FAR CRY 3 (X360)
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal. Released: November 2012. Genre: FPS. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 9th August 2013. By Shane Battams © 2013 |
Many will associate tropical islands as places of paradise, where you can bathe in the sun and relax. However, if you’re cynical like me, you’ll also associate them with places which can be hellacious nightmares should you end up in the wrong circumstances. Far Cry 3 most definitely fits into the latter; the sequel to the 2008 shooter which received mixed criticism, as technical glory and a free-form structure clashed with hideously long travelling sequences and a terrible story. Far Cry 3 attempts to fix these issues, removing the sharp bullets of criticism from its blood-soaked arm. Does it make for a memorable trip through the sea and sand?
Things are immediately sour as Jason Brody, one in a group of young adults, is captured by a psychopathic pirate named Vaas. After shooting his brother and telling him to run like a coward, Brody stumbles upon the Rakyat tribe who have become enslaved by these pirates across the island. In order to find his friends, Jason must liberate the island of these bandits. At first, FC3’s story comes across as a bit bland, especially as Jason’s supporting brethren are as plain as can be. However, things take a dive into the abstract, with scenes which are shocking, absurd and absorbing towards the middle and latter parts of the game. More oddball characters are thrown into the mix, making for quite the raucous time once FC3 picks up steam.
FC3 scraps open-ended mission choices, buddy system and factions from the previous game in favour of a more straight-forward sandbox as missions pop up one-by-one. However, many missions can still be approached using either stealth or shooting. This also applies to liberating outposts, allowing you to remove the pirate threat whichever way you see fit. It’s worth noting, though, that stealth often doubles the rewards, as bonus XP is given on top of completing missions. As Jason levels up, he can unlock special abilities through tribal tattoos such as multi-man takedowns or increased loot. Outside of outposts and story missions, Assassin’s Creed-style Radio Towers reveal more of the map, side quests are plentiful and other activities allow you to hunt rare species and complete supply drops. There is a lot to do for sure, and while some tasks are dull, story missions and outpost challenges are rather awesome.
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Actually playing FC3 can bring great fun, moments of flat-out excitement and frustrations. Core gunplay actually is pretty timid, mostly spruced up with fun customisation options. Crafting your ultimate weapon with attachments and even weapon skins and dispatching guards with it is satisfying, even if the shooting could have done with a punch-up. Stealth is a lot more fun, especially as you gain abilities to kill from multiple angles and with multiple guards at once. Other tactics come into play, such as throwing rocks to distract guards. The A.I. is like two heads on a coin: they smartly react to repetitive actions during stealth, but have gun aiming akin to a stormtrooper (which is ironic, considering guards often taunt your supposed lack of accuracy). When it comes down to it, shooting is serviceable but stealth often trumps it.
Perhaps FC3’s biggest strength is the world it lets you play in. The map is huge, eclipsing the size of Far Cry 2, but a newly implemented travel system works from any location, removing the tedium from the previous game. Though the island itself is lush, the spotlight is stolen by the exciting wildlife across the map. Each area has both placid and predatory species of animal inhabiting it, and even sharks patrol the ocean surrounding the island. Unlike FC2, wildlife can be killed and skinned. Skinning allows you to craft, giving you more inventory spaces for example. Animals also spice up gameplay, proving useful during Outposts as releasing them from capture can even the odds. But on the other hand, you could be about to perform the perfect execution, only to have a tiger right up your arse. Outside of that, plants can be harvested to craft syringes which restore health, increasing breathing capacity underwater and repel animals. This all may seem small, but no game has truly captured the feeling of being a hunter like FC3 does, and it becomes addictively fun.
There are also some multiplayer offerings, but they’re mostly forgettable. A co-op mode is present, revolving around a quartet of cruise-ship members who are robbed and must chase down the captain to the same island of the single player. While fun in bursts, a sloppy checkpoint system and rigid objectives diminish the long-term fun. The competitive side doesn’t get much better. As you fight in deathmatch and domination modes, as well as the objective-based Firestorm mode and the King of the Hill-style Transmission mode, the standard XP and ranking system is in place for those who stick with FC3 for the long-term. It’s mostly uninspired, and the large-scale matches often give way to bouts of find-the-opponent, as well as spawn camping.
Perhaps FC3’s biggest strength is the world it lets you play in. The map is huge, eclipsing the size of Far Cry 2, but a newly implemented travel system works from any location, removing the tedium from the previous game. Though the island itself is lush, the spotlight is stolen by the exciting wildlife across the map. Each area has both placid and predatory species of animal inhabiting it, and even sharks patrol the ocean surrounding the island. Unlike FC2, wildlife can be killed and skinned. Skinning allows you to craft, giving you more inventory spaces for example. Animals also spice up gameplay, proving useful during Outposts as releasing them from capture can even the odds. But on the other hand, you could be about to perform the perfect execution, only to have a tiger right up your arse. Outside of that, plants can be harvested to craft syringes which restore health, increasing breathing capacity underwater and repel animals. This all may seem small, but no game has truly captured the feeling of being a hunter like FC3 does, and it becomes addictively fun.
There are also some multiplayer offerings, but they’re mostly forgettable. A co-op mode is present, revolving around a quartet of cruise-ship members who are robbed and must chase down the captain to the same island of the single player. While fun in bursts, a sloppy checkpoint system and rigid objectives diminish the long-term fun. The competitive side doesn’t get much better. As you fight in deathmatch and domination modes, as well as the objective-based Firestorm mode and the King of the Hill-style Transmission mode, the standard XP and ranking system is in place for those who stick with FC3 for the long-term. It’s mostly uninspired, and the large-scale matches often give way to bouts of find-the-opponent, as well as spawn camping.
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The Far Cry series has always stood out for its technical prowess, and though FC3 isn’t quite as jaw-dropping, it still looks damn pretty. The world crafted is lush and filled with great texture work, vibrant colours and as small details such as bugs flying by your sniper scope. Characters look realistic and animate smoothly during cut-scenes. And like FC2, the fire effects are phenomenal as it spreads around nearby shrub. Unfortunately, the game is bogged down by a somewhat troublesome frame rate, especially during cut-scenes, as well as rough models on some animals and weird visual glitches. The audio is solid. Strong voice acting contributes to each character’s oddball personality, particularly Vaas. However, the music is mixed, often sweeping during completely inappropriate moments, and the guns can feel flat due to weak sound effects.
Though it doesn’t nail everything perfectly, Far Cry 3 is a strong shooter with a distinct wildlife which sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. The story is a vast improvement over FC2, even if its steps into abstract territory don’t always hit the right spot, and the reduced travelling is also a plus. The shooting isn’t quite as fun as the stealth gameplay, but it works well enough, especially when you consider the customisation possible. It keeps the key sentiment of the series – the choice of how you proceed through each encounter – but credit is deserved for crafting a huge world filled with constant opportunities, whether it’s engaging with the wildlife or completing the many side tasks available to you. Fans of the series will undoubtedly dig this latest adventure, and even those soured by the last entry might want to take a gander at this exotic nightmare.
Though it doesn’t nail everything perfectly, Far Cry 3 is a strong shooter with a distinct wildlife which sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. The story is a vast improvement over FC2, even if its steps into abstract territory don’t always hit the right spot, and the reduced travelling is also a plus. The shooting isn’t quite as fun as the stealth gameplay, but it works well enough, especially when you consider the customisation possible. It keeps the key sentiment of the series – the choice of how you proceed through each encounter – but credit is deserved for crafting a huge world filled with constant opportunities, whether it’s engaging with the wildlife or completing the many side tasks available to you. Fans of the series will undoubtedly dig this latest adventure, and even those soured by the last entry might want to take a gander at this exotic nightmare.
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VERDICT
Visual: 8/10
Audio: 6/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Longevity: 9/10 OVERALL: 8/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: FAR CRY 3 (PS3)
It’s remarkable what a few common-sense improvements can do to transform a flawed shooter into an outright winner. Whereas the technically-impressive Far Cry 2 came across as bloated and lumbering, its successor is a leaner, altogether more appetising prospect thanks to a ‘fast travel’ function and the removal of humdrum hindrances like gun degradation and the near-constant need to fix your crumpled vehicle. Ubisoft Montreal’s beautiful tropical nightmare neatly integrates elements of stealth and good old-fashioned blasting. Weapons (which include a bow, a rocket launcher and pretty much everything in between) are fantastically satisfying to use, whilst the gorgeous and impressive engine still allows you to start bush fires and wreak havoc on the surroundings. There’s plenty for treasure hunters, and the bounty missions are absorbing and a pleasure to tackle. Online co-op would have benefitted from offering a wider range of options for those who weren’t hosting, as the lack of a level select means you end up tackling the same early ones quite a lot. Commendably, it offers an offline split-screen co-op variant, and with six generously-sized levels, it’s hard to grumble. More spritely, imaginatively-designed and fun to play, Far Cry 3 trumps its predecessor in every way that matters. [8] - Tom Clare © 2014
It’s remarkable what a few common-sense improvements can do to transform a flawed shooter into an outright winner. Whereas the technically-impressive Far Cry 2 came across as bloated and lumbering, its successor is a leaner, altogether more appetising prospect thanks to a ‘fast travel’ function and the removal of humdrum hindrances like gun degradation and the near-constant need to fix your crumpled vehicle. Ubisoft Montreal’s beautiful tropical nightmare neatly integrates elements of stealth and good old-fashioned blasting. Weapons (which include a bow, a rocket launcher and pretty much everything in between) are fantastically satisfying to use, whilst the gorgeous and impressive engine still allows you to start bush fires and wreak havoc on the surroundings. There’s plenty for treasure hunters, and the bounty missions are absorbing and a pleasure to tackle. Online co-op would have benefitted from offering a wider range of options for those who weren’t hosting, as the lack of a level select means you end up tackling the same early ones quite a lot. Commendably, it offers an offline split-screen co-op variant, and with six generously-sized levels, it’s hard to grumble. More spritely, imaginatively-designed and fun to play, Far Cry 3 trumps its predecessor in every way that matters. [8] - Tom Clare © 2014
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