The game's biggest strength is that it doesn't overcomplicate things. But it's exactly because of this, however, that life in Far Cry 3 might feel a bit too vanilla after a while.
Set on the paradisiacal Rook Islands, you and your friends get your vacations pooped on when some mean pirates kidnap you for ransom. After escaping and meeting up with the natives, you set off to help them fight the good fight and, in return, they help you find your lost buddies.
Far Cry 3 is basically an open-world action game with some RPG and stealth elements thrown in for good measure. Besides the main plot (which isn't terrible for an action game, albeit the dialogues being a bit weird) there's a hefty amount of content, ranging from time trials and shooting knives competitions to capturing enemy bases and hunting game. There's also a heavy focus on crafting, which is an oddball for an FPS, but it works well and it's simple to figure out.
One of the most notable aspects in this title is that, in terms of gameplay, everything seems to be really well executed. The user interface is excellent, the skill trees and how they're presented make sense and are creative, the combat is simple yet fun, the driving is fantastic, the AI is somewhat accommodating but still decently challenging; it's certainly nice to see Ubisoft put out something where it's really hard to find flaws after the flop Assassin's Creed 3 was.
In the visuals department, you're gonna get some pretty amazing landscapes. There are some minor glitches, long distance drawing could be a bit better and, at certain times, the light burns out a little, but for the most part, it's an eye-candy parade. Naturally, with the level of detail plus the fact that the whole island is one continuous area with no loading times, you're going to need a pretty powerful rig to max this one out. Fortunately, even if you set everything to low, the game still looks really good.
Paradoxically, Far Cry 3's highest point is its biggest weakness.
While it's definitely pleasant to have such an accessible approach to gameplay, it also kills some of the surprise factor. By the time you're done with the tutorial mission, you know exactly how the entire game is going to play out. There's a certain comfort in that, but the trade-off is that you don't get any unique mechanics that will make this a memorable experience; variety also suffers. That being said, the game is not trying to push originality. It's simplicity combined with fun. Some people might be able to get past how familiar everything feels, while others will frown upon the exact same thing.
The other trait to look out for is that, like in most open-world action games, the better part of the content rides on the assumption you want to explore every nook and cranny of the vast island. If walking around finding stuff to do is not exactly your cup of tea, you're probably going to find the journey fairly bland and repetitive. For what is worth, between some combat-related random events and all the side-missions there are to do, it's hard to spend more than a couple of minutes trekking without bumping into something interesting, so that sweetens the pill considerably.
Lastly, there's a multiplayer and a co-op mode that you can fall back on if things are getting too monotonous in the single player campaign. I haven't had the chance to test it since my friends are all imaginary. Tears.
All in all, Far Cry 3 is a humble, fun, very straight-forward action game that doesn't try to push the envelope. But, like that saying goes, one does not need to get fancy when what one does, one does so well. Pretty sure that's a popular saying.