Previews// Far Cry 3

Far Cry fans might be surprised when they first get to grips with the protagonist of this third instalment. No longer are you controlling a gung-ho super soldier, bolting around tropical islands like some bad Arnold Schwarzenegger clone. This time, you play as Jason Brody - a typical everyday man that’s somewhat more relatable to you or I. At least, I would have felt more connected to the character, had I not watched the opening cinematic.

Jason, his brother Grant, and his big circle of friends enjoying the sun-kissed paradise of Rook Island, are bros. Total bros. If this was the 1990s, they’d be described as ‘bodacious’, ‘gnarly’ and ‘tubular’. In the homemade vacation video that plays, these characters would fit in nicely on an episode of Jersey Shore.

“This is it,” I thought wearily to myself. “I’m playing the role of a complete douchebag.”

But maybe that was the point. For the camera suddenly pans away from the vacation video - which, it transpires, is being played on a smartphone in front of you - and reveals your current situation. You’re already playing as Jason. Tied up. Gagged. Trapped in a bamboo cage in a guerrilla camp, with a gurning mercenary dangling your mobile in front of your face.

This maniac with a mohawk is called Vaas and, as it turns out, he owns this land. He wants to teach you preened up American douchebags a lesson in humility. “You Americans think you’re SO crazy,” he taunts, describing the many dangers that dwell on Rook Island and how your naivety will be your fatal undoing.

Grant - Jason’s older, military brother - is trying to shout something back to Vaas. “What’s that?” the knife-wielding merc coos. “What? ... SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am the one with the DICK here!” You know, for a first-person game, this is pretty harrowing, immersive stuff. The intensity of Vaas in particular is almost mesmerising. If Jason was a unrelatable jock before, then this sort of terrifying, emasculating stuff pretty much draws you closer to him, in a strange way.

The game hasn’t even really begun and already you’ve been hit with a whirlwind of drama that keeps you glued to the screen. The tense atmosphere continues throughout most of this introductory segment: Grant manages to set himself free, unties you and leads you around the guerrilla base camp to look for a way out.

While captivating, the gameplay itself is largely straightforward. Basic survival techniques, such as throwing rocks to distract enemies and ducking out of sight of guards, are the order of the day here. You’re also introduced to a detection meter - arrows that point to the direction of nearby targets, that fill up as they notice your presence - that works in a similar fashion to Assassin’s Creed.

It’s not until a gunshot tags Grant as you’re about to leave the camp that everything intensifies once again. You are given the chance to rescue your in-game brother by holding the A button down in order to put pressure on the wound. It doesn’t work. All the while, things get hazy and you can hear Vaas - who’s clearly discovered you at this point - cackling in the background.

After a 30-second headstart (because Vaas was in a good mood), you just barely manage to escape hounding guards and fierce attack dogs, before plummeting into the river and becoming rescued by the island’s native Rakyat tribe. Things slow down a touch from here, as resistance leader Dennis tutors you on gun use, hunting, stealth and sabotage.

The first thing you notice about Rook Island, once you have a few seconds to really take it all in, is just how lush and beautiful it all is. You’re given an opportunity to switch on a nearby radio tower - which opens up the map in a similar way to Assassin’s Creed’s Viewpoints - and, at the very top, see the impressive draw distance and environments that pepper the island.

Of course, later on you will need to explore unknown areas of the map in order to reach more radio towers - and each one requires a certain level of agility and dexterity in order to climb to the very top. Rickety ladders, falling walkways, troublesome ledges, that sort of thing.

The objective-driven gamer in me felt a little uneasy and confused trying to navigate the areas of Rook Island that had yet to be detailed on my map - but perhaps these are the kind of feelings that Ubisoft want me to feel. Suspense and uncertainty in a strange new land.

To be honest, driving along coastlines and seeing random guerrilla soldiers (clearly belonging to Vaas) made me feel a little bit better - watching them try to shoot me before diving out of the way as I attempted to run them down several times is a humorous way of passing the time.

And, once I learned of the joys of screwing Vaas’ shit up wherever I saw an outpost or watch tower, objectives didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. There’s a lot to discover, from hilltop cabins to abandoned farms and hidden waterfalls... and a whole bunch of resources to collect and scavenge inbetween.

Obviously, one of the big hooks in Far Cry 3 is the necessity to survive on your own, using a combination of wits and island resources. You can hunt animals such as rabbits and boars, and skin their hides in order to build items using the extensive Craft menu through the pause screen. Various plants can be snatched up too, and combined to help contribute to the creation of weapons and potions.

The potions in particular are of special use to you and the Rakyat tribe, and you almost get a sense that you’re meddling with voodoo magic or something of the sort. As you progress through the game and defeat more of Vaas’ men, a tribal tattoo on your arm (which Dennis inked on you while you were unconscious) will start to magically build up - the more complex your tattoo gets, the stronger you become and the more unlockable skills you can attribute to yourself.

My experience with the first couple of hours of Far Cry 3 was packed full of immersive moments. The dramatic opening sequence, the multiple vehicles and transport devices (cars, trucks, hang gliders and ziplines are just some of the things you can expect to find), the varied missions that use the map in interesting ways (including a mushroom-retrieving exercise that sees Jason explore a cave and engage in some hallucinogenic action-platforming)...

This is looking like yet another open-world action game that will be worth your time when it releases late November.