30.11.2012

Since Farcry instincts on the xbox when it was less known, it has evolved into something bigger and better each time whilst also learning from past mistakes.4 years ago we had Farcry 2, a brilliant and realistic game, that with it's brilliance was marred by frustrations and chore like gameplay coupled with a nonsensical storyline or dilemmas with no consequence.Now we have a somewhat anticipated Farcry 3 to top the year off, you may have read some reviews already giving it 10/10 and saying it's the best shooter ever made. They aren't far off.FC2 was a chore to play, vehicles were slow and would need repairing every few yards, enemies could withstand a full clip before dying,enemies would somehow drive round a corner and attack you, enemy checkpoints would always respawn. The controls were a little sluggish and death meant suffering all of this again to travel to an objective again!Thankfully Ubisoft was made aware of these problems, now the controls are more fluid and sharp. The vehicles are faster and scarcely break down. You don't have to worry about malaria. Enemies die if you shoot 1 bullet in the head. They don't magically spawn round corners from you or at checkpoints. Overall the game is a lot more fun to play.First being the Insane edition, the content. You get a funny little Vass bobblehead, a cool survival pouch, an interesting survival guide that looks hand written (not just some strategy guide full of item locations in the game etc) and some nice DLC content.GAMEPLAY: 10/10COVER/FIRE MECHANIC:There is now an intuitive cover and fire mechanic, where if near a wall your character realistically holds his gun upwards so it doesn't go through the wall like a ghost gun. If you press RT you will do some erratic shooting and holding LT makes you pop up to shoot, you aren't locked onto the wall and thus makes it the best cover/fire system I've used. Especially in comparison with perfect dark zero and Resident Evil 6's versions.AI:The AI in this game don't just magically respawn and no longer take bullets like The Terminator, but also don't magically appear near you to attack. They make their own patrolling rounds on the island or sometimes get into their own gun battles with the islands Natives (The Rakyat) or might simply be getting attacked by animals, and chancing upon such scenarios makes the world feel more realistic. If you attack them on the road backup will come and search for you in the area, it's nice. You can also use stealth to evade them, hiding behind bushes etc.PERKS:The game now has a perk system in single player, but not Call of Duty, you have 3 types of skills, the Heron, the..Bird, and the Spider (I forgot the 2nd) The perks you get are pretty good and feel quite useful in the game. From different takedowns, and health/stamina attributes to the running slide and dragging bodies. There are also perks in multiplayer more akin to Call of Duty.VEHICLES:Unlike the last game, they are faster and stronger. They also come in slightly more variety such as jet ski's and now the readily available ATV. They handle nicely too and you can handbrake with B, even jump out of the moving vehicle with a nice rolling animation. For those who don't know, you can use hang gliders too which handle better and are perched in places you won't be able to resist gliding from. Vehicles are all first person view and some have an unchangeable radio station, the music suiting the games theme perfectly. The only big problem is Ubisoft made the near fatal error of removing Vehicles from mutliplayer, more on this later.WEAPONS:Farcry 2 did certainly get one thing right, the guns, they were nice to look at and most realistic to use than any other game. They would over time get worn and rust before jamming and simply breaking in your hands. I think this game may have removed the weapon degradation and jamming? I don't particularly mind this. But the guns look even better and they sound fantastic, if fired in a WWII bunker it sounds the part. There are a good number of weapons too, from bows to heavy machine guns and of course the flamethrower. I should mention fire propagation is back.REALSIM:The game still has the cool and painful looking healing mechanic. If your health dips into the last bar, rather than waiting for it to slowly regenerate, you can hold Y to regain the bar via healing yourself in a context sensitive fashion to however you were injured. Drop from a height and watch your dislocated thumb be snapped back into place. Get fired at? Watch the bullet be pulled out with your teeth then spat out, scratched by a crazy big bird? you'll wrap up the scratch wounds on your arm. Stand next to a grenade? a piece of shrapnel will be pulled from his hand. This mechanic is unique and fun to have. You can otherwise heal yourself with a syringe should you have some. Sometimes the healing animations do get muddled up, how crashing my car off a cliff would result in biting a bullet out ones arm I don't know. And there are fewer animations than Farcry 2, still nice to have though.The game now has a crafting system like Skyrim, it factors in near everything, a wallet for how much money, a loot back for, loot, holsters for how many weapons you can carry (4 max) all different types of ammo pouches. They are made from skinning various animals, and it adds a nice new depth to the game, as you brave an area rife with tigers and rabid dogs. Plants and such can also be harvested for different syringes and effects.You have a camera now which can be used to scout the area ahead and tag enemies or even take pictures, I presume you can view these. You will tag enemies upon aiming at them I believe but this is bad for a immersion and any challenge so I recommend turning it off in the options.The animals are the level of depth Farcry 2 lacked, African savanah and no Lions? To be fair Lions and tigers etc don't need to be killed in a videogame but it isn't real after all and doesn't represent peoples disposition towards those animals. So it's a joy to see this game has realistic pigs, goats, dogs, crocs, tapir's (with ant eater trunks), large birds, tigers, cheetah's, panthers, turtles, sharks, jellyfish, manta's, vultures, monkeys, crows, the list goes on.. Without these mostly dangerous animals, the game would be standing on 3 rather than 4 legs.MULTIPLAYER:Sadly this didn't work for me, and others, Ubisoft chose P2P servers rather than dedicated, and look at the result. Hopefully this will be resolved. You can however get all the weapons via ranks and several attachments/perks/equipment/special tier weapons like psyche gas and barrel bombs, also a somewhat basic tattoo editor.CO-OP:You play as 1 of 4 characters, all different and thrown together in their same goal. But out for revenge after their money stolen by a boat captain. This mode is somewhat linear goes along set routes, it's ok though for a extra bit of content with a friend or two.MAP EDITOR:I loved FC2's one, so couldn't wait for this one. It does have some more content, like Thematics such as WWII and Chinese Temple pieces. It feels a little restrictive thanks to Ubi Massive including AI, Wildlife, and Vehicles that can't actually be used in the editor (it won't validate) Other than this annoyance and having to be careful with memory, you can make near anything. I'm currently making the area behind my flats, will run up and down the garden paths shooting my friend.VISUALS: 9.8/10Gorgeous visuals, your tv/monitor will look like you could jump inside it and being in a once in a life time holiday. The trees/foliage and grass, the views and everything inbetween. The lighting effects are rather nice, the water looks lovely and froths as it contacts the edges of structures. The guns all have nice design and the muzzle flash is great whether close or far (real looking battles from afar) The character modeling is decent and lip sync too. The reason not a full 10 is sometimes you turn and see objects materialize, all large games will do this to handle memory (a fully loaded world that's always visible would screw performance, but if you're facing one way, why have the things behind you rendered?) However other games don't allow you to see things materialize at like a group of bats swarming together. Also the draw distances in this game aren't as good as Farcry2, at least they don't seem it. Down a path about 200 meters, walls and tree's tops won't be visible, yet large rock/mountain set pieces will be.The game has a mini map (no more switching back & forth between physical map like FC2) However a lack of options to configure the HUD and turn off tool tips etc is a shame for such a visually nice game, hopefully Ubisoft add this soon.SOUND EFFECTS: 10/10This game has very good sound. The guns mostly all sound wonderful and change if fired in a certain interior type. The dialog is great, most notably Vaas (the sure to be memorable psycho and antagonist of the game) The script is well written and enjoyable, but delivered in equal measures.The music is great, somewhat tribal yet mixed with a "lost world" feel and pieces of dark/insanity. Though you won't hear it a lo as the game opts for a more realistic exploration.STORYLINE: ?/10You play as air head Jason Brody, he and his girldfriend, 2 brothers and friends go on this once in a life time holiday to party and be typical annoying tourists. But things end up tragically wrong, and you end up alone and hunted.Thanks to the great antagonist Vaas I think the story will be enjoyable to play through. But The premise of the game is freedom and you must reveal more of the map via climbing and removing scramblers from radio towers, plus doing side missions and exploring. So the main story would be rescuing your friends etc. There probably isn't a big revelation lying in wait but I've not completed it so can't say.BAD SIDES:For a brilliant game it has some niggles to iron out.- Firstly there's a lack of HUD configuration which can affect immersion.- Secondly Ubisoft removed vehicles from multiplayer to opt for more COD style team play. Bad move as vehicles are a staple of the Farcry series and differentiate it from most other games, it added unpredictability and much fun. 90% of fans according to a poll are angry with this choice and want them to not be restricted in the editor (you cannot publish maps with them in it)Whether or not Ubisoft will make that change is anyones guess.- The multiplayer is a bit off, the pre-made maps, the lobby, I can't put a finger to it. They did remove the new cover & fire system which is beyond me, removing such features will make it more linear and boring.- Finally the game has some bug issues, the map editor is prone to freezing meaning SAVE OFTEN! to avoid frustration. Also the multiplayer isn't too playable at the moment, Ubi changed from Dedicated servers to P2P, this could be to do with it. I sat in a lobby for 5 minutes, only 2 people joined but they left with frustration, and me and my friend played firestorm for 20 minutes, no one joined. Patches are in the works however.OVERALL: 10/10The game offers what Call of Duty, Halo and Battlefield cannot or do not.A large and addictive RPG-esque singleplayer.Crocs, tigers, bears, gliders and more.A big map editor for endless multiplayer fun.Hopefully these bug/multiplayer related problems will be fixed and vehicles added as they stop it from being the perfect game experience.But otherwise brilliant game, and perhaps game of the year narrowly ahead of the great Hitman Absolution.

27.12.2012

A pretty good game. Very much like Farcry 2, better in some ways and worse in others.The intro to your character and his predicament is well done and actually feels real world. It`s a situation that could- and has happened to people in reality. Not for children.Once into the game proper, you are introduce to weapons and tactics to help you against the very unsavoury denizens on the island. What is the island? Where is it? Well, the game doesn`t say and I suspect it never will; it`s just some tropical (?) lawless island ruled by the strong and murderous against the innocent and weak. Your character is innocent and weak, but soon is forced to become strong.The world is open-ended with the underlying storyline of trying to find everyone you started out with.You need to navigate hostile gangs by foot, car, boat or even glider. These gangs in red travel about and create roadblocks and are defined much better than in FC2. You can attack or skirt around them most times. If you get into an attack they will smartly attack you and finish you off so its wise to use hit and run tactics and at worse just run away. The AI is very good in my humble opinion.You gradually gain access to a wide variety of realistic weapons and they seem to have real-world results. No more do enemies take multiple hits to the barechest before going down- a couple of well placed shots will take them down. Even on the Hardest difficulty it was quite straight forward taking out 2-4 men as long as you hit with surprise, kept cool and was accurate. But If you jump in rambo at the Warrior level(Hardest) you`ll be wiped out. This is really good. I found the Hardest level most realistic- recommended for old vets at first person shooters.A nice change (from FC2) I noticed was that you have `good` gangs in very obvious BLUE who someimes fight the RED guys. So you`ll be driving along in your banged up car and hear shooting, think it`s you being shot at, but see a small firefight going on in the jungle. Often Red wins, but i`ll jump in to help Blue if things look tough for them. It`s a great way to pick up extra ammo too.There`s a Fast Travel mode which I don`t use, preferring to drive or walk and this reveals the odd encounters. I came across some civilians being taken away by a Red gang. The civilians were pleading, hands tied. I shot the gang, killing one, saving one prisoner, but the other gangster immediately shot the 2nd prisoner before I could get him. The surviving civilian thanked me then sat by his dead friend and cried! It was somewhat moving.There are several Hitman type jobs you can take as well as other random `search and destroy` missions. these add longevity.Later, there are some mini games you can play such as darts and cards. i haven`t played darts, but the Poker game is very well done indeed. In fact, it`s more immersive and better animated than dedicated single=player poker games of the past! however, i played on the hardest difficult and although they gave a small challenge, I won first time, so not sure if the Poker AI is really up to adult play standards.The huge Island also teems with animal life, very unlike FarCry 2 which had few creatures, none in water and none that attacked you. But in FC3 you have to watch your back! Wild dogs, tigers, alligators, sharks, snakes are about and you`ll get to know them. At night even komodo lizards will attack you if you get too close! Swimming in water is now a risky affair as it should be. These creatures can screw your plan (and the enemies) sometimes by attacking.I also really enjoy the fully 1ST PERSON feel of the game. You see you hands and feet most of time and do everything with them. You even grunt if drowning underwater and the HUD is minimalistic. Well done, Devs. Even Skyrim Devs screwed up 1st person view and don`t seem to care to give it back.Graphics and sounds are also very impressive. That`s the good stuff.Bad stuff?I would`ve like a greater character choice as in FC2. White, black, asian, etc was good. In FC3 you are White American, end story. No biggie. Then again, maybe it is.When you take some set missions you are artificially held in the area until you complete the job. You can`t leave. In some cases, the game restarts you because you SHOT an enemy instead of STABBING him. Why? So, I didn`t stab the guy like the game mission wanted, just give me less points and let me carry on, no need to Restart me again! I really hate that- No need for it as it blows that `do anything` open world feel, almost game ruining actually. Bad game design decision.Spawning is much better than FC2, but sometimes I`ll drive up a road, stop, turn around and there`s a two car roadblock waiting. When did that happen? It couldn`t have happened in the time it took me to stop and turn around.Things I don`t understand.There`s a friendly sort of Settlement you start in. It`s like a mini-paradise. Pretty girls and handsome blokes wander about almost as if all`s well with the world, even my gun arm is disabled, yet walk 30 feet and out of the little encampment and you have vicious killers driving jeeps outside. There are no guards anywhere. What`s to stop these gangs just driving in all guns blazing? A forcefield?There are somewhat out of place `challenges` that feel made for multiplayer, but work in Single Player too, such as Races and shooting rebels in a strict time period game. Strange- They take you out of the immersion.Uplay. Another version of Steam. Crap. The person who very kindly bought this for me thought this was not another forced mandatory `online` DRM game as I only play Single Player, but while UBI keeps very quiet about it, save for the VERY SMALL writing at the bottom of the box, you won`t know that there`s a DRM called UPLAY that FORCES you onto the internet before you can play the game offline. It even lets you go through all the Installation shenanigins of the game before, suddenly -`YOU MUST REGISTER WITH UPLAY FOREVER BEFORE YOU CAN PLAY`. The old underhanded trick of getting one hyped up then showing the real ball and chain.p.s. edit: Actually after a little play, I think UPLAY is actually less annoying than Steam and therfore better. It is not half as interfering and just cleanly runs the game Offline when I want to (after registering online first). Wheras Steam tries to be Big Brother, Uplay is far less overpowering. It`s a cleaner system and definitely better than `I control your life` Steam. I still don`t like it, but it`s a better system.

24.12.2012

A group of American tourists in Bangkok are convinced to visit the isolated Rook Islands, a beautiful tropical paradise off the normal tourist track. Unfortunately the islands are also in a state of civil war, with the native Rakyat tribe battling pirates and drug-runners who have taken over the area. The Americans are taken prisoner by the pirates, but Jason Brody manages to escape and find sanctuary amongst the Rakyat. He is trained in the ways of war, but as he seeks out his friends and tries to take down the pirate leader, Vaas, he risks losing his soul as the violence and conflict intensifies.Far Cry 3 is the third title in the Far Cry franchise, though it is not a true sequel.It does not share any story or character elements with its two predecessors and can be played fully independently of them. What it does share is the same ethos: a dedication to providing a story-driven single-player experience within a sandbox environment, giving the player immense freedom in deciding how to proceed.Far Cry 2 was heavily criticised for featuring a similar approach, but not doing enough with it. The game's annoyances - almost non-existent characterisation and of course the frequent road checkpoints with near-instantly respawning enemies which made travel across the map excruciatingly frustrating - overwhelmed the game's conceptual strong points, such as its 'buddy' NPC system and rich atmosphere. The designers of Far Cry 3 seem to have borne the previous title's problems in mind and provided a counter for every one of them whilst reinforcing those elements that did work. In short, Far Cry 3 finally fulfils the potential its predecessor squandered, and redeems the franchise.The game employs a number of different systems which work in tandem to make it more engrossing for the player. There's a campaign story which you can follow, in which Brody rescues his friends one-by-one before trying to kill Vaas and his ally, the drug-runner Hoyt. However, at the start of the game Brody is a nobody with no combat training and no ability to carry lots of guns around. To improve your chances of survival, you can undertake training missions for the Rakyat or go hunting animals to improve your aim. Skinning these animals also allows you to craft holders, bandoliers and backpacks, allowing you to carry more ammo and gear. However, your map at the start of the game is almost devoid of any useful information: to open up more map information, you have to ascend radio towers and download information from them. Travelling around the islands is also hazardous due to enemy checkpoints and strongholds. To reduce the number of enemies roaming the islands, taking out these outposts is essential. Unlike Far Cry 2's instantly-respawning bases, however, the outposts in Far Cry 3 stay cleared once cleared. In fact, Rakyat forces soon show up and these outposts become havens for resupply and re-equipping between missions. Outposts also generate their own missions, with side-quests, further hunting challenges and assassination assignments becoming available.In short, there is rarely a lack of something to do in Far Cry 3. It's up to you whether you pursue the single-player storyline to the exclusion of everything else, or put it on hold whilst clearing up all the side-quests first, or (more satisfyingly) mix and match as you proceed. There are whiffs of the Elder Scrolls and GTA series in the game's freeform structure, with the same potential for unintentional dark comedy: laying down a minefield to trap unwary enemies only for the mines to be detonated by a wayward crocodile, or standing triumphant at the entrance to a freshly-liberated outpost only to be run over by a jeep carrying your over-exuberant allies. The game's addition of upgradeable skills and experience points continues the franchise's evolution into a pseudo-RPG, whilst it is a huge improvement over both its predecessors due to its much stronger characters. I can't remember the name of a single NPC from Far Cry 2, but the likes of Vaas, Hoyt and Citra definitely rank amongst the more memorable characters from recent first-person shooters.Graphically, the game is lush and even beautiful. Whilst not quite the equal of the still-astonishing Crysis in its depiction of a jungle environment, it is still a remarkable graphical environment. Combat is much more satisfying than its predecessor, with a pleasing mix of long-range sniper and close-up assault options. The 'magic binoculars' from Far Cry (and missing from FC2) return, allowing you to 'tag' enemies and keep track of them even through walls. Whilst still being completely nonsensical, they are nevertheless a vital and welcome tool to help plan attacks.On the negative side, the game is tonally disjointed. The main storyline features a thematic element in which your character's evolution from urban city-dweller to mystical jungle warrior (complete with magical tattoos) is commented on, with a sideline in musings on the corrosive effects of violence on the soul. Whilst it remains interesting that a game which features shooting people in the head actually takes time out to dwell on the consequences of such violence, it's also the case that this element is not particularly developed very far. Also, every violent game of recent note has done this, leading to the suspicion that such an element is being thrown in as a sop to justify its violence rather than a genuine attempt at commentary. Less philosophically, the game sometimes feels like a bit of a mish-mash between a linear, story-driven adventure and an open-world free-for-all, with the two sides of the game not meshing as well as they good.Ultimately, Far Cry 3 (****½) is a ridiculous amount of fun. As a pure first-person shooter, it's the finest example the genre has thrown up in several years. It's a careful and successful refinement of the best elements of its predecessors, with the negative factors mostly removed. Whilst not as broodingly atmospheric as the recent Dishonored, in terms of a game being a sheer joy to play, it's a triumphant success and one of the best games of the year.

1.3.2019

The title is easily debatable but I do generally believe Far Cry 3 is the best in the series. A couple of years ago I decided to take a chance on Far Cry 2 and 3, much to my surprise both games were fun to play. However it was Far Cry 3 that struck a chord with me the most.After coming off the back off Far Cry 2 which I found just an ok game, I headed into Far Cry 3 with low expectations as I initially thought this was gonna be one of those mediocre, generic, 6/10 type of game. This was anything but as Far Cry 3 would eventually go on to be one of the best titles of the PS3/Xbox 360 generation.The worldwide critical acclaim is justified, it's got everything an open world should have.The story missions are plenty, their's a substantial amount of side activities you can do, their's a ton of collectibles scattered around the map. All this content not on 1 but 2 big islands.Just like with every other Far Cry game, there are animals in this game that need to be killed in order to improve Jason's performance i.e. Carry more ammo, extend pouch etc. Some animals come in different sizes, what would start off as easy to begin with would become harder the more you have to upgrade. For example one minute you have to kill a deer, the next you have to kill a bear. This process would also be used for Far Cry 4 and 5.The bad guys in this game are well done, from the pirates themselves to the main 2 Hoyt and Vaas. Vaas is clearly deranged and messed up in the head while Hoyt is more "aware" of what he's doing yet enjoys watching people suffer. You could say Hoyt is more of a dictator type of person whilst Vaas is Hoyt's pawn, doing his dirty deeds but in brutal fashion.Regarding the good guys (and gals), well the good guys are basically late teens. They are ambushed as a group by Vaas's pirates and split up in the process. Your character (Jason) has to find his friends and hopefully escape the island. Throughout the story you will notice how Jason goes from a scared, panicky late teen to a confident, killing Rambo type of person. I don't know I find it highly amusing that someone who probably just graduated from high school is suddenly taking on the big bad evil pirates and is winning.Anyway even though I always cheer for the good guys in any game, I do think the bad guys have more charisma in this game. Jason and his teen gang are ok but none of them have a likable persona for you to deeply care about them. It's like if one of them died, you would be a little disappointed but you're not too sad. The only true good character I did like was Sam Becker. While Dennis (Who you meet at the beginning) I found quite irritating.Throughout the game you will find loot, this is displayed on the map as some sort of diamond. In turn this loot can be sold at shops for cash. Cash can be then used to buy ammo and purchase new weapons. The great thing is, I noticed those diamonds that appeared on the map respawn's again so you can pick it up and sell again. This is a good feature so you don't have to worry about money.As with every other Far Cry game, fast travel is an option. There are outposts that can be used to fast travel once you've cleared the enemies. I highly recommend this so it makes going around the map much, much easier.One thing that is integral to Jason is his skill tree. The more missions, side stuff you do the more you rank up and can improve his performance. The skill tree has a lot of depth but some skills are locked out until you progress further in the story.I could go on and on but I would ramble. I've played every Far Cry game apart from the first one. Even though I started off with Far Cry 2, it was Far Cry 3 that made me take this series seriously. This game has everything the story, the map, the bad guys, the fun side content, the hunting, the fast travel system, the skill tree, the voice acting, it's got everything.This game would appeal to 2 type of audiences, the one's who enjoyed it the first time around and want to experience again, this time on the PS4 (Me). The second, the one's who may have played Far Cry 4 and 5 but not got around to playing Far Cry 3. So it's a win-win for both audiences, the one's who enjoyed it first time around on last gen and the one's who want to experience it for the first time.Also as a side note, on the PS4 trophies they cut out the Co-op trophies so obtaining a Platinum for this is doable.Overall this is one of the best last gen games I've played so I'm glad I managed to play this on my PS4 Pro. I still stick with my opinion that Far Cry 3 is the best game to date even though I loved the rest as well.I would personally recommend this to anyone who hasn't played Far Cry 3 yet, you won't be disappointed.

11.1.2013

First off, you don't need a Quad. Maybe it's nice, but you don't need it. This game seems to run really well on my Core 2 Duo E7500 2.9Ghz with 4GB Ram and Nvidia GTX 260 card. I even turned the graphics up from the optimal settings to high and it still looks and runs fine. In fact it runs better than Crysis, a six year old game. It looks nothing like Crysis though, it looks like Far Cry 2 with the colour turned on. It's how Far Cry 2 'should' have looked.Before running download the 26MB 3_1.04 patch. Cos' if you don't you will go mad and have to be admitted to the asylum.Now slog through the first mission where you have to do things the 'ubisoft way'. It's a bit like being told to take your football outside and have some fun,but only after you've agreed to a few arbitary rules to 'control the fun.' Here are a few tips to avoid having to re-boot your PC mucho times.First, when in mission 1 you are forced to collect the plants and the skin of two boars, go for the blue plant first. It's in the water. If the arbitary crocodile gets you, you'll have to play from the beginning of the mission, so to save time - get eaten early. The third or fourth time you play the mssion the crocodile won't be there.Then get ALL the other plants, then shoot the boars. Do this even if the game tells you you can try the translocating to another point on the map trick, BEFORE you've got all the plants. This is because after this you will have another encounter from Reuben the journalist from Far Cry 2, who has changed his name (it's him alright)to Dennis. He will anoyingly want you to learn skills associated with the stupid tattoo's - a word he can't pronounce properly. He will force you to craft 2 syringes out of leaves - for goodness sake. If you have failed to collect the requisite number of plants (I missed a green one), the game will then hang at the 'craft menu'. There is no option to defer, or go round this. When you've gone back, replayed the mission, eventually dodging the crocodile and collecting ALL the plants (all the plants soldier!), you will be dumped into the mispronounced 'tattoo' skills menu. You would normally be rebooting your PC fifteen minutes later, (as I did), unless you work out - by telepathy - that in order to get out of the skills screen, you should double click each open icon in the different categories. Intuitive or what?I'd say 'or what' to be honest.Next you have to go to a village - again no choice - and kill all the pirates. You've only got a pistol. don't waste your time on this one trying to use 'stealth'. As soon as you fire the pistol they'sll be down on you like a swarm of wasps. Get extra ammo off the dead pirate by the road, hide in the first building and come out blazing away. You'll get killed the first couple of times, or one of your idiotic conferderates will, but don't worry about that. If you try the recommended stealthy approach you'll get killed every time.Here's the really good news. Once this is over you're free of the mission structure. You can grab an AK47 off a dead pirate and go anywhere, and there are loads of places to go.I think it is basically, 'half-finished', but it's still brilliant. If you've played Crysis, Crysis Warhead and Just Cause 2 there is nothing else out there that's comparable. To play it is most like Just Cause 2. It is not like the grim Stalker and Fallout Series, or the frankly sick Bioshock and Doom - which I thought left a nasty dark brown taste in the mouth. (Yes, I know they were big hits - just not with me).

3.1.2013

Okay I'll let you in on a little secret, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. Then repeating the process again and again. Stock up, Carve Goat Meat, Craft do a mission. Smack a dingo on the head, stock up, do a mission, discover.....repeat till your hearts content.....This is a grand game and could have been more, but it feels like i've done this before? Call of Duty but less restrictive....more freedom but more of the same.........This game is a good game. It's not the best game I have ever played but it is a good game. Doesnt offer much new but can be forgiven! Map Huge, Graphics are nice, Its good.Great storyline, Anti Climax ending, unsatisfying conclusion to Antagonists,Dreamy eyed, Mystical, drug induced cutscenes full of blown out of proportion wizardry. Dont think I will be buying any story driven games for a while. Too many horror stories in the way they are written.Mass Effect *coughs*No memorable characters to speak of anyways..Vaas maybe, not exactly a Bane, but hes good, The Main is a whiny 20 something. Sounds familiar, although his voice gets more serious as the story progresses...but it also gets funnier...like a tired malnourished teenager..Citra was created for teenage fanboys. Vaas was a great antagonist but his character has been done before. Gameplay is good but melee can be a bit clunky, guns are fairly realistic, you need to use ammo wisely. Realism wise this game does okay. Free Roam post game is mehhh. As an African myself, the accents are a joke, no one talks like that sorry, Polynesian, South African and New Zealand accents were okay. Nice to know all the NPC soldiers have STD's. Great.I thought Id be rolling around a paradise island with some villagers or one of the characters in the game. Guess not. Do I wanna do some discovery???..nahhh, do I feel like skinning more sharks and blasting Tigers and Bears with a shotgun for their fur..nahhhhh...Now the games completed I dont feel obliged to do anything. Not even Multiplayer. I'm still seething from the crappy ending. Free Roam post game is a bit uninteresting. All ammo free? all gun free? ofcourse not, You need cheats for this one.On the plus side you got a decent game that lets you do what you want. You cant fly planes but theres a Wing Suit and a Parachute yaaaay. Maybe you can jump off a mountain or something.I bought this game without never playing any of the previous Far Cry's I thought It was a great adventure. Completed it in 6 days with lots of missions failed, because the flame throwing guy dressed as a welder couldnt be killed and died very hard I shot him with 80 bullets and sliced him 5 times "LOL" ridiculous....The game is okay to pass time. Greatest game of all time??? mmmmm nahhhh....Unless your a big fanboy, I rather wait for Ubisofts Rainbow Six etc. This game was alright but I expected much much more!!!!! Especially from the story line towards the end and free roam after....Wheres the ability to fly planes and use that wing suit? Or join A.I friends to hang out or fight more rebels or go hunting? Longevity will lie in Multiplayer and discovering hidden ancient artefacts. If thats your thing. I dont have time for that.Cant expect too much but decent game altogether at £22 pounds cant go wrong!! Great Adventure, some wtf moments and bobs definitely not your uncle on this one!"Happy Hunting Eh"ps: Michael Mando best be in Rainbow Six Patriots

6.12.2012

...so much better, that a further, in fact a third, amendment review is warranted.The game, and the UbiSoft site has (probably) now (December 2013) been updated (gigabytes of it) to the standard where it could/should have been at launch in 2012.I have played through three times, escalated the difficulty to the highest and enjoyed it very much.Favourite bits include the wingsuit (no longer have to find a hang glider) and the explosive or fire bearing arrows. Both advantages appear in the second half.'History is written by the winners'. Well, the game has at last become a 'winner', even though its history, given below, is not unblemished.Right now it deserves its fourth star.Enjoy.December 2012;First,be aware that there are over 500MB of updates required before the shambles begins.Second, prepare to be bored out of your skull watching the interminable cut scene which will repeat itself every time you re-load the (laughingly called) game.Third, unless you are psychic, you will benefit from knowing that the term 'Mash', when used by the illiterates who have inflicted this travesty on the unsuspecting public, means 'repeatedly hammer on the space bar'. Don't, however tempted, use your forehead for this purpose.You may, dear reader, have by now realised that I am not a big fan of the new Far Cry.If you don't believe how bad it can be, then feel free to pay your money and take your choice!!Otherwise, wait (as I should have done) until it gets update number 3 and/or the price collapses to around 50p.Even as I type,on 6 December 2012, two updates have already been published. So, as the monster was spawned on 30 November, that's two updates per week.By maintaining the present rate it might be playable sometime in 2014!12 December. A review update!Second Round; seconds out! It's almost a relief to tell you that the shambles noted above is not the whole story.But before I update the review (always with the benefit of hindsight,natch.) let me emphasis that the foregoing IS an accurate summation of the story to date.I mention this in case you may be inclined to read the 'comments' which have become attached to the review. To tell you that, however much the munchkins (apparently unable to write their own reviews) feel compelled, doubtless by some higher mystic power, to rant (perhaps a bit like this!) whinge,whine and whimper about information they don't like to hear, the facts, mentioned above, remain.Well, if you've managed to stay awake thus far,the story does get better....For after you've managed to master the 'Mashing' mystery, and broken out (I might even say 'come out'!) of that initial shambles, then the game changes, at last, from the slough of despond into something a tad more familiar to Far Cry aficianados.In fact I will confess that I am (like the boy at summer camp in Alan Sherman's song) starting to enjoy the game, as I had expected to do when I bought it!So now, after nearly a week, I can amend my rating.There are still gremlins in the game (eg 'fast travel', you're instructed, is actioned by using the mouse control: but that does not work. The 'enter' key does)Nevertheless the game, once it gets going, is enjoyable, although still unpolished.Maybe, like a threadbare, flea-ridden family pet it will continue to 'grow on me'. If so, I may return to this missive with a further update.For now, it gets 3 stars......

26.3.2014

A group of american tourists visit a beautiful and unknown place called Rook island, little do they know what lays in wait, capture, kidnap, slavery. Your separated from your friends and know nothing of the place you find yourself except for that its unsafe, and under pirate law. So go on, start killing or they'll kill you...Once I jumped into FarCry 3 the first thing that hit me was the graphics, and they really did hit like a tone of bricks. I often found myself just wandering around the island looking on at the lovely mountain views in awe of them. You don't need a beast of a PC to play it. I managed 60+ FPS on a £130 GPU on Max settings. Anyway, about the game.The game mechanics are smooth and well rounded.Allowing you to peak over cover and slide to get behind walls without taking away any of the realism. The weapons at well balanced and don't seem overpowered, in my opinion one of the worst sins of a video game is over the top guns. The levelling up system really encourages you to play for that little bit longer each time you jump in and gives you one hell of a reward when you do upgrade. giving you new abilities and strengths. Dotted around you will find enimy outposts, they are a fun addition and a great idea I want to see in FarCry 4 as well, they allow you to lay traps, lay in wait, outsmart the guards...or to just blow things up and caused mayhem... They also can make a nice break from the story if you want some time off.The story, whilst sometimes no more than an excuse to blow things up and mindlessly kill people, was more than entertaining enough to keep me interested. But at times did seem a little far fetched, but we don't play games to be in real life now do we? Finding each of your friends one by one gives enough missions to make a long and fun story, and watching your character evolve from a bit of a wimp into a ruthless phycopath bent on island domination is fascinating to watch and play. The other characters are very rich, none of them seem shallow or added on. Each one has a good reason to be there and plenty of convincing back story. Vas, the happy chap sitting on the front of the box, is one of the best vilans in gaming since GLAdOS herself. Such a lot of character with good voice acting. A pure evil phycopath, yet somehow likable.The multiplayer is quite a let down though, I think the game could have easily done without it, it gets a little dull after a few games and unless you play with friends is a grind-fest of a time, the servers for it are mostly dead by now anyway so just forget about it.The map editor can be a few hours fun, allowing you to easily create your own maps with minimal practice, but ultimately they get a little dull as well. However on the part of Ubisoft I am impressed on how simple an well made it is,Overall FarCry 3 is one hell of a game that will offer MANY hours of explosions, killing, story, superb graphics and a lot of flying lead. For the current price its a must have for any gamer on any platform. And the replay value is good, you can change up your tactics and have a hole new game to play. Only place it falls down is the multiplayer, but you can just forget it exists and go blow something up quite happily...4 Stars, Ubisoft has done well with this and I can't wait for another instalment of it.

15.7.2018

I played this recently on the PS3 (after loving it years ago and wanting to re visit the old console) and this new PS4 version is far better graphics wise. Almost as good as Far Cry 4 in looks and frame rate. If you are not used to the Far Cry series but love shoot em ups, but are fed up with the linear COD style games then this may be for you. As you begin the game you are pushed into a few missions which explain the game, but after that you are free to explore a huge area of jungle (hundreds of square kilometers!) populated with enemy patrols, defended outposts, wildlife to hunt, caves to explore, radio towers to climb (to open the map up and gain free weapons!), loot to find.First things to do are to avoid the enemy at all costs (including driving your vehicle off a bridge into a river to swim to safety) whilst you hunt and gather to increase your weapon and ammo carrying capacity and gain XP points which you can buy extra health slots and combat abilities until you are strong enough to start to kick ass. It can be a bit frustrating at first being weak, but it gives the game of survival a sense of earning, rather than a senseless blood fest (but that can come later!) As your abilities increase you can load out with a variety of weapons: Sniper rifles, Bow and arrow, AK47, Flame thrower, Rocket launcher, mines, Remote detonation C4, the list goes on (only 4 max) and decide to attack enemy outposts in any way you want. Each outpost has an alarm or 2 or 3 which if activated calls for a wave (one for each active alarm) of reinforcements who arrive on foot, by boat, car or helicopter. So I like to start by sniping a few of the alarms and look out guys, before creeping in and laying a few mines on the roads leading up to the outpost before sneaking in and trying a few up close take downs. (You can throw rocks to distract enemies) But I am impatient and quite often get seen and the alarms are set off and all hell breaks loose. My 4 weapons usually consist of 2 stealth and 2 loud. So when thing get bad an LMG and rocket launcher take out the reinforcements and the mines help too and the result is one hell of a firefight !. Or sometimes I tool up with a shotgun, flamethrower, LMG and grenade launcher and wade in gun blazing..... alarms? Set them off! the more the merrier! The story which guides you through is good enough to enjoy, But whilst completing the main campaign what you are left with at the end, after hunting, gathering, shooting, is an absolutely enourmous sand box to go travelling through jungle, exploring, shooting, fighting and choosing how you take each situation on, outflanking enemy, setting traps, petrol bombing a whole outpost, sneaking in and taking an enemy with a knife, then leaving a land mine on his body and one on the alarm too. I blew up a bear with C4 once and it went miles into the air, but landed on me and killed me. I fell off my chair laughing. The limitations are endless. And the fun to be had matches if you can enjoy getting through the hunting, gathering grind at the beginning.

13.1.2013

I was going to give this game 4 stars, but it would be wrong to, the title of this review actually happened in the game... In the depths of a jungle, I found a photo of a dwarf in a crate in a pond. No game that ass-backwards random gets any less than a five.Any great, big, complicated, stuffed to the gunnels game is going to have problems, bugs, glitches, etc. are par for the course, then there are gameplay elements ported in from the console versions, QTE being a real bad example, having to mash a key repeatedly while under stress isn't fun... Its a job... Far Cry 3 makes a big mistake in QTEs which is to throw in a number of different keys so, say you get attacked by an animal,you will find yourself having to switch from the 'WADS' for movement to rapidly mashing 'c' or space randomly, its not great. And then there is the god awful checkpoint system... These two miserable aspects of play don't tarnish Far Cry badly enough to lose a star...Now we have the soup out of the way lets move on to steak... The game itself, if your an old gamer, you might remember Hunter on the Amiga with some degree of love, the joy of the freedom of that game echos strongly in Far Cry, its a pure sandbox.From the opening a strong story emerges that is reminiscent of The Beach and a bit of Lost, its a story that will suck you in, then you are left to run about one of the most incredible game worlds and you are gone... So is your life, time has no meaning, there is always a 'whats over that hill' or 'just one more outpost' before you pass out from sleep deprivation. The games island has a feeling of a living past, from ancient temples, Japanese base in WW2 to modern pirates and drug dealers the remnants of those who lived on the island are scattered everywhere, this game rewards explorers, not just with stories, but in game benefits from weapons to skills.Skills are a big part of the game, hunting plays a massive part and the game urges you to become an 'anti Moses' killing 2 of every damn animal you find, and there are a lot of them, the vast range of wildlife you destroy is then utilized to expand your carrying capacity with stylish leather wear.If your a little squeamish the game can go a little far with hacking chunks off animals... But its nothing to player healing... Which I'm not going to spoil.That I think is one of the most interesting aspects of Far Cry 3 no review can 'spoil' or cover all the things that are in this game, there is so much to do, see, loot, and so many vehicles to be TWOK'd (Taken without the owners consent) that you are just going to have to go and see for yourself, go on! This is one show absolutely worth the price of admission.Without doubt Far Cry 3 is one of those rare games that will be sitting in the much loved camp of my shelf with Fallout 3, Oblivion, Skyrim and Dishonored... Five stars.

23.1.2013

Opinions seem to vary on this game, for the most I loved it. But then I loved Far Cry 2 which quite a few people didn't.Anyway, no technical speak here because I am not clever enough, but you need a high end graphics card and the game looks stunning. You and a few friends are captured while skydiving over an island that has more than its share of bad guys. You escape and try to survive and rescue your surviving friends while working with the locals. You start on the North Island and while there is a direct `plan' for you to follow, you are also allowed to explore the island at your leisure. This means climbing radio towers, killing rogue bad guys, hunting animals and liberating pirate camps.You buy weapons and ammo with the loot you grab and you are limited in what you can carry until you `craft' wallets and holsters from the skins of the animals you track and kill.You have the freedom to pretty much do what you like, and once you get into the swing of things it is great fun. Travel by foot, boat or vehicle or if in a safe house you can `fast travel' to other safe houses, this does save time. And it takes time to build your skills, weapons and equipment. At a certain point you are thrown into the storyline and you eventually get access to the South Island. Here once again you can follow the `plan' or you can once again tackle the various tasks and difficulties laid out before you, but the camps are tougher and the bad guys harder to take down, but in fairness you are more skilled too. Eventually, when you have done everything you wanted to, you jump back into the storyline and go for Mr Big...So, a free roaming shooter with loads to do and some great fun in there too.The downsides are minor, but they are there. Initially there were a couple of times I was unable to play because it was being updated - frustrating when you want to play and you are not able to for an hour or so....there are also a few times when you have to "mash" (hit the spacebar repeatedly) and I feel that us PC players are not into `mashing' like those pesky young people and their consoles!, some of the cut scenes can be a little over long and some elements were a little frustrating. There is a knife fight with "Buck" where the controls just didn't do what I wanted them to and there was a radio tower that I struggled to climb. On these occasions (please don't tell anyone, I'll get chucked out of the `proper gamers' club) I adjusted the difficulty level down to `easy' and then changed back up afterwards. 20 minutes of falling off a tower was getting a bit tedious and I feel no shame in my confession.So, minor downsides to one side, this is a fantastic game, the developers have done an outstanding job and for me, continued the tradition of Far Cry brilliance.

10.2.2014

I bought this as it was cheap and had good reviews....and I'm so glad I did! It's brilliant! I got about the same amount of joy playing this as I did Red Dead Redemption.The amount of free roaming is amazing...there appears to be very few places you can't go! You can traverse the islands on foot or by car/quad/buggy but my favourite mode of transport was the hang glider. These were dotted about the islands, up on the hills and mountains (for obvious reasons). They got you where you wanted to go (most of the time...sometimes they faceplanted you into a cliff), in the least amount of time and gave you a chance to take stock of your circumstances, whilst checking out your cool tatt and your arm hair blowing gently in the breeze.

15.5.2013

I got this game yesterday after having owned and played its predecessor Farcry 2.The first thing about this game is the huge amount of memory it takes. When I played it for the first time it started uploading data to the PS3's hard rive, as all games do, but then I got a warning that I had insufficient memory. I looked at the requirements on the back of the game box and was staggered to read that this game requires almost 6GB (yes that's GB!!!) of hard drive space. Skyrim only takes up just under half a GB!! So I had to delete some data of games that I no longer play. So loading the game initially took some time.Once that was over I was able to play the game. The graphics are vary good,

11.12.2012

I'll try my best to stay clear of any spoilers during this review.So, Far Cry 3.The game I found to be extremely fun to play, through till the very end.The good points:- Stealth, the game allows you to sneak around as much as you want undetected. I loved this addition to the game, it brought me much pleasure stealthily moving through a camp eliminating targets one by one.- Vaas, as many of you are probably aware, Vaas is one of the games main antagonists. He's a brilliantly sculptured character who's complex and terrifying.- The Jungle. The wildlife in the game adds another dimension to it, which is rarely featured in most games. Using the elements around you really immerses you into the game.

16.1.2013

Far Cry 3 doesn't really deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as its mediocre predecessor; it's a completely different game.On PC it's simply Stunning to look at; the return to the jungle setting is extremely welcome, but all that foliage will take its toll on your graphics card. I'm running it on "low" setting on my Nvidia GT220 card (yes I know I need a new one...) but it's still achingly beautiful, with fantastic draw-distances, waving grass and sunlight that actually had me stopping in a copse of trees watching the sunshine permeate the canopy. Then a Komodo Dragon attacked me...The islands of Far Cry 3 are chock-full of things trying to kill you. Pirates and privateers are one thing,

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