We can't quite believe it ourselves, but Far Cry 3 is 10 years of age this week! Yes, Ubisoft delivered its fresh take on the open world shooter way back in late 2012, and we were instantly hooked by the game's gorgeous environments, satisfying gameplay loop and engaging cast of characters a decade ago.
While we've somewhat soured on the series since, there's no denying that the third entry was brilliant, and remains our absolute favourite Far Cry game to this day. Something clicked with this one - it arrived at just the right time and delivered something that was quite unique back then in the console FPS space; an open-ended shooter that focused on pure fun above all else.
The series isn't exactly known for its compelling storylines, but Far Cry 3 delivered in that department as well. Sure, we're not talking ground-breaking narrative here, but FC3's characters — especially the enigmatic and extremely memorable Vaas Montenegro — added a lot to the game's core campaign. Whenever Far Cry 3's main villain showed up he stole the show, and his presence is still sorely missed in the series to this day.
The gameplay loop in Far Cry 3 was something special, and it still works 10 years later. The second game certainly had merit, but it was a little too hardcore at times and probably took itself a bit too seriously for its own good (catching Malaria over and over wasn't fun). FC3 was more arcade-y, more accessible, but still deep enough to get you hooked.
In fact, we've returned to Far Cry 3 recently and that loop definitely still holds up. You go finish up a fun and frantic story mission, before realising you need to fix up a radio tower to discover more of the map. Then, an outpost location appears and well, that needs claiming before your backpack is full and you need to hunt for more materials. You see where this going? We did too; it ended up with another four hours sunk into Far Cry 3 in one session.
The open world landscape of the Rook Islands does its part to pull you in too. This game was a bit of a looker on Xbox 360 back in the day, even if the game's frame rate didn't do it much justice. Well, Far Cry 3's Xbox 360 version now hits 60FPS on Xbox Series X and S, and it's a blast to play at those higher frame rates. There's always the option to go for Far Cry 3 Classic for Xbox One as well, but that version is capped at 30FPS, and we definitely prefer the 360 version overall. Still, at $2.99 in the Black Friday 2022 sale, the Classic Edition is worth a pickup at that price!