On the E3 convention of 2012 it got the prize of best shooter and it was also nominated for a couple of other awards. According to many critics, Far Cry 3 is the game of the generation because of its intriguing story filled with sudden plot twists, a huge and very detailed open world and the sturdy multiplayer and co-op.
You play as Jason Brody, a young fella from California who gets captured along with his friends after a skydive onto a pirate infested island. One of the leaders, a psycho named Vaas, locks you, your two brothers and your friends up with the intention to sell you all into slavery. Somehow you manage to escape and with the support of the Rakyat, a rebel group that fights against the tyranny of Vaas, you go on a search for your brother and friends.
The sandbox that is Far Cry 3 is the prime example of what a powerful engine and a team of dedicated people can do. The Dunia 2-engine is capable of mimicking different weather circumstances and letting these influence the world. Another function of Dunia 2 is the very realistic face capturing software, which makes sure you see every emotion on the faces of the NPCs and thus makes the conversations really believable. The use of very bright colors also strengthens the feeling of a tropical island and the gun flashes look better than in any other game.
To map pieces of the islands you will have to climb radio towers. By doing this you also get free weapons in the stores. There are many weapons to use, varying from pistols to LMGs and there are even some special weapons, like a bow. The flare gun and flamethrower both make a comeback. Every weapon has a couple of color schemes and on the more powerful weapons you can also put some attachments. These don’t become free by activating towers, so you’ll have to buy them. In between the story missions there are some sidequests for you to complete as well, like killing camp leaders and delivering packages. If you liberate an outpost, this location can be used for fast travel so you can get to things quickly, but normal travelling on the island is more fun because then you can discover cool things like temples and caves. For normal travel there’s a wide assortment of vehicles like a jet ski, a boat, a jeep, a car, a hang glider etc.
Then there’s the multiplayer. There are 4 gamemodes: Team Deathmatch, Firestorm, Transmission and Domination. These modes are all playable on the official maps of the game, but with the level editor you can create your own as well and you’re also able to play on the maps of other users, if they choose to upload theirs. Besides competitive multiplayer you’ve also got co-op. Team up with 1, 2 or 3 other players and fight your way through a completely different story than the singleplayer. The XP you earn here is used for the normal multiplayer too.
Out of this all we can conclude that Far Cry 3 is one of the best games of the year and maybe even of the decade. If you haven’t got this game yet, now is the time to run to your local games retailer and buy it. Even though the story is pretty raw, you should definitely play this one all the way to the end.
(available for xbox 360 (version tested), PS3 and PC)
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