Far Cry 3 Review: The Verdict Is Out

By Prarthito Maity | Dec 06, 2012 11:07 AM EST

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‘Far Cry 3’ from Ubisoft has easily been one of the highly anticipated games of the year. The ‘Far Cry’ franchise is known for providing exciting game plot as well as gameplay over the years with the release of the first ‘Far Cry’ followed by ‘Far Cry 2,’ and now ‘Far Cry 3’ is no different from the rest.

The game was originally set for release on Sept. 4, 2012 in North America and Sept. 6 in Europe. However, it was subsequently delayed until Nov. 29, 2012 for Australia, Nov. 30 for Europe, and Dec. 4 for North America due to the developers tweaking the final release version of the game.

‘Far Cry 3,’ has received widespread critical acclaim, with most of the praise centered around its thorough environment structure, memorable characters, and game narrative. While IGN gave ‘Far Cry 3’ an amazing 9 out of 10, praising the game's excellent cast of characters, impulsive enemy encounters, and its open world environment, Edge also added to the praise, calling the game "wild, reactive and unpredictable," and awarding it an 8 out of 10.

Let’s take a look as to what all the major reviewers have to say about the game.

Mitch Dyer of IGN: “Far Cry 3 establishes a bleak and mature tone out of the gate. Jason, our protagonist, should fear the pirates running the tropical retreat of Rook Island. In his eyes, killing is not cool. Not yet. The emotional weight only gets heavier as he tries to save his missing friends from slave-trading psychopaths. In turn, Jason’s gradual transformation from coward to killer unfolds in a natural, believable way, which compensates for the narrow revenge premise. As its unpredictable, often uncomfortable story comes unhinged, Far Cry 3 challenges players’ principles: How far would you go to protect the people you love, and what kind of person would you become to get them back?”

“Jason’s allies and enemies don’t feel like video game characters – they feel like people.”

Luke Plunkett of Kotaku: “In Far Cry 3, things are so much more immediate, your premise taken so much more seriously that for much of the game's opening sections it just feels stupid. More importantly, it feels like a missed opportunity.”

“I think there's scope out there for a game to actually play as though you're a rookie. Make you learn how to fire a gun not by simply pointing a cursor at something, but with, say, minigames teaching you how to load and ready the weapon. If you're going to just suddenly jump into all these exotic vehicles, make you struggle to learn how. If you're going to make some kid do something as complex and messy as skin an animal, make you have to earn it by doing it properly.”

Ryan Taljonick of Gamesradar: “Far Cry 3 still leaves you to your own devices for the most part, but you'll have a sense of purpose this time around. Gone are Far Cry 2's generic mercenary heroes and their ambiguous quest, replaced by a cast of rich kids that find themselves captured and sold into slavery by pirates after a skydiving trip gone wrong. To describe these spoiled Jersey Shore doppelgangers as unrelatable and annoying is a massive understatement, and their cringe-worthy personalities would be a bigger detriment to the game if not for the fact that encounters with them are few and far between.”

Kevin VanOrd of Gamespot: “Far Cry 3 is a delightful and harsh tropical wonderland, crawling with wildlife and threatened by the pirates and drug runners that disrupt its peace. The troubled paradise you explore is colorful and wild, enticing you to investigate its ravines and discover new ways to enjoy the open-world playground sprawling in front of you. This is a game that ignites the desire to complete every last challenge and check out every last icon on your map. You gradually journey across the entirety of two sunny and sinful islands, hunting for rare game, speeding medicine to needy communities, and skinning sharks so that you might craft new wallets with their hides. Far Cry 3 is an excellent game, marred mainly by some irritating design elements and an inconsistent story that often defaults to generic "tribal" cliches to make an impact.”

Apart from these, Paul Verhoeven at The Vine called the game "a big, belligerent, often times clumsy but ultimately gorgeous rumination on violence in all its forms."