Rich American kids go on dream paradise island holiday. Hang-gliding, scuba-diving. lazing on a yacht, partying on the beach - the ususal stuff. This could of course be another mind-numbing episode of the Kardashians but because this is the opening video footage to Far Cry 3, you just know it's too good to be true.
Sure enough, it's quickly revealed that these same college friends are currently sitting in cages in the heart of the jungle and their psychopathic Mohican-haired captor is tormenting them with the fear that their parents might not be willing to cough up megabucks to have them ransomed. You play Jason Brody, the least aggressive member of the group who unexpectedly has the chance to bolt for freedom with the pirates in hot pursuit.
Jason soon finds help in the shape of the native Rakyat tribe who adopt him as a trainee warrior in return for help to rescue his pals. As the plot develops, it soon becomes clear that nothing and no-one is quite as they first appear. The Rakyat princess has her own agenda, additional assistance comes from unexpected quarters and Jason himself looks into the black abyss and finds much of it looking in to him.
Unlike many of the current crop of RPG/shooters, Far Cry 3 has invested miles more in the campaign mode than in multiplayer and the result is a tightly plotted, tense, yet expansive narrative that is seriously addictive. The story begins with a quote from Alice in Wonderland and you're never in doubt that this is a study in madness and chaos, complete with drug-induced fantasy sequences.
The map is huge and the open world gameplay ensures that you will spend hours purely exploring this beautifully designed island where every inch has been lovingly crafted. As well as the central story, you can take on specialist challenges such as the Trials of Rakyat where you defeat waves of foes against the clock and time-sensitive road races. You're also urged to clear out pirate camps to reduce the amount of enemy activity in the area whilst establishing fast travel points to ease the tedium of permanently going cross-country.
Spread throughout the map are 18 radio towers to be powered up and the more you 'liberate' the more free weapons are available for your inventory. Such is the attention to detail in Far Cry 3 that each neglected tower is designed to be a mini-task to climb and once achieved you're rewarded with XP and three fabulous views of the surrounding area.
Stealth is a strong component of the missions in Far Cry 3 and some will be failed as soon as you are spotted. While this can be occasionally frustrating, the rewards for success are considerable. Not only are there plenty of crates of loot and piles of money to be collected, bodies can be raided and both animal hides and plants harvested to make larger carrying pouches and scores of medical enhancements.
As you might expect, there's also a considerable skill tree to improve health, combat abilities and speed and weapons and ammo can be purchased at safe houses and village gun stores. The weapons are weighty and explosions satisfying but there's still nothing as sensational as a silent takedown. The other important element in the story is the role of the myriad species of animals - less aggressive ones can be tracked and killed fairly easily but you will also be surprised by lethal hunters like leopards, bears and wild dogs.
Story mode is sufficient in itself to make this game a bestseller but Ubisoft has inevitably included four-player co-op alongside multiplayer which throws one new variation into the usual mix - Firestorm - where each team tries to burn down the other's base. However, as the story mode is so exceptional, multiplayer pales against it and I for one will be replaying the campaign to ferret out all the side quests and secrets (including hidden letters and relics) I missed out on first time.
There seems to have been a recent trend in games like Spec Ops: The Line, Dishonored and Mass Effect 3 where moral choices have an inordinate effect on the game's direction and Far Cry 3 continues this theme. Jason has to decide by the end whether or not to become that which he most fears and if there is a downside to the story, it's in the way retribution is finally taken against the villains of the piece. But apart from this and an ongoing annoyance at the lack of steering on vehicles, it's hard to fault a game that is so entertaining and absorbing.
Score: 4.5/5
