Reviews

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is a beautifully crafted first-person open world adventure that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and seldom lets you go.

You play as Jason Brody, a care-free, 20-something American on vacation in the South Pacific with his friends when disaster strikes.

Coming ashore on a remote island in search of fun and adventure, what Brody and his friends find instead are a group of murderous, drug-dealing, human-trafficking thugs, who soon take them all captive.

Brody manages to escape from their clutches after they kill his brother, and now he finds himself alone in the jungle, his friends spread out across the island and in need of his help.

It's up to Brody, a trust-fund rich kid who has never had to fight for anything in his life, to transform himself into a man capable of mastering the wild terrain, taking on the bad guys and saving his friends.

That's the premise of Far Cry 3, the latest open world adventure from Ubisoft, a superb installment in the popular franchise that seldom disappoints.

The main storyline and its missions keep you constantly entertained and engaged, and the first-person perspective here does about a good a job of putting you right in the shoes of the main character as it has ever done.

The island is vast and there is lots to explore and plenty of side-missions and challenges to complete aside from the main story.

You can participate in races, shooting challenges, hunt down wanted islanders, climb towers to reveal more of the map, or capture pirate camps to free the surrounding territory of their influence.

The island is also teeming with wildlife, most of whom want nothing more than to tear you limb from limb. But kill a Komodo Dragon or a tiger or a shark and you can skin their hides to earn valuable upgrades that allow you to construct new pouches for carrying more weapons, ammunition, syringes, and money.

The beauty of Far Cry 3 lies in its open world approach, letting you do things in any order you want to do them. Explore, hunt, do side-missions, follow the main storyline, complete challenges, unlock the map - it's all up to you. The island is your playground.

High production values, excellent graphics and sound and a solid presentation all make the package more attractive.

No one was expecting all that much from Far Cry 3, but the game delivers in spades. Well worth a purchase.