"Island of Madness" - Far Cry 3 Preview
*At the recent E3 showcase, a lot was demonstrated: the utterly terrible Fable The Journey, designed for Kinect; a new installment in the [Brothers in Arms](/games?search=Brothers in Arms) series called Furious 4, which strayed far from the theme of realism and tactics; an entertaining tank ride in [Battlefield 3](/games?search=Battlefield 3), during which spectators choked on virtual dust and wiped their eyes from equally virtual sand... Beautiful, no doubt, but is such three-minute rides all of Battlefield? In general, there were many disappointments and unfulfilled expectations. Therefore, the demo of [Far Cry 3](/games?search=Far Cry 3) became a real breath of fresh air amidst the vacuum. It would have been fine if the developers had shown a trailer, a couple of screenshots, and held a short lecture. However, Ubisoft Montreal brought a playable version to Los Angeles: with a location, enemies, weapons, physics, and modern graphics. One way or another, Ubisoft learned from their mistakes and finally understood what all the fans of the original [Far Cry](/games?search=Far Cry) needed.*
During the development of [Far Cry 2](/games?search=Far Cry 2), one of the key points for the writers and game designer should have been the tropics. Moving the theater of action to the dry Africa with its light brown palette was somewhat of a mistake. There's no need to change the scenery of a play if it hasn’t worn out its welcome. Even if a similar background has already been used by competitors. Another misstep by the developers was the freedom given to players. A brilliant decision, isn’t it: giving gamers complete freedom of movement, providing them with four-wheeled friends (and, of course, aquatic vehicles), while forgetting about planes, helicopters, and other marvels of human thought. Ride, gamer, as much as you want. Perhaps freedom implies interesting missions, during which even we won’t dare think of boredom and monotony? Well, of course... In general, the sequel [Far Cry](/games?search=Far Cry) turned out to be such an ugly duckling in the series, whose good beginnings were laid by the German company Crytek. Popularizing the tropics and everything green, mind you. And now, after all these years, Ubisoft finally came to their senses and returned to their roots: now the protagonist of their new shooter is once again running amid palms, blue lagoons, and well-armed rogues. Just like Jack Carver in his time.
Tourists clearly did not expect such a "heartwarming" reception from the locals
A drop of blood on the sand
When something unexpected happens, when things take a too unexpected turn, when your life is in danger, the brain automatically tries to send a distress signal. We all know about emergency call phones; we all have mobile phones to call for rescuers and receive professional help when needed. But what to do in cases when you can no longer rely on anyone, when contacting the civilized world is not possible, and the playful tremor of inevitable death is whispering in your ear? A normal person would have long gone mad from hopelessness, but here we are, sitting at home behind our computers and consoles, controlling virtual heroes who by nature are not meant to give up.
Little is known about the main character of [Far Cry 3](/games?search=Far Cry 3): his name is Jason Brody; on a sunny day, Jason decided to go boating with his girlfriend, and their route happened to pass near a mysterious island (which is located somewhere in the middle of the ocean). Suddenly, something happened, the boat was smashed to pieces, the girl went missing, and Jason found himself on the "island of dreams." Of course, I’ve embellished the events a bit in my own words, but the meaning, I believe, is clear: the circumstances of the incident are murky; we can only speculate about them.
Jason seems to have a hands-on knowledge of how to use firearms
"You play as a guy who can take care of himself,” says the lead writer of the third [Far Cry](/games?search=Far Cry) Jason Vandenberghe, "when you pick up an AK47, be assured the main character will know right away where the action is. After all, Jason can’t just say, ‘Oh, I’m a photojournalist and I accidentally shot over five hundred people.’ That would be inappropriate, unacceptable." Thus, it becomes clear that the story will be multilayered, complex, possibly even convoluted and unpredictable.
Returning to the theme of freedom, which destroyed [Far Cry 2](/games?search=Far Cry 2), it would be most appropriate to characterize the third installment with the words of the same Vandenberg: “An open world can be created, strangely enough, in two ways, one of which is right, and the other, respectively, is wrong. You can’t just say: ‘Hey, look, we have huge spaces, good luck!’ Such actions lead to confusion and disappointment; we don’t want to upset our players.” It’s reasonable to believe the writer, as we certainly don’t need a repeat of the story from three years ago.
Like in the original [Far Cry](/games?search=Far Cry), the new tropical island, located somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, holds a terrible secret. But this time it’s not some fantastic threat associated with mutants. As noted by the eurogamer author, all the inhabitants of this island are madmen. Did everyone literally go insane here? Judging by the characters, it seems quite possible.
"Vaas is not the only character in [Far Cry 3](/games?search=Far Cry 3) who will seem like a natural psychopath to you,” Vandenberg says.
Psychological Matters
There will be many enemies. And not just by the dozen. In addition to the regular opponents, representing what appears to be a large terrorist organization, there will also be classic pirates sneaking through the jungle, stealing and plundering. That things are going badly for the protagonist is clear from the very start of the demo: Brody falls into the hands of Vaas, the head of the local pirate gang, listens to this psycho’s nonsense (there’s no other way to describe this person), and then is sent to feed the fish deep underwater. Barely managing to free himself from the ropes, it’s time for Jason to take control of the situation.
As is customary in shooters, weapons can be freely picked up from the bodies of defeated enemies. The AK-47 we acquire is not known for its accuracy, but under such circumstances, we have no choice. Sneaking into the mercenaries’ base (for now, we’ll call them that) and exploring the surroundings, we find a helicopter on the helipad (with no markers on the map; the player will have to analyze the situation, study the surroundings, and look for paths to their goals). Realizing that this might be the only chance, Jason doesn't hesitate to put on a show: a couple of seconds, and dozens of lifeless bodies are falling to the ground. Another moment, and our protagonist finds himself in the aircraft. Unfortunately, he can’t escape the scene: a well-aimed rocket takes down the helicopter, which crashes fatally to the ground. Then, probably as a tracker, Vaas finds us again. "Did I tell you the definition of insanity?" he ominously asks, and the demo ends there. The audience applauds, all are impressed.
Of course, nobody is going to let Jason leave the island easily. The hero is in deep trouble.
Cut as instructed
There is indeed much to be happy about. Ubisoft Montreal has returned to the series its beloved tropics, removed the notorious weapon jamming, and equipped the protagonist with various abilities (how about taking out two enemies with one knife almost simultaneously?), enhancing the combat system. [Far Cry 3](/games?search=Far Cry 3) has finally begun to resemble its ancestor, and that’s perhaps our best compliment to the developers so far. The authors just need to stay on track, complete the work started with quality, and resolve existing shortcomings. For example, the graphics currently do not inspire satisfaction. The Dunia engine is certainly good, but clone mercenaries and murky environment textures currently do not let us confidently state that the graphics in the third [Far Cry](/games?search=Far Cry) will be better than in Crysis (on the other hand, they showcased the console version at E3). And Ubisoft has plenty of time to work: the release of [Far Cry 3](/games?search=Far Cry 3) is planned for 2012.
