Far Cry 3 Xbox 360 review

Introduction

Far Cry 3 is a First Person shooter for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, developed by Ubisoft. I will be reviewing the Xbox 360 version. Far Cry 3 is similar to games like Halo and Call of Duty as they are all from the first person perspective.

Story

How far would you go to save the ones you love? This is a question Far Cry 3 tackles throughout the campaign. Far Cry 3 tells the tale of Jason Brody. Jason is captured by insane pirate, Vaas, on a skydiving trip with his friends above Rook Island. Vaas is right-hand man to Hoyt Volker. Hoyt runs a human trafficking operation on Rook Island. Vaas plans to ransom Jason and his friends and sell them into slavery regardless of whether their parents pay the ransom. Jason manages to slip through Vaas’ fingers with the help of his brother. With the aid of Citra and Rakyat warriors who are at war with Vaas, Jason has to save his friends from captivity.

As Jason is someone that hates violence, to see him evolve from a normal person to a cold blood murderer is great as it something that isn’t in many games. It makes him seem more human. The story in Far Cry 3 is really immersive. I got really into it. I really cared about the fate of Jason and his friends; this might have been because the story is told in-game, instead of using cut-scenes, so there’s no interruption to the immersion. At all times the game is in the first person perspective, so it felt like the characters were talking to me instead. It felt like I was Jason Brody. 

Gameplay

Far Cry 3 is mainly an open world first person shooter; however, there are other elements such as platforming and driving as well. As per the rules, the game allows the player to explore the island at will. The player can take part in side missions, go hunting, liberate outposts from Vaas’ pirates or play campaign missions. The game has a lot of content which can help increase the game’s longevity.

Shooting in Far Cry 3 feels solid. There are different weights to the different guns. For example, an LMG feels heavier than a handgun, so it is harder to sprint with it than with a handgun, but it adds an element of realism. Overall I enjoyed the shooting; it felt satisfying shooting Vaas’ pirates. As pirates are killed and outposts are liberated, the player gains experience, which they can then use to unlock new skills such as shooting a handgun while zip lining and takedowns. 

Driving is quite good. There’s a range of different vehicles, from trucks, 4x4s to sedans and ATVs, which are quite useful for getting around. All the vehicles have different handling, making some of them, such as ATVs, quite challenging to drive at high speeds. Overall driving is quite a useful and fun element.

The platforming can sometimes be awkward. It’s needed to climb radio towers to disable jammers so that more of the map is shown. It felt like a chore. I liked the idea of climbing radio towers. It just wasn’t implemented all that well.  I would sometimes miss a jump that I should have been able to make.

Hunting is an integral part of Far Cry 3. Although hunting is considered optional, it is still required to upgrade and craft new equipment such as ammo pouches and rucksacks. I enjoyed hunting in Far Cry 3 as it adds a sense of progression rather than having everything unlocked from the start. It adds a goal for the player to complete. For example, to unlock the first upgradeable weapon holster, two deer hide are required, after I got them and upgraded the weapon holster, I found I needed shark skin to upgrade to the next one. It provides that feeling of accomplishment and progression.

The Artificial Intelligence in Far Cry 3 is good too. The game remains somewhat challenging throughout as enemies take cover, call in reinforcements and make use of mounted guns. Most missions might only take a few retries to complete, but every time I died it didn’t feel cheap. It was the enemy outsmarting me.

There are a good variety of side missions from supply drops to wanted dead quests. They can be completed at the player’s leisure. They provide an alternate way for the player to gain experience and level up and as an alternative way of gaining money.

There weren’t many glitches within Far Cry 3. There were a couple of times a character’s feet would go into the floor, but nothing game-breaking. The controls are well suited to the game, with some exceptions. They’re responsive to input and easy to get the hang of as they are similar to Call of Duty.

Graphics

Graphically Far Cry 3 is amazing. From the draw distance to lighting, you could look over the other side of the island and see radio towers and then go there. The graphics up close are great as well. Character models look great. When some characters cry, you can see the tears rolling down their cheeks. You can really see the expressions on their faces. This greatly compliments the story as you believe that these characters are upset or horrified. However, there are some Non-Player Characters that look that don’t show expressions as well as some of the other main NPCs, though this is only a minor complaint. The lighting in Far Cry 3 is great; as the sun shines it creates realistic shadows of buildings and characters.

On the other hand not all of the graphics look great. There are some textures which could look better. The rocks for example, look flat. They lack definition. There is also some texture pop-in.

Overall, the graphics are incredible. I could spend hours engrossed in the game, wondering the sunny island and admiring the scenery.

Sound    

The sound is good. From gunshots, explosions to the voice acting; it’s amazing. Guns sound incredibly powerful, as do explosions. When firing a rocket into a building and hearing explode is amazing. 

The voice acting for Jason and the main NPCs is top-notch. There’s so much emotion in their voices they sound really convincing. When Jason’s girlfriend Liza is upset, it is really believable. Likewise when Jason kills a man for the first time, you really hear the terror in his voice.  Though some of the other non-player characters voices don’t sound as good, they sound kind of forced.

Overall, the sound is mostly great, with only a few issues, which only detract from the experience slightly. The sound mostly helped keep me gripped to the game.

Conclusion

Far Cry 3 is a great game with an engaging story, wonderful graphics and lots to do. I’ve played for over 16 hours and not long finished the story and I’ve still got relics, letters of the lost and trials of Rakyat to complete. There are only some small glitches, which hardly mar the experience at all. The only thing really brings it down is the platforming.

Summary

Good Points: engrossing story, great gameplay, lots of content.

Bad points: some bad voice acting, some minor glitches, platforming.