Jason Brody cries out in horror the first time he watches his brother murder a man. When the sibling kills again, there’s a vulnerable tremble to Jason’s whimpering whisper. “I can’t do this, Grant.”

“ Jason’s allies and enemies don’t feel like video game characters – they feel like people.

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Shortly afterward, in a moment of panicked self-defense, Jason rams a machete through an attacker’s throat.The many secrets hidden in its gigantic, open world aren’t arbitrary video game collectibles. Lost letters from World War II detail past struggles on Rook Island. Stray memory cards detail the depravity of its drug operations. Disregard the first-person shooter veneer – yes, this is a violent action game, but that’s a small slice of a grand adventure. There’s a history to Rook Island that bolsters the astonishing sense of place established by the captivating culture and scenery. You’ll explore ancient underground ruins, walk among the locals, and buddy up with the leaders of the native Rakyat tribe. It’s this allegiance that puts Brody on his dark path.The Rakyat can give Jason the power he needs to save his friends, brother, and girlfriend.This is where Far Cry 3’s character progression comes in. The more brutally and often he kills, the more experience Brody earns to become a better murderer. Before long, the man who couldn’t handle the sight of blood learns to chain vicious machete executions, fire pistols from ziplines, and throw knives into eyeballs from 20 meters out. Fear disappears. Jason starts enjoying the slaughter.Loss of control is an important theme throughout Far Cry 3. Jason and the majority of the main cast have a hard time keeping it together, either because they’re coming unglued or have already lost it. Jason’s allies and enemies don’t feel like video game characters – they feel like people, largely because the fantastic performances are among the best acting in video games. Vaas’ manic outbursts make you fear his volatility; his madness is amusing until he snaps. His boss Hoyt is frightening because he’s as intelligent as he is irrational. As a wise old butler once said, some men just want to watch the world burn – Hoyt wants to profit on scorching the earth. Meanwhile, Vaas’ rivalry with the Rakyat gives him a reason to put Jason down.Jason, while not necessarily likable, is a great lead because of his relatable flaws. He and his friends lived a posh, pre-paid life in Santa Monica, but immaturity strained his relationships and ambition. Murder is the first thing he’s been good at and he starts living for it. “It feels like winning,” he tells a freaked-out friend.And it does. The allure of Far Cry has always been the open-ended tactical choices available during each encounter, and the variety of ways you could take down targets. With dynamic variables like aggressive wildlife and roaming pirates, your stealth and aggro options open up more than ever. I loved letting bears and tigers out of their cages in pirate outposts – the animals took care of the dirty work for me and I’d claim the enemy’s checkpoint as my own.Causing panic is great, too. Like Far Cry 2, Molotovs or explosive barrels cause chaotic fires that trap and burn enemies. You can combine these last couple things if you’re a real sicko – flaming bears are a frightening sight. You could snipe thugs from a mountaintop, drive into a camp with Rakyat warriors (or C4 charges) in the back seat, or use a knife and bow to kill quietly. If you’re really bold, why not stab a couple guys after dropping from your hang-glider?The satisfaction of claiming an enemy stronghold as your own is the same regardless of how you get it done. These bases become hubs for selling loot found in chests, buying better weapons, and attaching scopes and silencers. Better yet, they’re fast-travel spots, allowing you to navigate Rook Island’s breadth efficiently. Outposts are a great convenience, but they also represent something larger. Where Far Cry 2 positioned you in the middle of a civil war to play both sides, Far Cry 3 gives you a one-sided goal: Take over the island and spread the Rakyat tribe’s influence. This is the imprint Jason leaves on the world, and the reason he’s destined for Rook Island.Multiplayer, on the other hand, retains very little of what makes Far Cry 3’s single-player campaign special. The combat is still fast and engaging, but it’s less tactical with fewer attack opportunities. Maps are cluttered and often confusing, too, so navigating to the next objective can be challenging. Taking over control points in the adversarial modes ends up as aggressive games of tug-of-war that any shooter vet is more than familiar with.The competitive incentives function much like Far Cry’s contemporaries, too, with weapons and attachments unlocking with each level-up. This speaks to the multiplayer’s overall ambition: It’s serviceable, but is afraid to do anything other than explore old territory. The extensive map editor, which allows for terrain deformation, the addition of wildlife (including sharks that swim on land, angry tigers), and custom-created objects, presents the chance to make something better.The cooperative mode shares the predictable progression system, but compensates with a character-driven side-story campaign focusing on entertaining moments rather than depth. Those characters are as uneven as the co-op design, though. Mikhail the Russian and Callum the Scot are funny dudes whose one-liners make them feel like unlikely action heroes. Their partners, on the other hand, are obnoxious, annoying clichés who feel like they just learned about profanity.Co-op leaves the open world behind in favor of linear levels with branching paths – with three or four players, taking advantage of high ground and flanking positions gives your team an incredible sense of empowerment. With just two, it becomes a frustrating grind. Enemies don’t scale, and the missions are specifically designed for four people. You’ll need a full crew to protect bomb-carriers while blowing up bridges or guarding vehicles from enemy waves. At times, it feels like a mindless shooter with senseless direction, but there are brief bursts of friendly fun in blowing up walls, driving quads, and wiping out hundreds of enemies.Both online modes feel superfluous and out of place, but neither is bad. Both serve a purpose for a certain crowd, but the kind of person who connects with Jason Brody’s story likely won’t fall for simple co-op and a forced-but-functional competitive side.