethrowers instead. The wear heavy fireproof body armour. Once you unlock the Heavy Takedown skill, dispatching them is much easier.

WEAPONS
In Far Cry 3 you will many weapons, you will have your default combat knife, other weapons can be classified into different categories let me list them. Read more ›