Well over a decade since both games were released, Ubisoft has added Steam achievements to Far Cry 3 and 4.

These games launched d??uring a period when Ubisoft's Steam support was half-baked in favor of its own service at the time, Uplay, but the studio has come back years later to add in the important feature.

Ubisoft adds Steam achievements to Far Cry 3 and 4

In a post on Steam, Ubisoft confirmed that it has gone back and added Steam achievements to Far Cry 4. The post also claimed that Far Cry 3 achievements are on the way, but when you actually take a look at the game's page, they have alr??e??ady been added to the older title, too.

For PC gamers who hunted for Far Cry 3 and 4 achievements on Ubisoft Connect, there'??s some good news. Achievements will autom??atically sync across the two platforms, so you won't need to complete them all over again.

Interestingly, Far Cry 3 has actually had six achievements removed, but there's a good reason for that. These achievements were focused on the game's co-op campaign, for which the online servers have already been removed. While similar achievements also exist for Far Cry 4, they can still be earned, so they remain i??n t??????????????????????????hese new additions.

This follows a recent trend for Ubisoft, which has been adding Steam achievements to several of its older games of late. This has included titles like Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Unity, and Syndicate, but it's great to see Ubisoft do the same for the Far Cry series. From what we can see, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Primal, and New Dawn are all still missing Steam? achievements, but hopefully, they're in the works.

No one's quite sure why Ubisoft is doing? this, but we're certainly no??t complaining.

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Have I ever told you the true definition of 'backward compatibility'?

If you've been looking to relive the terrors of the Rook Islands, but no longer have an Xbox 360, Microsoft has got you covered! As announced by the official Xbox Twitter, Far Cry 3 is now available on Xbox One via backward compatibility. I'm sur?e everyone with a copy is grinning at th??e chance to see Vaas (one of the most underutilized villains of last generation) again.

Along with that comes Army of Two and Soltrio Solitaire (which were added on the 28th). I vaguely remember Army of Two from my college days, but that game was profoundly stupid. I always thought it was ridiculous how EA shipped a game without an ending, even if they did release two chapters as free DLC months la?ter.

Xbox [Twitter]

Major Nelson [Twitter]

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But hey, at least we got Blood Dragon

Raphael van Lierop, in a recent interview with USGamer, revealed t??hat his original vision of the game would have tied all?? three entries in the series up to that point together.

As narrative director at Ubisoft Montreal for Far Cry 3, he stated that he invested quite a bit of time in crafting a narrative direction and overall IP feel that would set the tone for Far Cry to carry on the mature aesthetic introduced in Far Cry 2.

Unfortunately, van Lierop left Ubisoft Montreal early in Far Cry 3's development and Ubisoft decided to take the game in another direction. He believes that the final narrative for Far Cry 3 was "more mainstream friendly" than his take,which he admits was probably the ?right call for a game that had to recoup? such a large investment.

You can read more about van Lierop's work and the balancing act between conception and production at USGamer.

Killed at the Conference Table: Gaming's Balancing Act Between Art & Pro?duct [USGamer]

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Sadly no Blood Dragons

Mark IV style mutha f*ckas!

Far Cry 3's map editor was just updated to include Blood Dragon's neon packed designs. This is just for the buildings and stuff, and doesn't include the creatures like the actual ??Blood Drago??ns. The update is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, and we expect the PC version to get the update shortly as well.

The update is free, so you have no excuse to go make some crazy creations. Well other than you not owning Far Cry 3 itself. Which you really should go and get, cause it's a great game. As is Blood Dragon itself.

Far Cry 3 map editor inje?cted with Blood Dragon goodness [Joystiq]

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I want it! I want it!

NeoGAF discovered the first few handful of screenshots and concept art for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. A couple of the screens lineup with the little bits of gameplay we got to see in the teaser video, and overall the screens are definitely giving off that cheesy '?80s movie vibe.

Between this, the soundtrack, and just how solid Far Cry 3 itself was, I am really looking forward to whatever Blood Dragon is.

The post First Far Cry 3: Blood Drago?n scre??ens have surfaced appeared first on Destructoid.

Please be real

We really, really, really want Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon to be a real thing. Everything we've seen so far screams amazing. Well whatever Blood Dragon is supposed to be, the mystery continues as these three retro '80s tracks were released by Melbourne electronica band, Power Glove (no, not that Powerglove band.)

The three tracks -- Power Core, Sloan's Assault, and Warzone -- have all been embedded here for your listening enjoyment. The music is amazing and makes me want Blood Dragon even more.

Actually, you should go check out all o??f Power Glove's music on their SoundCloud page. It's all pretty awes??ome.

The post ??List??en to these badass Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon songs appeared first on Destructoid.

Grab your promotional Far Cry 3 banana carriers while they last!

It's April Fools. This is my disclaimer stating so. Regardless, I have a pretty good feeling about this announcement being real, since an achievement list and box art leaked recently. The teaser video above is an '80s VHS throwback, which includes an amazing Ubisoft logo intro, an animated version of the Blood Dragon logo (previously leaked), and ??a split-second clip of combat that is too grainy and warped to get much out of: All I can see is some sort of chaingun with a neon glow being fired at enemies (image below).

The official website is equally obscure, taking after a hyperactive, GIF-loaded site from the mid-90s. The best part is the store which features promotional chainsaws, banana carriers, and baby strollers. When you purchase an item, the store tells you that you will receive the product in 2007, which is also the year that the Blood Dragon expansion takes place according?? to the ??site's description:

The year is 2007. It is the future. Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war and new paths for peace must be found. A U.S. cyborg army may have found a solution: a powerful bioweapon ??on a distant island. A Mark IV Cyber Commando, Sergeant Rex Power Colt has been sent over to gather information and figure out what the hell is going on.

Along with some half-assed story and a mysterious screenshot, the site also links to two awesome Daft Punk (think Tron Legacy) sounding? tracks that may be for the expansion.

If this is just an April Fools gag, which Ubisoft has been building up for a month instead of making an actual game, I will be ??very disappointed. This isn't "haha, that's goofy." It's "oh man, I want this."

Far Cry 3:? Blood Dragon gets 80s teaser video, retro webs??ite [Joystiq]

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Slay dragons and collect VHS tapes, according to leaked achievement list

Details on a Far Cry 3 downloadable expansion continue to come out. Previously hinted by lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem and Ubisoft registering rights to "Blood Dragon," we now have the juiciest details yet: An Xbox Live Arcade game c?over and an achievements list.

The chosen font and achievements, which list things such as "Find all VHS tapes" and "Kill 25 Dragons," makes me think this may be some awesome '80s throwback to cheesy films like The Last Dragon (pictured above).

Yohalem previously stated that whatever he's working on won't be unveiled until the time is right. With Ubisoft having held a GDC event earlier this week, I guess that time isn't here just yet. Whatever the game turns out to be -- '80s homage or not -- I could use some more Far Cry 3 in my life.

Here's the full list of achievements for Blood Dragon:

• Welcome to the Party, Pal - Finished Helicopter Entry (20)
• One Small Step - Finished First Garrison (20)
• Way to Go, Garri-Son - Finish all the Garrisons (20)
• Kill Them All - Finish all the Predator's Path Quests (50)
• End Game - Finished Final Showdown (5)
• Nice Like Jesus - Finish all the Hostages Situations (30)
• Murder Nature - Kill all the Animal Types (5)
• Set Them Free - Destroy 5 Braincages (15)
• Just the Tip - Kill a Dragon with the Bow (20)
• Blood Dragon Down - Kill Your First Dragon (20)
• Dragon Slayer - Kill 25 Dragons (20)
• What are You Reading For? - Find all of Dr. Carlyle's Notes (20)
• The Greatest Format of all Time - Find all VHS Tapes (40)
• Hail to the King - Reach Maximum Level and Become the Ultimate Badass (30)
• Running man - After saving Darling, enter Combat Mode with a Dragon and Return to Stealth (20)
• Tooled Up - Own all Weapons Attachments (20)
• Derp - Jump Down from 50 Meters (20)
• The Drug of the Nation - Find all TV SETS to Decrypt the Hidden Message (15)
• The Only True Stopper - Headshot Every Type of Enemy (50)

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon spotte??d again as Achievements leak [Eurogamer, Exophase]

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Maybe a downloadable game named "Blood Dragon"

Far Cry 3 was one of the darlings of the gaming world in 2012 and, according to lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem, Ubi??soft plans to capitalize on its popularity.

In an interview with Joystiq, Yohalem said ""Yes," I'm working on something now that wi??ll be surprising, I think, when it's announced. But it definitely is a 'strike while the iron's hot' thing, and we'll see."

One of the possibilities for this content may be a new downloadable title called Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, as a game by that name has been registered in Brazil. Some DLC wouldn't necessarily be surprising, bu??t an entirely new game would certainly fit the bill.

However, it's not as if Ubisoft has stopped supporting Far Cry 3. They just released a large patch to add many features that were requested by pl???ayers.

Far Cry 3 lead writer hints at upcoming? ?continuation [Joystiq]

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"Worse than malaria"

In comparison to previous games, Far Cry 3 was fairly easy on the highest difficulty. Ubisoft is planning to change this with the addition of a new Master difficulty and a menu opti?on that will reset all conque?red outposts.

Master difficulty ("Worse than malaria" reads the menu description) will challenge with "more aggressive wildlife, tougher pirates, and more deadly privateers." Unfortunately, there aren't many details on the new mode or when the p?atch containing it will arrive. As for the outpost reset, this new menu option will put all outposts back into the enemies' hands. This binary approach is a disappointing solution, as a more natural ebb-and-flow of hostile takeover would be more interesting?? and appropriate for the narrative.

Multiplayer is receiving its own share? of updates with improved feedback options, server options, and browser filters. No word on when this patch will arrive.

New Features and Changes in Far Cry 3 [via Shacknews]

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One of my favorite games of 2012

The latest episode of The Creators Project took a behind-the-scenes look at how Ubisoft brought life to Far Cry 3. The video goes over how Ubisoft wanted to constant??ly distract the player with the wealth of options available within the game. They also touched on the amount of play testing that went into designing?? island.

The post See how Ubisoft made Far Cry 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Gold Box Deal of the Day

If you've been waiting to pick up Far Cry 3, today might be a good day -- it's $34.99 as Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Day. The sale is going on for 360, PS3, and PC, and you ca??n opt for the physical or digital version of the PC game, in addition to the PC del?uxe edition for $44.99.

It took me quite a while to beat Far Cry 3, but I'm glad I did. I ended up taking a billion detours because of how ??well the game entices you to explore the island. The completely optional sidequests didn't f??eel like a chore -- I chose to enjoy them.

Far Cry 3 is truly a phenomenal open world game, and deserves your attention if you're a fan of the genre. Als??o, Vaas totall?y reminds me of Tuco Salamanca.

Far Cry 3 [Amazon]

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New DLC has monkeys. Sold!

Far Cry 3 might have been one of last year's biggest surprises, what with its return to the tropical setting of the original and its late-in-the-year release. Despite the seemingly ham-fisted approach to gaming satire, its open-world chaos was really compelling. If you've been left wanting more Far Cry 3 then this ne?w DLC bundle will help fill that void.

The Deluxe Bundle DLC pack is out now for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC and contains the DLC from the Deluxe Edition of Far Cry 3: six single-player missions, new weapons for both the single- and multiplayer parts of the game, new animals? to hunt, plus a new character Hurk who is ?accompanied by his bomb-carrying monkeys. Which is something I really want to see.

Also included in the bundle is the soundtrack fo?r the?? game and a digital art book. The Deluxe Bundle will cost $9.99 on PSN, 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live, and $9.99/£6.99 on Steam. Adding some new missions into the single-player is going to help extend the game for sure; anyone buy the digital deluxe version at launch? What did you think of the extra content you got -- is it worth the extra cash?

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Captain Burn Face

IGN sat down with Far Cry 3's executive producer Dan Hay to talk about the creation of one of the best charact?ers of 2012, Vaas Montenegro. Originally, Vaas was a big bald dude named Bull. He essentially looked like a generic mini-boss you'd see in most games and Ubisoft almost went with this character. That was until the ac?tor Michael Mando came into the picture.

Ubisoft was blown away by Michael, and they would go on to change the character but it still wasn't quite Vaas yet. They crea??ted Pyro, who resembles Vaas except the skin on his left side was full of burn scars.

From there they finally settled on how we all experienced Vaas in Far Cry 3. Check out the full IGN interview to see some more concept art, and what made Ubisoft so impressed by Micha?el that they completely re-worked the character.

Far Cry 3: The Vaas That Never Was [IGN]

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Be as free as a bird, now

If you were clamoring for a less intrusive HUD for Far Cry 3, you can have it: if you're a PC owner that is. Just download the latest patch, go ?to the options menu, and look for the? new HUD toggle options under "Gameplay."

Currently there's no word on a timetable for the console version of the game, but I can't imagine too much of a holdup. Considering that this same 1.04 up??date fixes a number of glitches as well, Ubisoft would probably want this out sooner th??an later.

I'm personally excited for this patch, because like the Elder Scrolls series, I love running around with a min??imalistic&nbs??p;HUD, forging my own stories. It would be nice if all open world games shipped with this feature, but I'll take a patch any day.

The post Fa?r Cry 3 patch optionally removes most of the HUD appeared first on Destructoid.

How a writer thinks critics didn't 'get' what wasn't there to get

Far Cry 3 has been accused of racism, sexism, and relying too heavily on exploitative narrative tropes. Lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem, however, thinks the critics have missed the point, and told Penny Arcade that Far Cry 3 is supposed to be a commentary. 

"It’s set on an island in the S??outh Pacific, so immediately the thing that comes to mind is the white colonial trope, the Avatar trope," he explained. "I started with that, and it’s like, 'Here's what pop culture thin??ks about traveling to a new place,' and the funny thing is, that's an exaggeration of most games, they just don’t expose it.

"For example, GTA is a colonization ?game. You come to New York, you colonize New York. Most open world games function that way. Ezio comes to Rome and colonizes Rome. To take that to its extreme, exaggerating those tropes is how you reveal them. The exaggeration of that trope is what happens in Far Cry 3."

In my own review for the game, I found the story relatively inoffensive and stylishly presented, but did point out that it veers dangerously into "Mighty Whitey" trope territory. Far Cry 3's story is basically about an inexperienced young white man coming to a tropical island and being better at the natives' way of life than they are in a matter of days. It's a cliche that's ripe for satire and commentary, but the problem is -- Far Cry 3 really doesn't do that, de??spite the writer's claim.

If Yohalem wishes to insist his story is supposed to be an exaggerated commentary, he's going to have to come to terms with the fact that he's not a very good commentator, because Far Cry 3 comes off as quite genuine and clearly acts like it wants to be taken seriously. Far Cry 3's plot never distinguishes itself from any other open world game, and not? once did I ever get the impression it wa??s trying to be more than a straightforward -- albeit slickly produced -- adventure story.

That's fine, and I wasn't offended by any of the game's narrative elements, but if it was intended to "exaggerate" anything, it failed. Given how ridiculous videogame stories generally are, Far Cry 3 needed to go way further than it did to expose the stupidity of the genre. Compared to something like Saints Row, the game's writing is tame. I'd argue Volition's done a lot more to expose the silliness of open world games, and when you compare it to Far Cry 3's effort, Yohalem's statements come off as disingenuous, attempting to answer criticism with excuses af??ter the fact. 

"When you’re with Citra in front of the warriors, that’s Jaso??n’s fantasy, you know the white guy from LA has sex with this beautiful woman, it’s very gratuitous, and it’s in front of the whole tribe," Yohalem added. "It’s a fantasy that we’ve seen in pop culture cinema.

"What I didn’t expect was the people who half-listen. If you half-listen to the story, it seems like it’s reinfo??rcing tropes that I disagree with."

The above quote is a perfect example of my problem with the writer's argument. Yes, the sex scene with Citra is a gratuitous fantasy -- but in an industry where gratuitous fantasy is the norm, presenting this scene without any added irony or commentary just comes across as yet another pointless sex scene in a world full of pointless sex scenes. It appears cynical, not satirical. As he says, it's a fantasy we've seen in pop culture cinema, but it's recreated so faithfully in Far Cry 3, it cannot be considered as exaggerated -- it'?s just another example of the trope. 

Not once is there a shred of dialog or a visual cue to clue the audience into the idea that this is the protagonist's personal fantasy. Jason never says this. He never indicates beforehand, even briefly, that his dream is to shag a priestess in front of a crowd. It just happens, with a muted seriousness. In simply presenting the scene without added commentary, it looks like the writer's f?an??tasy, not the main character's. It's sex for sex's sake. 

Again, if that's what Far Cry 3 wanted to do, then whatever -- but implying now, weeks after release, that we're ignorant for not "getting" it, is offensive. I assert there's nothing to get. The videogame industry is not known for its subtlety, so if you set out to criticize, satirize, or otherwise comment on the medium's tropes, you're going to have to work hard and communicate it clearly. You don't get to act better than your peers by simply saying you are. You have to actually be better, and Far Cry 3 is not better. 

It reminds me of the "satire" seen in The Simpson's Game, released a few years ago. This is a game that set out to parody problems in videogames by simply including the problems within its gameplay. It would give you tired and repetitive block puzzles, but excuse the lack of inspiration by having a character quip about how tired and repetitive the block pu??zzles were. That's not how it's meant to work -- simply acknowledging how bad your game is doesn't work as satire. There's no difference between your "parody" and any other game with mediocre block puzzles -- the result is still the same, as players are being bored by insipid gameplay no matter the stated intent.

Game developers often think that, if they point out their own flaws, they're allowed to keep them. Having an RPG character make fun of fetch quests isn't a joke if you're going to lazily make the player do the fetch quests anyway. It's just insulting --? it comes off as a developer admitting they know how lame their gameplay is, but isn't intereste?d in doing a thing to change it. 

This is what Far Cry 3 did from a narrative perspective. In acknowledging these tropes, the lead writer admits he knows what's wrong with his game. However, by simply presenting these tropes with a straight face, he's not managed to make any kind of creative statement. He's fallen into the trap of simply being t?he thing he's trying to criticize. Or at least claims he's trying to cr?iticize. 

I maintain that Far Cry 3 is a great game, and I think its story is okay -- notable more for its superb voice performances than anything else. However, to suggest its critics didn't "get" the game, when it presented nothing to get, is both misleading and insulting. The justifications for Far Cry 3's plot actually serve to make the game look worse, because now it's not just a big dumb action story -- it's a big dumb action story that failed to be a smart?? and cutting observation of the industry.

Frankly, it would've been better if  ??;Jeffrey Yohalem had cashed in his chips while he was ahead, rather than take this PR gamble. Better to be known for writing a successful escapist's fantasy, than writing a failed indictment of it. 

The post Far Cry 3: The creative failure of industry ‘commentary’ appeared first on Destructoid.

No ETA, but it's currently in the works at Ubisoft

Oh, Far Cry 3 -- why couldn't you have come out a bit sooner than during the f??irst week of December? Perhaps it's for the best that some of us get through our current lot before diving into what will likely be one of the year's last big well-received games. It seems players are taking issue with the obstructi??ve elements of the heads-up display and, somewhat astonishingly, Ubisoft has already taken this to heart.

In a statement provided to Kotaku, the company remarked that "Based on feedback from both press and fans, the Far Cry 3 production team is workin??g on a patch that will allow you to toggle most HUD/UI elements based on player preference. The patch will also avoid issues encountered in the .dll hack that might create a mission walkthrough br??eak (missing QTE prompts, critical information, etc;)."

Giving access to these sorts of options from the get go is always appreciated, but it is of course nice to see Ubisoft recognize that this functionality is something players value in the first place. You'll soon be able to murder wild??life in peace. Tha?nk goodness for that.

Far Cry 3 Patch Will Let Us Re????move Annoying Pop-Ups [Kotaku]

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Two additional co-op chapters

As announced on the PlayStation Blog, those of you hunting down wildlife in Far Cry 3 on PlayStation 3 will have exclusive content to play this January with the arrival of High Tides, a cooperative DLC pack. While few specifics were given, the new co-o??p chapters are named Jailbreak and Redemption, offering some clues about what they might involve.

According to Massive Entertainment writer Meghan Watt, the chapters are a continuation of the original six chapters that all players have access to. "These are the gang’s final moments, and we're really challenging ourselves to go all-out," she writes. "We've got new missions, tougher fights, bigger competitions, some great up-close time w??ith your favorite characters, and explosive moments unlike anything you’ve seen before."

Kind of a bummer for some of us, considering how the co-op mode turned out. Having not yet picked up Far Cry 3, I don't think I'll be able to justify playing on PS3 when, by many accoun??ts, the PC version is the obvious way to go here. Oh well!

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Set Uplay to 'offline' mode before booting!

[Update: Ubisoft says it has now gotten the servers back and you can play. Also, some people are responding to that by thanking Ubisoft. Don't do that. You just paid for that ??friggin' game, and you're owed a working one. They need to thank YOU for being patient, you don't thank THEM for doing t??heir f*cking job.]

What's better than a publisher forcing a proprietary service into a game? A publisher forcing a proprietary service into a game that screws everything up. Reports are coming in that Ubisoft's mandatory Uplay service isn't providing much of a service, and users can't get online. 

Far Cry 3 is available in Europe and the United Kingdom right now, but the PC servers are going down now the general public is on the loose. Ubisoft has Tweeted an apology, but it's hardly recompense for a?? problem that only exists because the publisher contrived a situation in which such a problem ??could occur. 

These issues are reportedly affecting the single-player aspect, with solo play unavailable while the servers are dead. Reddit has found a way to work around the worst of the server issues with a simple fix -- setting Uplay to "offline" mode before booting up the game. It's a shame this has happened, since Far Cry 3 is actually pretty great.

So, Uplay currently needs to be kicked offline in order to play the game that needs Uplay to be played. GREAT JO??B, UBISOFT! These ridiculous bloody services serve nothing bu?t the narcissism of the publisher.

The post Uplay causing server issues in Far Cry 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Tropikill taste

Far Cry 2 and I have a very special relationship, as I don't think I've ever enjoyed a game that I hate??d so much. I've played it many times, loving and loathing every second of it. For as much as it infuriated me with its glitches and stodgy pacing, it continued to delight me with its promise of close-to-the-bone survival in a uniformly hostile savanna.

Naturally, I would have preferred if Far Cry 2 provided more pleasure than pain, which is why Far Cry 3 has held a particular allure. If it could up the survival and ?reduce the frustration, Ubisoft would indeed have something very special on its hands.

It hasn't gone completely one way, but Far Cry 3 does more good than harm.

Far Cry 3 (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: December 4, 2012
MSRP: $59.99
Rig: Intel i7-2600k @3.40 GHz, with 8GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 580 GPU (SLI)

More story-driven than its predecessor, Far Cry 3's single-player campaign tells the story of Jason Brody??, who along with his friends takes an ill-advised skydiving trip to a tropical island ruled by a gang of slave-trading pirat?es. After escaping his captors, led by the sadistic Vaas, Jason finds himself rescued by a local villager, who then trains him in the art of jungle survival and ultimately sets him on the path of reclaiming Rook Island from Vaas and his sociopathic followers.

Although the story teeters on the edge of 19th century "Mighty Whitey" territory, featuring as it does a spoiled American who transforms into the perfect tribal hero almost overnight, Far Cry 3's narrative is tightly written and stylishly presented, featuring a cast of eccentric characters who rank among this year's most memorable. ??Vaas, a charismatic antagonist whose fevered diatribes and dark humor make him hard to dislike, is an obvious highlight, but he is more than matched by subsequent villains and bizarre supporting characters, all? competing with each other to see who can chew Rook Island's luscious scenery into dust the fastest. A cast of fantastic voice actors bring each of these characters to life, making for one hell of a bombastic story.

At the heart of this campaign is gameplay familiar to those who enjoyed Far Cry 2, wit?h its framework greatly expanded to include a lot more activity across a massive open world. Players take on missions selected at various destinations across the island, whereby Jason fights to rescue his friends and take down Vaas' minions. Mission variety is a big part of the adventure this time around, with stealth, sabotage, and straightforward combat all playing crucial elements. A range of firearms, hunting bows, and explosive weaponry are on hand to help players engage in ba?ttles according to their own preferences, and each one can be upgraded with modifications as the game progresses.

As players earn experience points, they get to unlock abilities along three distinct skill trees: the Heron for ranged combat, the Shark for direct assault, and the Spider for stealth and hunting. Unlocking skills on any one tree does not preclude you from using the others, especially since the skills are unlocked incrementally by playing through the story. It's more a matter of what you want to unlock first, since eventually Jason will be proficient in all three sets with enough time. Abilities include a greater sprinting speed, better aim with weapons, more health, and silent movement, all fairly standard upgrades that nonetheless come in handy. The special "takedown" powers come highly recommended, as they allow Jason to perform multiple instant kills in i??ncreasingly cool ways and toss in some extra XP for each successful performance.

Far Cry 3 brings an increased focus on survival, aided by an involved crafting system. When the game begins, Jason has a pitiful inventory capacity, no healing items, and very little else of use. However, by hunting down animals for their skin and culling plants from the wild, players quickly learn to combine resources and expand their inventory to include healing syringes, bigger backpacks, larger ammo pouches, and a variety of stimulants to grant temporary buffs. A large part of the game is centere??d around hunting for animals and picking different colored flora, with the map handily pointing out the best hunting spots. Rook Island boasts a wide selection of wildlife, some of which fight back or run away at high speed, requiring both skill and patience t??o take down.

As well as hunting, there are plenty of other activities to keep players distracted. Radio towers must be climbed and deactivated in each sector of the island, allowing for more of the map to be revealed. In addition, pirate strongholds can be cleared and taken over by allies, making the surrounding area safer to travel as enemies no longer patrol the roads. In each friendly base, special assassination and hunting quests can be undertaken, charging players with the task of eliminating particular enemies or creatures with a specified weapon. A series of "Rakyat" challenge courses can be found, featuring scored objectives with online leaderboard functionality, and the island is o??f course littered with secret objects and a ton of loot to find and sell.

Although there's a lot to do, one thing Far Cry 3 suffers from is a feeling of grinding repetition. All the side objectives are fairly uniform and often feel like a waste of time. Climbing radio towers via clunky first-person platforming sequences is a particular drag and slows the action to a crawl, while hunting some of the friskier animals, such as deer, can grow incredibly tiresome, especially when certain animals prove almost crucial for getting Jason decent gear. Far Cry 3 is a game of many features, but only on the surface level. None of the individual activities feature?? much nua??nce or variety, to the point where if you've played one you may as well have played them all.

Balancing out the repetition is a sense of detail and quirky humor that permeates everything, especially with regards to the expansive encyclopedia of background information found in Jason's journal. All loot discovered, animals killed, and characters encountered are noted in an expanding record of Rook Island's features, and the silly write-ups are well worth reading through. Little touches like this are what set Far Cry 3 apart from the crowd and help alleviate the feeling of monot??ony that some of the extra gameplay can enforce.

Far Cry 3 aims for more fluidity in its gameplay and mostly succeeds. Fast travel points are spread liberally throughout the island, with zip-wires and hang gliders making manual navigation speedier, and players have enough combat options to be able to change tactics should something go wrong. Stealth has been improved tremendously, with players able to turn animals a??gainst the opposition, create distractions by throwing stones, and slay multiple opponents in a beautiful chain?? of surprise kills. Grass and buildings are as flammable as ever, while enemies react to any discord sewn amongst their ranks accordingly. When everything goes in your favor, the sense of cruel power is almost criminal.

Despite its best efforts, some old problems return. Even though travel has been improved, getting from A to B can still feel like a boring slog, and driving rickety vehicles through tricky terrain from a first-person perspective remains an exasperating hassle. Further, even though combat is more flexible and Jason can hold his own in a fight, there are many moments when forces seem overwhelming and the player is forced to either retreat or take a lengthy diversion to attack from another direction. This isn't helped by the random clairvoyance of enemies, who will forget they ever saw you if you duck in grass but instantly know exactly where y??ou are if you don't, even if ??they shouldn't be able to see you.

Though not as notably glitchy as Far Cry 2, there are still some technical issues holding the affair back. The game looks utterly gorgeous on PC but seems remarkably uglier on an Xbox 360, as basic textures often pop shamelessly into view. The physics are unreliable as well, with Jason just as likely to erratically fly off the side of a rock as jump across it like intended, and sometimes even taking physical damage after jumping from mildly steep ground. On the PC side, the biggest problem is a horrible menu that's poorly laid out and req??uires an inordinate amount of clicking on "back" icons to navigate.

The solo campaign is littered with tiny annoyances and can sometimes feel like a grind, but the overall quality of the product tends, more often than not, to make up for it. A lot ??of the drearier content can be skipped overall in favor of a campaign that will still last a solid eigh??t to ten hours, providing a satisfying, effective story full of wonderful characters. If the game offered the single-player mode alone, it would be worth the investment for most shooter fans.

Far Cry 3 does not just offer a solo mode and actually manages to give both its multiplayer options an equal amount o??f attention, creating an e?venly balanced triad of entertainment. Both a full-fledged competitive multiplayer and self-contained cooperative campaign are available, and both are involved enough to justify their existence. Rather than churn up some tacked-on obligations that exist merely to bow to modern convention, Ubisoft has really pushed the boat out and committed itself to making each item on the menu worth experiencing in its own right.

The competitive multiplayer does little to liven up the genre with new ideas, but it does what it does competently and offers enough content for any players who find themselves compelled to keep playing. Providing a series of capture-and-hold and deathmatch game types, it's fair to say that Far Cry 3 comes off very much as Call of Duty in the jungle, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Packed with plenty of unlocks, including weapons and tactical gear, along with an experience system and kill streak rewards, everything seems almost ruthlessly designed to appeal to the COD veteran. There are a few unique twists, such as being able ??to revive fallen teammates, and some really cool special weaponry (poison gas springs to mind), but the core re?mains quite familiar.

The colorful splash of paint certainly helps make multiplayer feel a little fresh, but in a year that's seen even Call of Duty try and do more to step away from the stagnation of the genre, a game that sticks this close to formula feels almost trite. The content is all quality stuff, don't get me wrong, but unless you really click with Far Cry 3's particular flavor?? of factory-standard shooter, you will more than likely feel like moving on as soon as the next one hits the market with crushing inevitability.

In fairness, Far Cry 3's map editor at least offers potential for constant new environments in which to kill. As well as being ??able to randomly generate terrain, players can tweak a huge amount of environmental aspects, and have all the tools required to craft their own multiplayer arenas. 

Co-op, on the other hand, is a far more engrossing prospect. Telling ??its own story of four ship passengers out to avenge themselves against a captain who sold them out to pirates, up to four players portray a quartet of stereotypes. There's the Scot who is violent and vulgar because he's a Scot, the American who is basically a cowboy because he's American, th?e Russian who is stoic and grim because he is Russian, and the African-American woman who hasn't been given a personality because she's the African-American woman.

Characterization leaves much to be desired, but these gormless heroes exist merely as avatars, used to pit allies against waves of pirates through a selection of linear levels, sometimes stopping to compete in a sniping challenge, ambush an incoming convoy, or plant bombs on a bridge. Facing a stiff challenge against dozens of enemies, pla?yers will be forced to have each other's backs as they shout battle cries for temporary buffs, revive fallen comrades, pool resources to take down heavily armored troops, or spot and mark deadly targets such as snipers.

Before each round, players can select from four loadouts that act as a loosely defined class system, and they even earn experience that carries over into the competitive multiplayer. Most importantly, co-op isn't just a lazy collection of single-player missions with three extra characters shoehorned in. Genuine effort has been made to craft a series of tricky cooperative campaigns that, almost like Left 4 Dead, take the team on an increasingly hectic journey? that ends with a satisfying climax.

There are a few issues, mostly with the enemy A.I. that seems to be exclusively demented for this particular mode. On several occasions, I've encountered pirates that just stood there doing nothing. On the other end of the spectrum, the game is not shy about ambushing teams with a cruel amount of shotgun-toting foes who love to pop out from unseen angles and swiftly knock their victims into the dirt. These irritations taken into account, Far Cry 3's co-op still manages to be an enga?ging experience that puts a fresh spin on the franchise without feeling soullessly for?ced, and it's something I intend to go back to at least several times beyond the writing of this review.

There are many things about Far Cry 3 one can nitpick, and I like to think I've had a fair crack at many of them here. While riddled with minor gripes, there is no one overwhelming, glaring fault that threatens to drag the whole experience down. With the third installment in the Far Cry series, Ubisoft has managed to deliver a game that pr??ovides not one, not two, but three well-crafted experien?ces that may vary in terms of longevity but all manage to be of uniform quality.

One of those rare games where I feel no mode has been damaged by the inclusion of any others, Far Cry 3 is a well-rounded package that provides a mass of content clearly produced by developers who cared deeply about what they were doing. Far Cry 3 is going to be the last major mainstream release of 2012, and? after quite a spotty year, I can at least say this industrious triad of amusements ends the past 12 months on a high note.

The post Review: Far Cry 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

As well as two new gameplay modes

Far Cry 3 keeps looking better every time I see it, and this introduction to it's multiplayer component is no ??different.

The folks over at Ubisoft have got the staples of most modern first-person shooters covered with a XP and level progression system and large area effecting, team support weapons. The most significant features to me are the addition&nb?sp;of Battle Cries and it's new mult?iplayer modes, Firestorm and Transmission.

Being able to 'buff' your allies while under heavy enemy fire or while securing a node could help turn the tide of battle for either side, if timed well. I'm glad to see that fire has made a comeback in Far Cry 3, in it's Firestorm mode. Constantly changing the field of battle and throwing both sides i?nto mad frenzy to get to the radio in time sounds like great fun.

The post Going native: Far Cry 3’s multiplayer explored appeared first on Destructoid.

Far Cry intoxication with the Corridor Digital crew

Because if you do,? you'll have a sweet barroom firefight in your mind. Act?ually, that doesn't sound all too bad!

Freddie Wong offered his own Far Cry 3 tribute th?e other week, so of course the Corridor Digital boys would want a crack at it as well. Enjoy, you filthy monkeys!

Far Cry Happy Hour [YouTube]

The post Don’t play poker or go drinking with Far Cry 3’s Vaas appeared first on Destructoid.

Gorgeous babes and bad disco dancing

Ubisoft has announced a four-episode web series (set to launch around the same time as Far Cry 3) developed internally called Far Cry Experience that, according to them, is going to be "a big gift to fans."

If you've ever watched one of Far Cry 3's trailers, you'll know that the story is, well, absolutely insane and Far Cry Experience aims to show us all how such a scenario would play out in real-life. The upcoming web series sees a gamer (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) being thrown into the Far Cry universe. From there it a?ll gets a bit crazy what with Vaas Montenegro being present and doing what he does best -- that is, freaking us all ou?t and causing grown men to cry.

For the time being we have a trailer for Experience. You're going to laugh at first when? you watch it, but then you won't. Oh, trust me, you won't. My emotions... I, I don't know what to f?eel any more.

The post Ubisoft’s unveils ‘Far Cry Experience’ web series appeared first on Destructoid.

What a gentleman!

Far Cry 3's Hoyt seems like a nice guy, even though some are callin?g him a tyra?nt. The name does not fit.

In this trailer you'll see that Hoyt's job is to find people and help them get work, and he apparently runs the la??rgest organization? of that type in the South Pacific. How nice of him!

He even lets these nice guys play Red Light, Green Light on his mine field.

As the boss of this organization he's nice to the natives, lets the girls at work wear whatever they want, and likes to play cards. Oh, and he makes roasted chicken for h??is staff sometimes. What a fine example of a man!

Enjoy more of Hoyt's fine personality when Far Cry 3 drops on December 4, 2012.

The post Far Cry 3 ‘tyrant’ Hoyt seems like a nice guy appeared first on Destructoid.

"You got Far Cry 3 in my Minecraft!" 'You got Minecraft in my Far Cry 3!'

I'm not sure about most players, but when I hear people talk about the Far Cry series, what comes to my mind are the scenic locales, the interesting level design and the awkward massacre of zebras. In an unique marketing move, Ubisoft has decided to team up with a Minecraft mod creator to recreate the island setting and characters found in Far Cry 3.

The map will feature key locations for players to visit, as well as tools and weapons from the upcoming game. The creators have also strewn about 50 hidden Easter Eggs through out the island, for those in the mood for a scavenger hunt. Well known Minecraft aficionado Michael "Sacr3" Lambert will be creating the island, while texture artists Axel Janssen and Yohann Delcourt will be working to bring Far Cry 3's level of high-fidelity beauty into the Minecraft's 16 by 16 blocky world.

The Far Cry 3 pack will be available to download on October 26 2012 from the official Far Cry 3 website??, so now would be a good time to start sharpening that pixelate??d Combat Knife.

The post Far Cry 3 gets a Minecraft twist?? ?with this free PC mod appeared first on Destructoid.

The original Far Cry was an incredibly fun experience, with a varied deadly tropical landscape and relatively intelligent A.I. opponents for the time. The gameplay was both challenging and continuously engaging, and made me a fan of the series from early on. I even played and enjoyed the lowly console port spin-offs with long names, such as Far Cry Instincts: Predator.

Then Far Cry 2 came along, and my love affair slowly died. Though I appreciated the vast landscapes and the reactive environmental effects such as spreading grassland fires and seeing the sparse glimpses of wildlife that ran away when it noticed you, I found the missions to be paced too far apart an?d the constant traveling to be burdensome at best, and an absolute bore at worst.

When I began to hear more about Ubisoft's latest foray into an expansive first-person shooter environment, I held a f??ew concerns that the gameplay would feature much of what we've come to expect from the series' recent iteration, including the long periods of traveling and a storyline that wasn't very engaging.

At a recent Ubisoft extended hands-on press event for Far Cry 3, I quickly l??earned that the experience far exceeds those expectations, and the series may in fact be back on track in returning to what made running through tropical environments and causing chaos so much fun in the first place.

Far Cry 3 (PC [previewed with 360 controller], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: December 4, 2012

Far Cry 3 starts with a ban??g -- quite literally, as M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" accompanies a montage of your character and his friends having an "extreme" vacation at a tropical island named Rook Island, the environment you'll be spending your next several hours in. The montage ends suddenly with a seeming graphical glitch, and the camera pans away from a smartphone where the montage was running as a movie that you're being shown by Vaas, the island's resident psychopath. You find yourself caged like an animal next to your brother, Grant. Apparently a former marine, he quickly takes control of the situation as soon as Vaas turns his back. Grant loosens his shackles and frees you from yours, and as Vaas leaves Grant distracts the posted guard to come over and then brutally kills him.

Pretty soon, you find yourself sneaking through an encampment of Vaas' guerrilla soldiers. This section of the game plays as a tutorial of sorts, teaching you how to throw rocks to distract guards and sneak t??hrough areas without being seen. Admittedly, the PC build I played crashed a few times through this part because of unforeseen graphic driver compatibility issues -- though this turned out not to be too bad, as each run through afforded another look at the incredibly detailed environment.

Graphically, the game shines the most in all of the seemingly insignificant things that the developers have crammed into each area, and this especially shows throughou?t the intro tutorial. As you hide behind walls and under boulders?, you notice both mundane things such as chickens running about or the minutiae of the small village you're in, as well gruesome events such as hanged prisoners and at one point in the distance you see Vas himself picking off the rest of the survivors with a handgun point-blank.

I won't spoil too much about what happens after this, but some time passes and you wake up and find yourself under the concerned care of Dennis Rogers, a Liberian National who has found community with the warriors of Rook Island and your allies. At this point, the game opens up and I feel this is where I really got a sense for how Far Cry 3 plays.

One of the first real missions I played involved finding a nearby broken down radio tower and fixing the signal for the village that has taken you in. The mission was simple enough -- I had to find a way to the radio tower and then climb up it to repair the main electrical box. Of course, on the way there I got a little distracted with the local fauna and picked a fight with a few wild hogs. After getting my arm nearly bitten off, I managed to kill this small group of hogs and skin them for their hides. You're even treated to a skinning animation that's just a touch more gruesome than the one found in Red Dead Redemption, though it seems to go by much faster.

Climbing up the radio tower presented one little concern I have about the game. While normal movement including running and jumping around seem to be pretty fluid, there are certain areas where you climb upwards and the only way to actually access them is to get to special points where you can press a button to go into an animation. This is a little archaic in terms of character movement -- especially among so many games including even the most recent Zelda where climbing up a surface is incredibly fluid, but at least it did generally work well enough that I wasn't too bothered by it in my playthrough. It's certainly been the same way in past games of the series, but I suppose I was a little surprised that sti??lted movement like this hadn't been taken away completely.

The radio tower mission revealed itself to be the start of several similar side missions that I could embark on later. Similar to Assassin's Creed, each time you make it to the top of a new radio tower you open up more of the map. This includes points of interest and routes to your next checkpoint. This was def?initely a helpful mission, as it cleared the way to later missions involving collecting various wild plants and animal hides.

Collecting these?? sorts of things is a much more focused and rewarding affair than in the past. Various plants can be mixed to give you herbal health remedies, as well as boosts to your defensive capability and to your accuracy when hunting. Animal hides are great for upgrading your backpack, as well as strengthening your weapons and supplies. Some collectibles -- often called "fetish" items in the game -- are good mainly for selling at you?r home base or any market for a pretty good price in order to upgrade weapons and armor or buy new ones.

Soon after a few introductory missions in the game, Dennis guided me towa?rds Dr. Earnhardt's mansion to possibly rescue Daisy -- one of the friends from the beginni??ng of the game who had also been kidnapped. Earnhardt is a bit eccentric himself, a possibly mad scientist who sends you on a mission involving finding a mushroom in a cave full of toxic fungi. This is definitely one of the trippier sequences in the game, and after playing through it, I hoped there would be more varied missions involving the good doctor.

One thing I noticed pretty quickly as I traversed the map is that Ubisoft is really making an effort this time to fill the map up with -- well, just more of everything that the last game lacked. There are side-quests to be found all over the place, including ATV checkpoint races to deliver supplies and? small self-contained story ??missions like one I played involving two star-crossed lovers and a whole mess of pissed off monitor lizards. There are all kinds of possibilities for emergent events, as all sorts of animals roam freely and actually obey the laws of nature.

The most exciting event in the game happened dur?ing one of these emergent moments. I had just finished a pretty meaty mission involving tons of combat in a rusted out ship. After using some stealth and then later a whole lot of molotov cocktails (I'm happy to say that the realistic burning effect is still present), I had completed the mission successfully and was just sort of wandering around when I happened to wander right into an enemy encampment.

As I hid under a deck so as not to alert the guards, I noticed a little icon on the screen informing me that if I shot at cages, I'd let the animals in them out. I didn't really see any cages, so I crept closer until I was right underneath a guard?. Finally, I noticed some sort of tropical and probably useless ostrich-looking bird sitting in a cage. Just as the guards became aware of me, I shot the cage for the hell of it and watched as one pissed-off cassowary wreaked havoc on the guards and was soon joined by a couple others. I took this momentary distraction to high-tail it out of the camp and made it about a half mile away before I was joined again by some soldiers in jeeps.

At this point my health was waning, so I popped a few shots with a semi-automatic I had looted from a guard earlier and ?then waited for sweet death. The screen was turning red and my breathing was becoming more labored. I crawled to?? a bush to let myself breathe my last breath and suddenly the guards seemed to focus their attention at something else. As my health began to regenerate, I crept closer and realized that the pack of cassowaries had followed the guards and were once again dishing out vengeance!

I honestly knew little about cassowaries before Far Cry 3. After playing the game and wat?ching them literally kick the shit out of guards and then later kick me nearly to death, I learned from Wikipedia that they are in fact just as dangerous as depicted in the game and have even been known to disembowel other animals. I think cassowaries are my new favorite animal now, replacing the honey badger.

Emergent moments like this popped up throughout my playthrough and made the game that much more compellin?g and fun to play, whether I was focusing on one of? the main mission objectives or just running over animals because I was on a wild killing spree.

Far Cry 3 seems to offer a very dark and possibly somewhat complex story abou?t a ruthless psychopath and many other dangerous characters a??round the island. It also offers one of the more entertaining open-world experiences I've played in awhile. I was chased by sharks, spit at by monitor lizards, bitten by wild hogs, and kicked in the guts by cassowaries while passing through areas of both allies and foes and picking up supplies and new missions along the way. The game does a great job of blurring the line between what are the "important" main missions and what are entertaining side missions that you might wander into simply because you happen to be close by.

The game also features a huge variety of upgradeable weapons and many ways to travel about the island, as well as areas where enemies will attack you and areas where you can just chill at with your allies and buy new stuff. I came away from my playthrough believing that above all else, the Far Cry series has returned to its root?s in terms of offering a great number of creative ways to cause chaos and have a ton of fun while doing so.

The post Preview: How c?assowaries saved m??y life in Far Cry 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

The trailer above details two of your main allies in Far Cry 3. Dennis Richards is a Liberian National who has found a home among the Rakyat tribe that lives on Rook Island. During my own playthrough that will go up tomorrow, I mostly deferred to hi??m for the main story missions.

The other ally, Citra, is the leader of the tribe, and she probably kicks a ton of ass. I have a feeling that Citra will introduce you to some of the more challenging and rewarding missions in the game. I see a ?lot?? of crossbow action and rad magical powers in your future with her.

The post Get acquainted with the ?allies of Far Cry 3 in this vid??eo appeared first on Destructoid.

Far Cry 3 is coming out on December 4 and I think that's a horrible time to release a game, especially something as big as a Far Cry title. The worst part is that it's coming after Black Friday here in America, one of the most important shopping dates of the holiday season. Plus, there's a strong chance Far Cry 3 will miss out on getting a number of nomination for ga?me?? of the year type awards across the industry.

The only positive thing I can take away from Ubisoft wanting to release this on December 4 is that it will basically have no competition from any other AAA title since the most important ones have already released. Granted, there's also the possibility that people will be so engrossed by the likes of said AAA titles like Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, Black Ops II, the entire Wii U launch, and ??countless others that everyone will be blind to any new releases after November.

And this just upsets me because what I played of Far Cry 3 was awesome. Check out the video for a giant montage of a ton of different things you can do in th?e game. Look at the tiger. LOOK AT THE TIGER!

The post Far Cry 3 is a great game with a?? horrible releas?e date appeared first on Destructoid.

Much of what I've seen from Far Cry 3 has been centered around either lots of people being violently killed, the concept of insanity, or both. Which is fine, though the open-ended locales have always been what pulled me into the ser?ies?? (and presumably many of you, too). It's nice to see a trailer that heavily focuses on that aspect of the game.

If you were feeling optimistic about Far Cry 3, but not overly so, this video might help. Hang gliding is back! As are those wonderful animations in which your character fixes their body in first-person. Despite having a sizable amount of time to sit on the decision -- this game won't be available until early December -- I'm finally ready to say, "Yes. I?? will likely buy that."

The post ‘Island Surival Guide’ video sells me on Far Cry 3 appeared first on Destructoid.