You play the part of rich, privileged kid, Jason Brody, on holiday with your college buddies, enjoying the tropical paradise of Rook Island. But then you get captured by the island’s marauding slavers, an you become a sniveling wreak, waiting on your brother to help you break out of the cage you’re in and kill the first guard. Soon however, you’ve got blood on your hands, and then you’ll find yourself all alone and having to fend for yourself on this Island paradise turned nightmare.
The character progression that Jason goes through is nice, but the reality is that if you’re anything like me, you’ll be chomping at the restraints waiting till you get the chance to kill something. Or maybe I’m just sick. It’s possible, especially when you see me play Far Cry 3 and witness the glint of joy in my eyes as a run over a couple of slavers with my jeep, slam on the brakes, jump out and loot their bodies before driving off.
Far Cry 3 is of course more than just a revenge story, it’s an open world experience. You get to explore a living breathing island. One of the first things you’ll be wanting to do, is take over all the radio towers, in doing so, make available more guns and equipment to you through the local gun shops.
The first radio tower I took over introduced me to one of the many dangers of the island – the wildlife. As I approached a snake jumped out and bit me on the hand, loosing valuable health points. It was easy to kill, but it alerted me to the fact that the island was inhabited by not only slavers but also all manor of animals, most of whom, like the slavers, would rather kill me than ignore me. When I started to climb the tower, the creaking of the structure had me worried the whole thing might fall over if I got too high, and as it got higher, the whistling wind – along with the stunning views, gave a real sense of hight. Far Cry 3 was turing into a stunning game and I had only just started.
Play through the game just completing the storyline and you’ll miss the point. Start by taking over the radio towers and hunting the wildlife and you’ll be better suited for what’s to come. Wildlife will help you craft new things, like bigger wallets that allow you to carry more cash – for the more expensive times – or the ability to carry up to four weapons at a time, or more loot.
Complete side quests – like taking over strong points or delivering medical supplies, and you’ll upgrade your character quicker, giving you ore options as you go along.
Whilst most things can be achieved by running in with guns blazing, you can have more fun by scoping out the area. Look for little things, like an outpost that has some caged animals – let these loose and they’ll start to kill the slavers for you. Shoot the exploding barrels and watch the fire spread and cause mayhem, or sneak in for the silent kill with knife in hand.
How you approach Far Cry 3 will determine what you get out of it.
The storyline on it’s own is a blast, with some great characters and even better acting – Far Cry 3’s story missions are full of cut scenes that you’ll enjoy watching, with crazy characters that seem and act plausibly.
It’s the combination of an engaging storyline with real open world playability that makes Far Cry 3 a blast to play, and something that will have you coming back for more.
And that’s even without looking at the online play!
