Far Cry 3: Pirate Infested Tropical Dystopia

Partying. Hostages. Drinks. Machetes. Skydiving. Friends. Pirates. The game starts off with a montage of you (as Jason Brody), your brothers and your friends having the time of their life on a large island in the south pacific. The nightmare quickly begins when Jason wakes up to find himself imprisoned in a bamboo cage by indigenous pirates, and it’s not long before you meet the fiend himself, the psycho pirate lord Vaas. You are now tasked with missions in service of the Rakyat leading to rescuing your friends, taking over the Island, and assassinating Vaas. There is a lot of fun in watching Jason progress through the game as he self-teaches himself ways to survive through the jungle including his extraordinary methods of healing himself! A shot to the arm while driving will prompt Brody to ‘bite the bullet’ as he clenches the bullet out of his flesh with his teeth and spit it out all with one hand on the wheel. There are plenty of other reflexes and scenes spread through the game that give the player a feeling that they are adapting better into the environment with Brody.

"Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" - Vaas

The overall plot of Far Cry 3 is engaging and the characterisation and development of the cast are impressive. Vaas’ famous question on insanity rings in the players ears when we start to see suspicious and creepy stuff around the Island. Insanity permeates through this Island. Those who learn to embrace and adapt to the Island turn more vicious, tribal, angry, dehumanised and animalistic. We follow the once scared twenty-something frightened, Jason Brody turn into a ruthless skilled killer. It is a theme that culminates to an epic conclusion where the player is granted a choice that decides the ending of the game.

Far Cry 3 really beautifully couples the story parts of the game with the non-story parts. Here’s why: When you are roaming the Island, you can hunt different animals, forage rare plants that you can use to upgrade your pouches and weapons rucksacks, health potions and other recipes. You can also hijack radio towers to uncover more places in the map, take control of pirate coves, trials of the Rakyat. The skills, equipment and knowledge of the island you gain from these extra missions undergird the story line missions which become increasingly difficult. Unfortunately, the weapons and collectibles inventory was difficult to use and this did take a toll on the gameplay as the game progressed into more challenging zones - perhaps most annoying was my mini-expedition to hunt dangerous and rare animals for special leather for a promised upgraded pouch to store four weapons but I could still only hold a maximum of two. The accessibility and simplicity of the rucksack inventory is definitely a room for improvement for the rumoured sequel to this game set to come out in 2014.

Jason has a good range of weapons at his disposal that he can purchase at a Rakyat shop or he can unlock for free by claiming radio towers. There is a huge scope to be clever and creative with how you use weapons to conquer pirate coves or complete missions in general. Take your short-range flamethrower to set nearby enemies on fire or be more strategic and beset pirates by setting a whole cove on fire. The sniper rifle is man’s best friend in this game; it really makes me feel in control when Jason can take out pirates one by one at a distance. There are plenty of other good weapons to purchase and unlock too. Vehicles can be used in and outside of missions from buggies to cargo trucks to jet skis to handgliders (pretty fun). Your vehicles can take damage from enemy attacks and bashing into trees and falling of mountain sides - a fun experience. Vehicle control is not too demanding to frustrate the game play and not too simple to use to break away from the realism of the game.

The music and sound effects deserve merit too. The realistic and frightening sound tracks truly capture the suspense of the moment and I still find myself listening to some of the legendary soundtracks off YouTube. All this combined with stunning graphics will captivate you for hours of pure joy.

Far Cry 3 was released in November 2012. It can currently be bought for around £16.99 on PS3, £17.99 on XBOX 360, and £12.99 on PC.