Ubisoft Montreal

Buck is a peculiar hitman in Far Cry 3. Apparently employed by the game's big bad, Hoyt, Buck has an interest in men, and in ancient Chinese artifacts. As it happens, he presently "owns" one of protagonist Jason Brody's male friends, and will exchange him if Jason retrieves a ceremonial knife originating from the treasure ships of Zheng He. Since Jason needs the knife for another purpose, it is obvious from the beginning of the adventure that he will come away from Buck's tasks with both friend and knife. That's how these games work, and Far Cry 3 is relentlessly conventional in that respect.

Several weeks ago Seb Wuepper posted a critique of Far Cry 3's design at Gameranx that I did not find compelling. Wuepper's argument reads less like criticism of Far Cry 3's design per se than a complaint about the fact that this game is not Far Cry 2. I am sympathetic to his point because I also prefer Far Cry 2. However, I don't feel that not being some game I like more is a fundamental argument against design quality.

The Easy Way Out

HIGH Taking out an entire encampment of privateers at close range without being detected.

LOW The final mission in the "Buck" sideplot is just gross.

WTF Can I please face one major boss I don't kill in an apparent hallucination?

Bloodbath Island

HIGH Leaping off a zipline and driving a machete into one pirate, then slashing his friend's throat before he realizes what's happening.

LOW Being asked to make one of the stupidest endgame choices in history.

WTF Okay, that's a lot of Komodo Dragons all in one place.

So, Far Cry 3. I can't say that I've been a fan of this series, but all the pre-release chatter had piqued my curiosity, and it seemed as though the game was going to attempt to tell a more serious, darker sort of story.

Everything is True. Nothing is Permitted.

HIGH Swimming around a pier, climbing a ship, and using a rope dart to hang a target from a yardarm.

LOW As I walk past two men on a bench, I get notified that I have my first pursuer. The whisper noise starts just as one of them gets up and stabs me for 700 points.

WTF Approaching a fort, I found I could no longer hide in shrubs even though I wasn't observed. When I reached the captain, I found only an indicator hanging in the air, without a body to stab beneath it.

Nose First into the Dirt

HIGH The moment I decided never to touch the Desmond missions again.

LOW Losing a race to someone who isn't actually going through the checkpoints.

WTF Spawning, losing my contract, and getting stabbed in the face within the span of about ten seconds. Doesn't this sound familiar?

I'll admit that it isn't quite as impressive as he other video game memes with Lego, but as Lego videos go, this is still impressive for how close it gets to the original using blocky toy pieces and some clay.

We are a Crowd of Knives

HIGH Finishing a round of Manhunt with no deaths.

LOW Pulling off the tank mission almost perfectly, only to be hit and fail the full synchronization objective at the last second.

WTF Spawning, losing my contract, and getting stabbed in the face within the span of about ten seconds.

Although I wouldn't say I'm a huge Splinter Cell fan, I have played every game in the series and more or less enjoyed them. I've definitely had my issues with the formula here and there, but I do like playing a good Stealth game once in a while, and there really aren't that many options. Now, there are even less.