Far Cry 3 - Boxed - PS3

Far Cry 3 is an open-world first-person shooter set on the fictional Rook Islands in the Pacific. Although the tropical setting resembles the original Far Cry, the gameplay itself is closer to Far Cry 2, as open-world exploration is supplemented by role-playing elements such as experience points, crafting, trading, hunting, and three skill trees.

The protagonist is Jason Brody, a daredevil vacationing in the Pacific with his two brothers and a few friends. While skydiving, they land on an island controlled by pirates. They are all captured by the pirate warlord Vaas, and his older brother Grant is killed during an escape attempt. Vaas sarcastically gives Jason a 30-second head start to escape before he hunts him down. Against all odds, Jason manages to jump into the water. He is rescued by Dennis Rogers, who introduces him to the Rakyat, a native tribe hoping to free the island from the pirates. While searching for the remaining survivors, Jason is initiated into the tribe's mysticism, explores the surroundings, and hunts Vaas. However, after the introduction, the player is largely free to leave the main quest behind and explore the islands at their own pace and as they please, since the entire playable area is available immediately.

The Rook Islands are a dangerous environment full of pirate settlements and native wildlife such as tigers, bears, sharks, komodo dragons, wild boars, goats, snakes, rabid dogs and more. They are divided into various sections, which are gradually revealed once a radio tower in that sector has been taken over. These reveal the entire surrounding area and unlock quests, but the areas can also be traversed without a detailed map. There are various hideouts where you can travel around and trade loot at general-purpose vending machines. Players can kill pirates, complete quests, but also gather plants and hunt animals for their pelts. Money is exchanged for weapons, modifications and items such as syringes, but crafting also plays an important role. By discovering recipes, plants can be turned into liquids that are injected to improve abilities. Animal skins are also used to craft items that expand Jason's weapon holster by up to four slots, provide a larger wallet, enlarge his ammo pouch and much more. Completing quests and killing pirates is rewarded with skill points, which are used for one of the three available skill trees. These determine the playstyle: the Heron focuses on mobility and ranged attacks, the Spider on stealth and survival, and the Shark on attack and healing. For every newly acquired ability, Jason gets a tattoo on his arm.

Even though it's a shooter featuring machine guns, assault rifles, handguns, bows, flamethrowers, mines, rocket launchers and grenades, almost the entire game can be played with a stealth approach. Jason can crouch down and hide in foliage to stay concealed. A gauge shows how visible he is to enemies. By sneaking up on them, he can silently take them out with a knife and drag away bodies. He can also throw rocks or use noises to isolate pirates. With his camera, he can zoom in and mark enemies. Once marked, they remain visible through an outline, even when walls or objects are in the way, helping to track their movements. The same can be done with animals. Movement is on foot, but there are also various vehicles such as cars, jeeps, quad bikes, boats, jet skis and paragliders, as well as zip lines and swimming, to get around faster.

If Jason decides to help the natives, he can infiltrate and take over more than 30 outposts. Once these settlements are cleared, they pass into the natives' possession, and a safe house is offered for fast travel and shopping. Every animal and character has dynamic behaviour and acts independently of Jason's actions. He can watch animals attacking each other, or use this to his advantage to take out a group of enemies, and the villagers will move out and independently conquer further territory once Jason has cleared an outpost. Enemies patrol the island on foot or in cars and don't behave in a scripted way. Once Jason is spotted, they often call in reinforcements from another location and hunt him down. Additional ammo and weapons can be picked up from fallen enemies, and money and items are also collected this way, along with many hidden loot chests and additional collectibles such as letters from fallen WWII soldiers and relics. Purchased weapons can be reacquired at any time at no extra cost from the vending machine, even if they were lost or traded away during a quest. Weapons can also be customised with various modifications such as scopes, laser sights, silencers and extra ammo capacity.

The multiplayer mode consists of a separate co-op campaign for up to four players, set six months before the events of the main game. It takes place on a separate island of the Rook Islands and features four characters: a crook named Callum, corrupt cop Leonard, Russian hitman Mikhail, and ex-soldier Tisha. They were in the middle of making amends for their past deeds by working on a cruise ship when the pirates swindle them out of their money. As they pursue them, they end up on the island. The campaign is split into six missions, each lasting about an hour and punctuated by cutscenes. In the missions, the characters generally have to work together to travel to a location, kill all enemies, and then complete objectives such as protecting equipment, finding a certain type of ammo, or guarding another player. Experience is earned here too, and there are unlocks for the multiplayer mode and individual gear. Competitive elements between players are also encouraged, such as getting the most sniper kills, which grants an extra experience bonus. Two additional elements are the battle cry and booster systems. Battle cries are temporary buffs that affect nearby teammates, and boosters are stronger buffs administered via syringes.

Competitive multiplayer modes include Team Deathmatch, Domination, Transmission, and Firestorm. Transmission and Firestorm are similar to Domination. Transmission revolves around radio transmitters as control points, which sometimes change location. In Firestorm, each team simultaneously sets fire to two of the other team's fuel depots while defending their own. Once a fire has been successfully started, nearly the entire environment goes up in flames, and the teams must then fight over a radio control point. Additional bonuses and perks for multiplayer are earned by unlocking encrypted data within a time limit. In these modes, players can also rank up through a persistent system and use battle cries, booster systems, revive teammates, or call in support. After battles, there are interactive cutscenes in which players can choose whether to show mercy or punish (kill) their opponents.