The more you see of Far Cry 3, the less like a simple sequel it seems. With the writing duties transplanted to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's Jeffrey Yohalem, we should expect something a little more nuanced than "a man turns up on an island, and everyone is tongues-out bonkers for guns".
The wide range of insanities that infest the tropical islands aren't just an excuse for everyone to be violent, but a theme that's at the heart of the story. There's a kernel of insanity in every character. As charismatically psychotic as Vaas is, one brilliant villain is not enough to carry a game.
That's why every character will have his or her own conflict between a seed of grieving insanity, chafing against their equally important nugget of sanity. We've already met Dr Earnhardt, the islands' very own botanical alchemist who seems to take the role of a medically reckless spirit guide. But what the latest round of hallucinatory videos and our hands-on demo seem to imply is that our hero, Jason Brody, has a few errant bolts in the wrong sockets himself.
Drug trip
Compounding the twist on reality, Far Cry 3 has a strong theme of induced hallucination, too. The island's mushroom population is an important part of the story, and Earnhardt's experiments revolve around getting the purest, most behaviour-changing hit from them. For Yohalem, it's about creating an Apocalypse Now for a generation of youth who've never known conscription - testing the psyche of a more pampered and fragile generation. "We're trying to create a dialogue about modern culture," says Yohalem. "No-one's made a game that deals with our current generation of young people."
Yohalem credits his audience with intelligence. Joss Whedon and Dan Harmon acknowledge the tropes and clichés of their beloved genres: Cabin in the Woods is a movie about movies, and Community is a sitcom about sitcoms. In the same way, Far Cry 3 acknowledges its form, in a way that's more subtle than breaking the fourth wall. It weaves experience into the narrative. It abuses the expectations we've built from other games and movies. Like BioShock throws the issue of free choice in your face in the environment of a linear FPS. "Far Cry 3 could never be a movie," says Yohalem. "Interactivity is a fundamental part of the story. The player, whoever he is, is another character." It's almost possible to forget that Far Cry 3 is still a fun and bloody sandbox shooter.
Our demo begins with Jason Brody, the man who went on holiday and watched his friends get killed, completing his survival rituals and becoming a warrior. He speaks to the people who trained and embraced him, his forearms covered in the tattoos that tell the story of his time on the island. These tattoos are generated by your own exploration, hunting and story progress and optional missions. Your tattoos will probably be unique, as rumours of Far Cry 3's linearity are easy to overstate. While there will be scripted moments, in terms of mission structure it'll be a "first-person Assassin's Creed II".
13 comments so far...
CunningSmile on 10 Aug '12 said:
I was never a fan of Far Cry previously (apart from Predator/Instinct, but I'm a sucker for a quasi-werewolf story) but this is actually starting to really appeal to me, from a story point of view if nothing else. Lets hope it's all true and not more demo smoke and mirrors from developers that are trying to say what they hope we want to hear (I'm looking at you SC:Blacklist)
Clanger67 on 10 Aug '12 said:
Wow,brilliant sounding better and better this is.Really admire the fact that they have really thought out the story and tried to explain things a bit more than just an island full of nutters.
Definitley got interested anyway at all the mentions of stealth kills.Plus sounds bloody brilliant that you are going to get plenty of freedom,as mentioned a first person AC sounds mint and a high accolade if it does deliver on that statement. 
bamozzy on 10 Aug '12 said:
This is certainly on my watch with interest list! I was a little disappointed with Far Cry 2 and never played the MP. Although I completed the story - I never found all the diamonds, tapes and/or completed all the side missions. I never found it completely engaging and in the end I just wanted to complete it to see if it actually went some where - I actually think it was quite forgettable!
However Far Cry 3 does interest me a lot more and the MP also looks like it could be fun but I don't think it will be a day 1 purchase or full price one for me
Jabraham on 10 Aug '12 said:
Yh community i love that show
Bezza89 on 10 Aug '12 said:
My only worry with this game is that it will be linear rather than an open world game like Far Cry 2 with the more literal any way you want to approach method (though stealth isn't an option after your first kill). It sounds more like you get loads of massive levels like in crysis. Hopefully not, hopefully lots of nice exploring and a 'if you see it you can climb it' approach.
Also, I want a hardcore mode with jamming guns back in. No breakdowns though. I heard bullet removals are back, if not - I want them back.
Clanger67 on 10 Aug '12 said:
Didn't you read the article then Bezza.Sounds pretty open world to me.Plus there are no gun jams.I like the sound of the idea that if you do a stealth kill with a knife and there is somebody else quite close you can with the ability flick to him as well.Plus also, just hope you can sneak your way past with no MDK as well.
Bezza89 on 11 Aug '12 said:
Yes didn't you read my post
I want gun jamming back dammit. Nowhere does it say it is truly free, only 'first person assassins creed' which going off revelations isn't a good thing lol. They (internet people) have however removed the quote from Dan Hay about the game being a lot more focussed on missions, it went on to strongly imply (or infer?) a more crysis approach but as I can't find it there's no problem anymore. Yay for far cry 2 esq map... apparently 10 x larger? We'll see.
Clanger67 on 11 Aug '12 said:
Sorry Bezza should have stuck a wink in,reading it back it sounds a bit harsh,apologies.
Yeah will just have to wait and see,i am being maybe a bit to overly optimistic.Just hope it isn't a let down feel that let down about some others in a series i have high hopes for this.I know what you mean about removing some of the things from two but wasn't that down to them (internet people) that it has been removed.It even says in the article thankfully no more gun jams,what's realistic about that ????.
carthage888 on 11 Aug '12 said:
Please, if there is a God, let the ending to this game be good! The storyline so far looks amazing, and I don't think my excited little brain could take a 'none of this happened, it was a dream and/or drug hallucination!'
Bezza89 on 11 Aug '12 said:
Not at all necessary, you didn't read me wanting the gun jamming back, so I thought I'd Scrubs it back at you.
Personally this is the game I'm most looking forwards to this year if GTA doesn't miraculously appear, but trying to manage expectations so I'm worried about the sandboxxy bit genuinely and to be pleasantly reassured. Wonder what happened with that currency thing we saw at E32011...
Clanger67 on 11 Aug '12 said:
Crossed wires Bezza from me,plus not wording it right.Meant it said in the article there wasn't going to be gun jams anymore.No worries anyhow.Don't know about that currency thing wasn't online again until Nov. '11.What's that all about then,buying stuff like weapons etc. ?.I don't think they will do to bad a job of this,they have taken onboard a lot of complaints about two,hence no more gun jams.Doesn't always pay to be in the majority,for a lot of games it appears nowadays.
I will just add as i seem to have a wording prob. today,lol.There wasn't a lot about two i hated,if i had to pick one it was the spawning enemies and that is about it.Oh and maybe the Malaria thing that just seemed tacked on.
Seems you will be off your tits a lot in the new one.
Bezza89 on 11 Aug '12 said:
lmao clanger. I know gun jamming isn't in - that's why I want it back. D'oh!
Clanger67 on 11 Aug '12 said: