Far Cry 3 tends to be a hit or miss for some people. Some think the game is amazing, while others think it's boring and repetitive. I can definitely understand the latter, but I personally loved the game. With the large and beautiful open world to explore, combined with the flawless gunplay and optional stealth elements, I really had a blast with the game in my 18 hours of playtime as of writing this review.

You play as Jason Brody, an unlikable, childish douchebag from California. Jason and his friends decided to take a vacation and go to the Rook Islands, where they took part in numerous activities. They went to strip clubs, got drunk, you name it, they did it. Everything was going pretty good, until they were kidnapped by a group of Pirates led by Vaas Montenegro, a psychotic individual with no regard for human life. While Vaas was planning to ask for a ransom and then sell them anyways, Jason managed to escape the compound. Having escaped Vaas and his Pirates, Jason had to learn the ways of the jungle in order to survive, and to rescue his friends.

The story is alright, nothing really impressive. The characters on the other hand are all memorable and portrayed perfectly. Vaas in particular is the BEST character in the game, and one of the best characters in recent years. Jason Brody's character development is fascinating as well.

The characters are great, the story is decent, but the gameplay is where Far Cry 3 truly shines. You have a large open world to explore, filled to the brim with side activities such as assassination missions, hunting exotic animals, delivering supplies, and taking over outposts to gain more territory. You can also hunt a large variety of animals in order to upgrade your gear, so you can carry more weapons, ammunition, and medicine by using the hides and skin. These range from common jungle animals like boars and pigs, to bears and jaguars, and even sharks.

The size of your arsenal is decent as well. You can unlock plenty of guns, and you can carry up to four of them after upgrading your holsters. You can use the typical assault weapons, as well as bows, sniper rifles, or even rocket launchers.

The movement and shooting are flawless and smooth, and everything related to them feels great. No complaints there. The driving and flying is surprisingly smooth as well. You have plenty of vehicles to choose from, and they all feel and handle great. You don't have access to helicopters or planes in this game, but you can fly using gliders or a wingsuit later on in the game. Just watch out for rough landings, because the fall damage in this game is ridiculous.

There's also a skill system. You can get XP by doing missions and taking outposts, amongst other things. In return you get skill points so you can upgrade Jason's abilities. For example, you can sprint faster, stay underwater longer, or perform special takedowns on enemies.

There are a few parts in the game where you will have to fight enemies hand to hand, but the problem is the wasted potential. Instead of having an awesome boss fight, it's just your typical QTE. Mash a few buttons and win, and that's lame.

Make sure to download Uplay if you don't have it already, you'll need it to play this and any other modern Ubisoft games.

The gameplay is fantastic and the islands are beautiful. There's more than enough content to keep you hooked, and the side activities as well as the hunting make things even better. The story could have been a little longer and some characters could have been used more, but I enjoyed it.

9/10