Skyrim With Guns, My Ass

Far Cry 3 boasts a large – but not too large – gorgeous open world for you to explore and encounter all types of mayhem. Unfortunately, you won’t have enough incentives to see all the world has to offer. After you’ve unlocked all the radio towers and liberated all the enemy-held camps, there aren’t any significant rewards to be found out in the bush. This issue is made worse by the fact that leveling is tied to story progression and money becomes unnecessary beyond buying ammunition.

The FPS aspects grant you great freedom and the action is fast-paced. Unfortunately the fun is held back by inconsistent shooting mechanics, annoying information pop-ups and enemy artificial intelligence that is – at times – a bit too intelligent 

As with most games that attempt a grandiose story, Far Cry 3 tries way too hard and comes off as rushed and contrived. The main character develops toward his inevitable end far too quickly and the plot is too over-the-top to be taken seriously. The one saving grace to the overblown storytelling was Vaas – the story’s main antagonist. However, even with his well-acted antics, the plot’s failure to deliver made it seem as if the game was little more than mindless killing with no real point.

Overall, Far Cry 3 is a decent game, but no where near the 9.0 standard many other reviewers have given it. If you dig mindless shooting and average FPS mechanics in a gorgeous open world, go for it. However, if you need your sandbox games to have a bit more depth, polish and a likeable plot just wait for a price drop. Or you can wait for another developer to take what I consider to be a great concept and flesh it out better than Far Cry 3 did.