official Far Cry 3

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

apparently FC3 is another game where you'll never have enough ammo and it takes 15 bullets to kill a tiger.

[Coliens222]

Graphics looks like Crysis 2..:)

[Big b0b]

Looks like I'll be needing to get that GTX560 sooner than I thought.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

The Thin Line Between Far Cry 3 and Skyrim

Ubisoft's upcoming shooter is blending genres one shark hunt at a time.

Spend an hour with Far Cry 3, and it feels like a first-person shooter. One where you can hang glide from a mountaintop and hunt sharks with a grenade, mind you, but a shooter just the same. But spend a few more hours with it, and Far Cry 3's influences from the role-playing genre begin to creep in. It's not quite Borderlands or Deus Ex, but there's a sense of openness and adventure here that doesn't feel too far removed from a game like Skyrim.

Far Cry 3's open world--a tropical archipelago overrun by pirates--is a scavenger's playground. There's an entire economy built around finding items, selling them off, or crafting them into more useful pieces of equipment. On the most basic level, you're constantly finding little bits and bobs that you can pawn for cash to put toward weapons and ammunition. The archipelago is also full of plant life you can harvest and mix into various types of concoctions, from basic medicines to a mixture that makes animals less likely to run away from you while hunting.

That last mixture can come in pretty handy, because there's a lot more to Far Cry 3's hunting system than running over a deer who got in the way of your jeep during an especially reckless joyride. Every animal you kill can be skinned, and those hides become the leather you use to upgrade all sorts of equipment. You can upgrade the size of your wallet to carry more cash, craft new weapon holsters for carrying more guns, and make all sorts of arrow quivers and ammo pouches.

It's one of those systems that don't sound terribly sexy on paper, but in my experience it somehow managed to entangle me in a compulsive scavenger hunt across the gameworld. Say you're planning a raid on a pirate camp, and get to thinking just how nice it would be if you could carry a backup gun, or a few more assault rifle clips. What do you do? Well, you take a look at which animal skins you need in order to upgrade a specific holster or pouch, and before you know it you're after the next upgrade beyond that first one, scaling the crafting tree one expedition at a time.

There's a difficulty curve built into it. A basic wallet upgrade requires only a few boar hides; boars are dangerous animals when they catch you by surprise but don't pose much of a challenge when you're the one searching them out. But if you want the biggest wallet you can carry, well, that's when you'll need to start hunting sharks.

Yes, shark hunting. I don't think I got caught up in anything more dangerous or more exciting during my hands-on time with Far Cry 3. Snipe one from the beach, and you'll need to swim out and find where its body has sunk down to the ocean floor, making sure that (A) you return before you run out of air and (B) you don't run into any of his shark buddies along the way. Eventually I discovered that cooking a grenade and tossing it in the shark's general direction was an effective tactic, though that meant bearing the guilt of killing a few innocent sea turtles along the way. It wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I got my shark skins.

But that's the beauty. The crafting system feels like an open-world role-playing game in the way it sends you off on your own wild journeys and expeditions through the gameworld, bringing back tragic stories of dead sea turtles. Whether you're sitting on the beach thinking of the best way to kill a shark, hiding in the bushes debating whether you can kill a buffalo with the two shells left in your shotgun, or just wandering through the wilderness picking flowers to stock up on medicine, Far Cry 3 really seems to capture a lot of that emergent exploration that people love about open-world RPGs.

Where Far Cry 3 gets a little more overt in its RPG leanings is in its skill tree system. As you complete quests and pull off especially skilled takedowns (headshots, stealth kills, and so on), you collect experience points, which unlock skill points at various thresholds. These skill points let you purchase new active and passive abilities along three different animal-inspired skill trees: The Heron (long-range takedowns and mobility), The Shark (assault takedowns and healing), and The Spider (stealth takedowns and survival).

Each of these trees bears a different focus. Dumping your skill points into The Heron unlocks abilities like reduced fall damage, shooting with one hand while on a zip line, or staying underwater longer. With The Shark, you get things like more health slots and the ability to quietly pull the pin from an enemy's grenade before kicking him away. And with The Spider, you unlock stuff like faster reloads, quieter sprinting, and selling scavenged items at a higher price.

Combine these skill trees with the focus on exploration, and you have a game that really does feel like it has taken a page from Bethesda's portfolio of expansive, exploration-driven RPGs. Of course, this is still a first-person shooter first and foremost. There's no leveling, no class system, and no dialogue options. But in that one specific way, where you're wandering this world searching for interesting items to gather and mix together, Far Cry 3 really does feel like an RPG. Exactly how much is something we'll find out come Far Cry 3's December release.

[neoadorable]

thanks for that Muhammad, this is looking better by the day. Can't wait to play it!

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Far Cry 3 reviews go live with many positive scores

Far Cry 3 reviews have started being released into the wild, garnering one perfect score tossed in so far. Hit up the break for all the scores we could summon.

The list below is being updated frequently so hit refresh on occasion.

• CVG ? 9.4
  
• Eurogamer ? 10
  
• IGN ? 9
  
• OPM ? 9
  
• RPS ? No score
  
• Kotaku ? ?A Blast?
  
• MondoXbox (Italy) ? 9.3
  
• Canadian Online Gamers ? 9
  
• PCGamer ? 89/100
  
• GameTrailers ? 8.6
  
• Videogamer ? 9
  
• Strategy Informer ? 9
  

[...]

Source: VG247

Very nice. :)

[theyarecomingforyou]

Can't wait!

It's annoying that it's not showing up in Steam at the moment (UK) but I assume it will appear when the game officially launches. If not then I've got a friend who will be able to gift it to me.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Can't wait!

It's annoying that it's not showing up in Steam at the moment (UK) but I assume it will appear when the game officially launches. If not then I've got a friend who will be able to gift it to me.

You can get it for 30% off at Green Man Gaming. (Y)

[theyarecomingforyou]

You can get it for 30% off at Green Man Gaming. (Y)

I like to keep all my games on Steam, as I already have to juggle too many accounts (GameStop, Battle.net, GOG.com, GMG, Desura, Origin, GamersGate, etc). If they're not on Steam I tend not to play them as much. Sometimes GMG games activate on Steam but it appears that's not the case with Far Cry 3. :(

[Lingwo]

I like to keep all my games on Steam, as I already have to juggle too many accounts (GameStop, Battle.net, GOG.com, GMG, Desura, Origin, GamersGate, etc). If they're not on Steam I tend not to play them as much. Sometimes GMG games activate on Steam but it appears that's not the case with Far Cry 3. :(

It won't register on Steam as it uses uPlay. So the Steam version again would use uPlay, You'll just have it in your Library list, which you can do with non-steam games anyway. Achievements, cloud syncing, patches will all be done via uPlay. So it isn't as bad. Especially with the 30% off.

[theyarecomingforyou]

It won't register on Steam as it uses uPlay. So the Steam version again would use uPlay, You'll just have it in your Library list, which you can do with non-steam games anyway. Achievements, cloud syncing, patches will all be done via uPlay. So it isn't as bad. Especially with the 30% off.

Still, I prefer it in Steam. It's the same with GFWL games and EA games that use Origin - I don't mind so much that it uses another client, I just like to have it in Steam for practicality.

[Detection]

Farcry 3 Ultra 1080p PC gameplay

[Dotdot]

buyin it come payday

[TheLegendOfMart]

Didn't have high hopes for this after Far Cry 2 fell short.

This is getting rave reviews though, definitely picking it up.

[LOC Veteran]

Yeah, I'm honestly shocked by all the amazing reviews so far. Also, the PC version doesn't suck as a port! YAY.

I can't wait to punch a shark in the face.

[Lingwo]

I'm glad it is getting good reviews. People kind of ignored it when it was first announced and still didn't care too much about it. Hopefully it will sell well and become the sleeper hit of 2012 both in reviews and sales.

[BoneyardBrew Member]

I'm pleasantly surprised at the reviews and the state of the PC port. Unfortunately the GMG deal for 30% isn't available in the US or I may have already bought it. :p

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I'm glad it is getting good reviews. People kind of ignored it when it was first announced and still didn't care too much about it. Hopefully it will sell well and become the sleeper hit of 2012 both in reviews and sales.

Me too. I was looking forward to it from the beginning so all the positive reviews for it is icing on the cake for me.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the reviews and the state of the PC port. Unfortunately the GMG deal for 30% isn't available in the US or I may have already bought it. :p

It's also shipping with a level editor (just like Far Cry 2). As for the 30% off deal, I was hoping it would show up when it's released.

[BoneyardBrew Member]

It's also shipping with a level editor (just like Far Cry 2). As for the 30% off deal, I was hoping it would show up when it's released.

Wow, that's unheard of in recent games. Another plus in my book.

I'm confident it'll be discounted heavily shortly after release. That's been a trend lately.

[Alladaskill17]

Really looking forward to getting this for Christmas.

[Alladaskill17]

The level editor will be available for consoles and PC! :)

List of features included in the editor along with # of types beside it:

Thematics

Town 87

Temple 118

Airport 25

Village 47

Mines 49

Radio Tower 54

Native 47

WW2 31

Chinese Tomb 51

Utilities

Accessories 144

Construction 44

Debris 105

Fire Camps 6

Pipes 17

Roads 9

Towers 15

Bridges 35

Corpses 14

Decorations 99

Household 117

Posts 8

Signs 63

Walls 51

Cages 13

Crates 42

Fences 65

Industrial 59

Quays 14

Tents 5

Furniture

Barrels 9

Doors 30

Beds 14

Chairs 29

Storage + Tables 49

Miscellaneous 29

Static Vehicles

Land 5

Sea 24

Air 14

Nature

Trees 39

Plants 11

Vegetation 79

Rocks

Coastal 65

Jungle 42

Grass Land 33

Caverns 31

Coral 16

WATERFALLS 67

Lighting 45

Decals 31

Gameplay

Explosives 10

Ladders 24

Weapons 33

Vehicles 23

Hostile Mercenaries 34

Allied Mercenaries 8

Wildlife 67

Aquatic Wildlife 15

Validation

Terrain Bump

Terrain Raise / Lower

Terrain Flatten

Terrain Set To Height

Terrain Smooth

Terrain Raise

Terrain Ramp

Terrain Noise

Terrain Erosion

Terrain Hole (that?s the new one)

Texture Painter

Water Layers (water at different height, this allows from o-255)

Environment

Objects

Collection System

Roads

Map Limits (Playable Zone)

Global Modes

TDM

DOMINATION

FIRESTORM

TRANSMISSION

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Longest. Trailer. Ever.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I am getting this tommorow

Can't wait

:woot:

I hope I get some spare time to put into the game though

[Crisp]

What's the idea behind the point system everytime you get a kill?