GamesCom 2011 – Far Cry 3

“Do you know what the definition of insanity is?”, a crazy French mercenary asks the audience. “Its doing the same thing day after day, and expecting change because of it”. We’re sitting inside the Ubisoft area, and Lead Designer for Far Cry 3 Jamie Keye is showing us some of the most sublime looking action that the team is busy developing.

Keye explains to us how we found ourselves in this predicament. Players take up the controls as Jason Brody, who had his boat destroyed and his girlfriend kidnapped when he got to close to this mysterious tropical island.

“Its a lush tropic with a savage side”, Keye says, “And if you’re stuck there, you’re on your own. No one is coming to save you”. Jason wakes up to hear the strange mercenary, Vaas, deliver his monologue, and its clear that he is not playing cards with a full deck. While he’s rambling on and on, we’re busy trying to untie our hands, but its too late.

Vaas finishes his little speech,and kicks a cinder block off the cliff side, which we happen to be tied to, and the drowning commences shortly after we’ve sunk to the bottom of the waterfall.

“People have different ways to save their problems in Far Cry 3”, Keye explains. “This is how Vaas likes to solve his”. Brody manages to escape his restraints, and sneak up on a guard patrolling the perimeter of the waterfall. “Here’s a look at our new stealth system, its an aspect that makes use of the environment. Right now the guard can’t hear us, because of the crashing sound of the water”.

After killing the soldier and looting his corpse, its time to kick some ass. Keye takes a moment to stress how important exploration is for the latest Far Cry game, as Jason makes his way to a small village that is under militia control.

“Right here, is where you can go in guns blazing if you want, if thats your thing. But also, if you take a look around, you might find something of interest. Over here is a sniper rifle that has been left behind, as well as a zip line for quick access”.

Brody then takes several shots at the enemy militia, killing a few of them, before heading down the zip line, firing wildly and landing hard. Brody switches to the AK47 rifle and starts engaging the enemy, and its clear that positioning will be a crucial role in the game, as he shifts his body to fire correctly, depending on the angle that he is hiding behind.

“Its all about different tactics for different approaches”, says Keyes, highlighting the various playstyles present in Far Cry 3. What we’ve done for the third game, is take the lush tropics of the first, and combine it with the grittiness of the second. Its a combination of the DNA of Far Cry 1 and 2”.

After taking a little too much damage, Brody hops it into the water, circles the enemy and lays a quick ambush, then sprints his way towards a chopper that is about to take off. He’s got the pilot hostage now, but the moment that he’s up in the air, the chopper is hit with RPG fire, crash landing back down below.

Its at this point that we see Vaas reappear, as calmly walks towards us, and asks, “Do you know what the definition of insanity is?”.

Last Updated: August 19, 2011