Far Cry 3 Preview - E3 2012 - New Game Network

After makings its debut during last year’s show, Far Cry 3 was front and centre for Ubisoft’s lineup at E3 2012. Showing off not only more of the campaign mode, but also revealing cooperative play, the game looks to be ready to entice the fans running up to the release. We had a chance to see and play the game, both campaign and coop modes, and our resulting impressions show that Far Cry 3 seems to be on solid ground.

For those unfamiliar, Far Cry 3 takes place on a tropical island, returning to the roots of the original after Far Cry 2’s African setting. The main goal for protagonist Jason Brody is to escape, and survive the crazed inhabitants, particularly a leader named Vaas who captures Jason and his friends at the start of the game. The game has a rather surreal element to it, engaging players in the maniacal and insane personality of Vaas and potentially Jason himself, as it’s filled with reality-altering imagery and dream sequences.

We had a chance to play through the campaign mission in the game, which was the same one that was showcased during the Ubisoft Media Briefing. At this point in the story, Jason is no longer “green” and now wants to take the fight to Vaas, who is torturing Jason’s friends and leaving him clues and messages. We started in a high cliff, diving into the water below. There was complete freedom to approach the guards on the dock from any direction, but for the sake of stealth we followed the suggested path of taking the guard down from below.

Climbing onto the dock, we proceeded into the jungle. Notably, our path through was linear, though we are told this was done for the purposes of the demo. Upon entering the jungle, the lush environments and great lighting really showcased the tropical setting. Stumbling upon a campfire, we approached stealthily and pulled off a double melee kill. It’s satisfying, all right. Further along, our bow made quick work of a guard in a tower. There were a few guards in the area approaching the warehouse were Vaas was supposed to be hiding, so stealth didn’t hold. After a few enemies went down from our arrows, we had to grab hold of an assault rifle and take out the rest with good old gunfire.

As we entered the building – a trap was sprung. Indeed, Vaas was waiting for Jason, and decided the best and most creative way to dispatch of the player was to close all exists and immediately light the building on fire. It was time to book it. Making our way to the roof, the ground was now swarming with foes. With the game’s cover system, similar to Killzone, we were able to wait out the heavy barrage and pop up at the right times to take shots. One of the interesting contextual opportunities was to release some tigers from their cages, so they could dispatch the bad guys for you. Of course, this also meant we’d have to deal with them as well once we reached the ground.

After fighting our way through the enemy hordes, including an all-too-easy flamethrower-wielding enemy, we reached the large and neon-lit warehouse where Vaas was supposedly hiding. Turns out, he was! Too bad, then, that he was able to get a jump on Jason and stab him with a knife (which is said to be special), which sent Jason on another nightmarish trip through his subconscious. It’s where the demo concluded, promising players that insanity awaits – and we believe it.

We also had a chance to play the newly revealed cooperative mode. Once again, it was the same mission seen during the Sony Media Briefing. Alongside three other players, our objective was to assault a small area and blow up a bridge. Working together with a couple of strangers playing beside us, we made quick work of the guards around the small shacks which housed explosives. Now, continuous enemy waves began spawing on the other side of the bridge, working their way towards us. Our squad had to work together – as those who were carrying explosives to the specific bridge locations were unable to return fire. After placing a few charges, we switched to cover fire role while letting our teammates do the carrying.

Shooting bad guys was satisfying enough. Far Cry 3’s shooting mechanics were largely unchanged from the campaign demo we played, in that it was still satisfying. There were some graphical issues and noticeable lag during the coop demo, though nothing game breaking. Perhaps the only criticism for the demo was the UI design – our objective marker, to blow up the bridge, was so large and always-on that it actually obscured enemies and made it difficult to spot them on the bridge. Similarly, the smoke and other effects often unnecessarily restricted vision. Otherwise, it was a nice and quick demo showcasing the basics of cooperative play.

After a good but at times flawed experience with Far Cry 2, it seems that the series is headed back to the top. An exciting and haunting campaign in an open world, cooperative multiplayer, and the confirmed sandbox editor, the Far Cry 3 showing at E3 did nothing short of raising and exceeding our hopes and expectations. Look for the game to launch on consoles and PC in September 2012.