Far Cry 3

Overview

Far Cry 3 is an open-world first-person shooter which tells the story of Jason Brody and his friends, as they mistakenly land on Rook Island, a tropical paradise that is inhabited by brutal pirates, slave traffickers, and deadly animal predators. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC using an updated version of the Dunia Engine used in Far Cry 2. The multiplayer part of the game was developed by Ubisoft Massive. It was released on November 29, 2012 in Europe, Africa and Middle Eastern territories and December 4, 2012 in North America.

Gameplay

Far Cry 3 is set on a tropical island archipelago. Gameplay involves battling various island factions as well as the occasional wildlife. As with the previous installment, missions can be accepted from various NPCs throughout the world. Side missions such as running deliveries and hunting can be completed for extra cash. Animals that can be encountered include tigers, bears, sharks, deer, and komodo dragons. The player also has multiple vehicles at their disposal, including jeeps, ATVs, jet skis, and hang gliders.

Various towns and outposts are scattered across the island. Attacking and securing enemy outposts allows the player to take control of them. In addition to acting as fast travel hubs, controlling outposts opens up missions in the surrounding area and gives the player access to shops. Weapons and upgrades can be purchased here, and items discovered in the world such as animal skins can be sold as well. Players are given a strong incentive to reset radio towers throughout the island in-order to unlock new weapons in the shops. Resetting radio towers also results in a more detailed mapping of that part of the island, similar to the "syncing" mechanic in the Assassin's Creed series.

Far Cry 3 rewards players with experience for completing missions and executing various kill moves, which then feeds into a skill tree system. Players can choose to spend skill points in three separate trees, each pertaining to a different style of play. Spending skill points allows the player to unlock perks, such as increasing the amount of health Jason has, increasing reload speed, and unlocking a myriad close quarters kill moves.

Plot

Like other games in the series, Far Cry 3 has no ties to the previous stories told in the Far Cry franchise. The characters, locales, and plot are all self-contained.

Jason Brody and his friends head to a remote tropical island while on vacation, but things take a turn for the worse when they are all kidnapped by pirates, who are led by the insane & sadistic Vaas Montenegro. Jason narrowly escapes, and soon finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody power struggle for the island between the native Rakyat population and the occupying pirate forces.

Jason quickly allies himself with the natives after being saved by Dennis Rogers, who introduces him to Citra (Vaas' sister). She informs him that while Vaas is certainly an enemy, the real threat is Hoyt Volker, a brutal human trafficker that is using the islands for his smuggling ring. He has corrupted Vaas with drugs and money, and has given him control of the entire northern island. Jason vows to kill Vaas and free his friends, and one by one he brings his friends to Doctor Earnhart, a man who agrees to help Jason and his friends. They find an old broken down boat nearby, and as Jason progresses through the story, they stay back and make repairs.

As time goes by, the Rakyat (and to certain extent Jason himself) start to believe that Jason is the reincarnation of the Rakyat's mythical warrior ancestor. Citra and her followers revere him, and implore him to stay and liberate their people. Jason agrees, and eventually hooks up with Willis Huntley, a CIA operative working on the island who helps him track down Vaas. Once Vaas is killed, Willis sends Jason off to the south island to connect with Sam Becker, another operative who is in deep undercover working directly with Hoyt. Sam helps Jason get close to Hoyt, and Jason is able to destroy Hoyt's smuggling ring and kill Hoyt in a knife fight, and save his brother Riley from captivity.

Jason & Riley go back to Earnhart and the boat, only to find everything on fire, his friends missing, and Earnhart mortally wounded. He tells Jason that Citra is responsible, and when Jason confronts Cirta at her temple, the player is given a choice to end the game; kill his friends and stay on the island forever, or free his friends and leave behind the Rakyat people.

Characters

Jason Brody

The protagonist of Far Cry 3, Jason Brody is a 25-year-old from Los Angeles. He starts out with no real combat experience, and has to learn and adapt to the island's dangers in order to survive.

Vaas Montenegro

Vaas Montenegro is the leader of the pirates, who deals in murder, torture, and slave trading. He's sadistic and more than a little bit crazy. His men control most of the northern island.

Citra Talugmai

Citra is Vaas' sister, but she has strong connections with the native Rakyat, and makes herself an ally to Jason in fighting against Vaas.

Dennis Rogers

Dennis Rogers is the man that saves Jason after he initially escapes from Vaas. Dennis also gives him his first bit of cash and introduces him to the Rakyat people and their struggle.

Doctor Earnhardt

Earnhardt is a dubious ally of Jason's. He provides shelter, medical assistance, and supplies, but is also deeply involved with the more psychedelic aspects of island life.

Willis Huntley

Willis Huntley is an ex-CIA operative living on the island. Although he has long lost contact with his superiors, he is still gathering intelligence about Hoyt and Vaas, and is able to help point Jason in the right direction, eventually introducing him to Sam Becker.

Sam Becker

Sam Becker is a CIA operative in deep cover within Hoyt Volker's slave trafficking ring. He is located on the Southern island, and agrees to help Jason get to Volker after being referred by Willis.

Hoyt Volker

Hoyt Volker is a brutal slave trafficker who controls the southern island, backed up by an army of well-armed mercenaries.

Skills

Jason unlocks skill points by gaining XP throughout the game. Each point can go into one of three branches in the skill tree, and each one has unique abilities and takedowns.

The Heron

Mobility and long ranged takedowns.

• Long Gun Expert: Improves hip-fire accuracy for assault rifles, sniper rifles, and LMGs.
• Aimed Reload: It lets the pistol and sniper rifle quickly reload while aiming.
• Hip Shooter: Improves hip-fire accuracy for pistols, SMGs, and shotguns.
• Enhanced Syringe Potency: Crafted syringes will last 50% longer when used.
• Syringe Potency: Crafted syringes will last 25% longer when used.
• Cook Grenade: Cooked grenade lets you hold grenade for seconds, but don't hold it longer before it explodes.
• Cool Gunner: Mounted guns can be fired longer before it heats.
• Soft Landing: Reduce fall damage by 25%.
• Line Gunner: Shoot while using ziplines for one-handed weapons.
• Steady Aim: Steady aim will last 2x longer when looking through scope.
• Gunslinger Takedown: Steal enemy's weapon and use it to kill others nearby. Adds x5 XP per pistol kill.
• Death From Above: Jumping onto enemy below will automatically kill him. Adds x5 XP per kill.
• Death From Below: Kills enemy above on climbable ledge. Adds x5 XP per kill.
• Dual Death From Above: Same as Death From Above but adds x7.5 XP per kill.
• Dual Death From Below: Same as Death From Below but adds x7.5 XP per kill.
• Deep Breath: Stay underwater longer before needing to surface for air.
• Breath Control: Same as Steady Aim although it last 4x longer.
• Marathon Man: Sprint or run faster.

The Shark

Healing and assault takedowns.

• Peak Conditioning: Add an additional health slot.
• Expert Conditioning: Add an additional health slot.
• Advanced First Aid: Heal 3 slots of health without medicines.
• Advanced Conditioning: Add an additional health slots.
• Improved First Aid: Heal 2 slots of health without medicines.
• Physical Conditioning: Add an additional health slots.
• Fire Retardant: Reduce 50% damage taken from fire.
• Field Medic: Restore 4 slots of health when using medical syringes.
• Adrenaline: Regenerate one health bar 50% faster.
• Takedown: Kill nearby enemy silently and adds x3 XP per kill.
• Ironsides: Reduce 50% damage taken from explosion.
• Evasive Driving: Commandeered vehicles take 50% less damage when using evasive driving techniques.
• Adrenaline Surge: Regenerate health bars 100% faster.
• Button Up: Wearing body armor properly will absorb 50% more damage.
• Field Surgeon: Restore 6 slots of health when using medical syringes.
• Chained Takedown: String together multiple takedowns, one after another. Adds x10 XP per chained kill.
• Grenade Takedown: Pull pin on an enemy's grenade, then kick him away. Adds x5 XP per grenade kill.
• Heavy Beatdown: Heavy gunner or flamer can be killed if near. Adds x5 XP per kill.

The Spider

Survival and stealth takedowns.

• Nimble Hands: Reload 25% faster for assault rifles, sniper rifles, and LMGs.
• Quick Swap: Swap weapon faster.
• Nimble Finger: Reload 25% faster for pistols, SMGs, and shotguns.
• Running Reload: Reload while running.
• Takedown Drag: Quickly hides bodies after performing a standard takedown.
• Knife Throw Takedown: Takedown enemy and use his knife to kill the other near him.
• Loot Takedown: Takedown enemy will automatically loot him.
• Combat Archery: Fire or draw arrow 50% faster.
• Expert Archery: Improve stability with the bow when lining up a shot.
• Sprint Slide: Can slide when sprinting.
• Horticulture 101: Receive twice as many items from plant when harvesting.
• Zoology 101: Receive twice as many items when skinning animals.
• Penny Pincher: Loot more money on killed enemies or corpse.
• Ninja Step: Greatly reduce noise made when walking or running.
• Jungle Run: Moves faster when crouching.
• Expert Swimmer: Swim 25% faster in water.
• Stone Wall: Receive less damage from animal attacks and also being knocked down by enemies.

• Dealmaker: Receive 25% more money when selling looted items.

Weapons

Handguns

SMGs

Shotguns

Assault Rifles

Sniper Rifles

LMGs

Launchers

Signature Weapons

Other Miscellaneous Equipment

• Flare Gun: A single-shot weapon, usually used to distract enemy's attention.
• Knife: One of the main items, used to kill enemy silently and skin animal.
• Mine: Detonates when enemy's is near at it.
• Grenade: Reduce to detonation by "cooking" it, but don't hold it for to long.
• C4: Detonates whenever you want by a remote.
• Molotov: Creates huge amount of fire at grasses, can be crafted as fire arrows.
• Repair Tool: An oxyacetylene torch that repairs any land and water vehicles.
• Camera: The Camera viewfinder lets you use your camera to tag and track enemies and animals. It automatically tag enemies when you aim and zoom to them. Scoped weapons can also tag enemies. Enemy and animal has each type and has its own icon:

Multiplayer

In addition to the single player campaign, Far Cry 3 features competitive online multiplayer, as well as a co-op campaign mode, which supports up to four players. Certain in-game actions will result in player rewards, similar to the kill-streak system in the Call of Duty series. A 'Battle Cry' can also be performed as a boost to nearby teammates.

A new feature introduced in multiplayer is Decoding. Players earn data sources such as hard drives, DVDs, and memory cards for completing matches in multiplayer and co-op. Once a data source has been acquired, the player can proceed to the Decoding tab to begin the process. Initially the player has access to one Decoder, but two more can be unlocked through leveling up and visiting the game's website. Once a Decoder is selected, a list of acquired data sources appears, and one can be selected. The Decoding process takes differing amounts of time depending on the probability of receiving a high ranking weapon mod or XP. Once the item is selected, the countdown begins, and continues even when the game is not on.

Multiplayer Modes

Domination - A conquest type game mode where you capture and hold 3 different points on a map.

Team Deathmatch - The standard one team vs the other, most kills win game mode.

Firestorm - A mode that tasks players with setting fire to two of your opponents bases at the same time. after this, teams have to make it to a radar dish while battling the ever-spreading fire, which blocks routes and paths.

Transmission - Each team attempts to obtain and control propaganda transmitters located all across the map. In order to win, your team must race to each transmitter as it is becoming active and hold it as long as possible.

Co-op Campaign

A completely separate plot from the main single player story, the 4 player co-op takes place 6 months before Jason Brody arrived on the island. Four people, Callum "the Scottish Thug", Leonard "the Crooked Cop", Mikhail "the Russian Hitman", and Tisha "the Ex Soldier" are left on a cruise ship that the captain sold to the Rook Island pirates. The four players battle their way out and follow the captain onto the island, intent on getting their revenge and stealing his money. There are 6 total missions in the co-op, with an additional 2 missions available exclusively to PlayStation 3 players in the High Tides DLC released in January 2013.

Map Editor

Another feature carried over from the previous games is an in-game map editor, allowing players to create their own custom single player & multiplayer maps. These can then be shared online with other players, and the development team will curate the best maps and cycle them into the online rotation for all players to use.

Soundtrack

Brian Tyler composed Far Cry 3 soundtracks and it was released as a digital download on December 4, 2012. Violinist Serena McKinney was featured in track 17 called "Further."

PC System Requirements

Minimum

• OS: Windows XP, Vista, or 7
• CPU: 2.66 GHz Intel ® Core™2 Duo E6700 or 3GHz AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 6000+ or better
• RAM: 4GB
• HDD: 8GB free disk space
• Graphics: 512 MB Graphic Memory with Shader Model 3.0 or higher
• Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
• DirectX: Version 9

Recommended

• OS: Windows XP, Vista, or 7
• CPU: Intel Core i3-530 or AMD Phenom X2 565 or better
• RAM: 6GB
• HDD: 8GB free disk space
• Graphics: 1 GB Graphics Memory or Shader Model 5.0 or higher.
• Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
• DirectX: Version 9

Hi-Performance

• OS: Windows 7
• CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K or AMD FX-4150 or better
• RAM: 8GB
• HDD: 8GB free disk space
• Graphics: 1GB Graphics Memory with Shader Model 5.0 or higher

Supported Graphics Card

• ATI Radeon HD 2900/ 3000/ 4000/ 5000/ 6000/ 7000 series
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 8800/ GTX 9000/ GT 200/ GT 400/ GT 500/ GT 600 series