Far Cry 3 is a lot of things. It’s a virtual playground packed full of activities. It’s an intriguing story about a bunch of dude-bros on vacation. If you ask the creators, it might also be a deeply meta examination of player agency in video games. With that in mind, let's take a look at nine things you may have missed or might not know about Far Cry 3.

Vaas almost wasn’t in the game

Can you imagine Far Cry 3 without Vaas? Turns out everyone’s favorite off-the-handle sociopath nearly wasn’t in the game at all. Ubisoft’s original plan was to use a hulking brute named Bull as the chief antagonist. But when actor Michael Mando came in to audition, the developers loved the chilling, bipolar energy he brought with him. They hired Mando, ditched Bull, and created the insane villain we all know and love. He turned out to be such a fantastic character that they put him on the cover of the game.

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You probably haven't completed the tattoo

It takes a lot of dedication to fill out the tattoo — or tatau — that adorns protagonist Jason Brody’s arm. The tattoo is an ornate piece of art that gets filled in as you progress through the game (you can view it from the Skills menu screen). But even if you’ve beaten the game, maxed out your skills, crafted all the items, and earned all the achievements, the tattoo still isn’t complete. What you’re probably missing are the dots that run the length of the tattoo, each of which represents a relic scattered around the map. Although there’s no achievement for collecting all 120 relics, your tattoo won’t get its wings until you do.

The game is riddled with references

If you pay attention, you can find a whole mess of pop culture references in Far Cry 3. Everything from Kill Bill and Assassin’s Creed to Breaking Bad and James Bond get a nod in this game. In one example, as CIA agent Willis Huntley is leaving, he says, “This Russia operation has blown wide open. I'm joining Task Force 141, flying out tonight." Fans of shooters might recognize Task Force 141 as the main characters of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. For a list of pop culture call-outs in the game, check out IGN's Far Cry 3 Easter Eggs and Secrets wiki page.

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Ubisoft knows the co-op mode is garbage

With such a dynamic open world in Far Cry 3, you’d think the co-op mode would be as simple as letting a friend drop into your campaign and explore the islands with you. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Ubisoft outsourced development of the co-op mode to a studio that created six all-new missions that are strictly linear and are (at best) questionably designed. The missions were made for teams of up to four players, but the enemy force doesn’t scale down if you have fewer players. Even on the easiest difficulty setting, playing it with two people is a teeth-shattering nightmare of frustration. To make up for this grave injustice, Far Cry 4 will simply let buddies drop into your campaign. At least Ubisoft learned from its mistake.

Critics of the game’s story missed the point

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That’s according to Far Cry 3 lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem, anyway. Many critics took issue with the game’s colonialist overtones (i.e. a white guy comes to an island full of dark-skinned people and solves all their problems because they can’t do it themselves). Yohalem’s rebuttal is that Jason Brody is actually used as a tool by the natives, who end up bending him to their will. When you look at it like that, maybe the story isn’t so problematic. What do you think?

It was almost a totally different game

In an interview, former Far Cry 3 narrative director Raphael Van Lierop said he and his team spent a lot of time plotting out a story for Far Cry 3 that would bring it — along with the first two installments — into a single cohesive narrative. Doing so, he says, would have created a strong sense of identity for the series and paved the way for the future of the franchise. After Van Lierop left the company, however, Ubisoft dropped the idea and made a game that has nothing to do with the previous titles. Van Lierop is not impressed. “In my case,” he says, “I have no interest in playing Far Cry anymore." Ouch.

You can find the body of Christopher Mintz-Plasse in the game

To promote the Far Cry 3, Ubisoft released a series of internet videos starring Vaas actor Michael Mando and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, of Superbad and Kick-Ass fame. You can watch the 30-minute series above, but be aware that it’s full of violence and profanity, and generally NSFW. In episode 4, Vaas captures Mintz-Plasse and buries him in the sand to torture him. At the end of the last video, it asks you to “find Chris in Far Cry 3.” Sure enough, you can actually do it — there’s even an achievement for locating him. When you go to coordinates X: 619.7 Y: 559.4, you’ll see his head poking up from the sand, but it’s far too late to save him. Kind of a downer, no?

You can still find enemies after clearing all the outposts

Once you clear all of the enemy outposts and beat the game, you might find yourself wondering where all the bad guys went. It’s even worse if you still want to unlock achievements that require you to perform tricky kills. Don’t fret, because a few areas on the map are still populated with gun-toting baddies. Here they are. (Hint: Hoyt’s Compound is especially useful because you can fast travel directly to it).

Airfield (X: 270 Y: 370)

Hoyt's Compound (X: 365 Y: 375)

Pirate's Cove (X: 370 Y: 700)

Mines (X: 440 Y: 430)

Lumber Yard (X: 480 Y: 680)

Sewage Work (X: 545 Y: 740)

Cenote (X: 580 Y: 430)

Neutral Outpost (X: 660 Y: 560)

Some people are ridiculously good at this game

YouTube is full of people’s amazing exploits and incredible feats in Far Cry 3. Most of them center on slaughtering enemies, but that’s kind of the whole point of the game, right? Watch this, this, and this for inspiration. Then go work on honing your skills until Far Cry 4 comes out in November.

Those are just some of the interesting tidbits about this incredible game. We're returning to Rook Island to get hyped up for Far Cry 4 (and to punch a bunch more sharks in the head) - So if you have another tip or fun fact about Far Cry 3, let us know!

Chris Reed is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @_chrislreed.