I rediscovered a number of things this weekend. One is that First Person games can be good, interesting and involving. Another, is that the nature of man’s relationship with animals and plants is one which is oft taken for granted in the modern, industrialised age we live in and deserves proper consideration by anyone who truly considers themselves a decent human being.
And finally I learnt that…OH MY GOD, is that a crocodile? I swear I saw a crocodile! Kill it, kill it! I don’t care! Machinegun into the water… don’t stop firing until it stops moving!
…
Apologies for that. Finally, I’ve learned that I am very, very, very, VERY scared of crocodiles…
Far Cry 3 was another one of those games that I simply would not have considered, had it been released in a busier gaming season. I’m not a big fan of first person shooters, and I’ve had nothing to do with the Far Cry series until now, and from what I saw, it basically looked like a less exciting Just Cause 2.
After 3 days of near constant play a strange transformation has come over me.
I’ve gone all Lord of the Flies.
There is no running and gunning in my gaming any more.
At every new area I will find a lookout point and begin surveying the land. I gather natural resources when I need them, plan hunting journeys for specific animal skins and craft everything I need. The experience is so all-immersive I have lost all sense of anything but the jungle.
Not since Grand Theft Auto 3 have I felt so absorbed into a virtual world (on the subject of which, did anyone else just drive around aimlessly listening to the radio?).
Far Cry 3 has taught me how to play by its rules and the experience is all the better for it. I drive carefully because my life depends on it. I sneak because to be discovered is to die. I collect leaves – to create all-important medicines – when I see them because they give me an edge over the wildlife.
Finally, through fear and repetition, I have learned that the water is a very dangerous place. With this in mind I would like to pass on the following advice to fellow Far Cry 3 newbies:
· Never leave home without a pack full of yellow leaves
· Never cross a body of water without Hunter’s Instinct activated
If neither of the above are possible, get your girlfriend to do the swimming while you cower behind your meshed fingers, a gibbering wreck.
Ben Burns
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