Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is an open world sand box FPS with RPG elements and the latest in the Far Cry series.

The presentation of the game is excellent, both in graphics and sound. Environments are highly detailed, special effects like explosions and fires are very well done and character and item models look beautiful. The in-game sounds perfectly complement the graphics, giving the player a very immersive game atmosphere.

Far Cry 3 has both single-player and multi-player components. In the single-player portion of the game, you are thrown into a hostile tropic environment, starting out as a somewhat whimpy and typical upper middle-class kid, that needs to defend not just himself, but also his people close to him from various nasties, ranging from pirates to vicious animals. As you play the game, you will see your character transform into a formidable killer both through the story and the in-game RPG system.

The RPG system gives you options to spend upgrade points into new characteristics for your character, improving your survivability and adding to the fun. Acquiring upgrade points feels natural and not forced, as there are countless of ways to acquire them and you will be able to comfortably get a lot of upgrade points by following the story alone.

Far Cry 3's story accompanies you through the growth of the protagonist. Overall, the story is very engaging and keeps you interested on seeing more of the game, for example by introducing you to a cast of interesting characters. One of the main antagonists of the game, Vaas Montenegro, is probably one of the most interesting  characters in a video game to date.

As stated before, Far Cry 3 is a FPS, so you can expect to do the usual FPS-things: running around and shooting things to bits. You can unlock an impressive arsenal to try out against enemies. Many weapons which can further be upgraded. However, Far Cry 3 also offers a lot of additional features, which allow you to change your playstyle. Additionally to the shooting mechanics, the game has a stealth system, an item creation system and a melee system, all of which have been excellently implemented. By giving you the option to use these additional systems, replayability and depth for the game are greatly increased. What also further increases replayability and depth is, that the game is an open world sandbox game. The beautiful world you roam is filled to the brim with things to discover and do, from doing special missions for the locals to going on a casual hunting trip.

Additionally to the already excellent single player campaign, you are also provided with an entertaining multiplayer component, that you can enjoy with your friends.

While the game is excellent overall, there are a few things that could have been done better. For one it would have been nice to have more options on what to do during the end-game. Secondly, the game's endings are not that satisfying, basically offering you only two extreme outcomes without any middle-ground. Thirdly, there are some QTE sections in the game of which I'm not really a big fan. Luckily these sections were rather infrequent, so I didn't feel that annoyed by them.

Overall, Far Cry 3 is an excellent game. It's one of the best FPS titles I have played lately and is a definite must-buy.

9.5