Our previous peek at Far Cry 3 proved the shooter was both visually stunning and a promising new stab at an open-world FPS. What really struck us though was Vaas, the mohawked madman who delivered a disturbing rant on the definition of insanity, just before punting protagonist Jason Brody into a watery grave. And after our recent visit to developer Ubisoft Montreal, we can now vouch that, as promised during the game’s mid-2011 announcement, Vaas isn’t the only one you’ll meet during your journey who’s misplaced their meds. According to producer Dan Hay, presenting a “cast of insane characters” that paint a “mosaic of dysfunction” is actually one of the title’s core tenets.

To make his point, Hay introduces Dr. Earnhardt, a creepy old dude who seems more mad scientist than medical professional. After sustaining a nasty injury during a firefight, Jason’s advised by Willis — a mystery man who’s apparently helping him via radio — to seek out the doc for treatment. Desperate and bleeding out, Jason follows Willis’ directions to an old house that wouldn’t look out of place on Silent Hill’s main street. We meet the good doctor in the decrepit estate’s greenhouse; he’s a hygienically challenged gent who’s splattered with white blotches because he apparently paints his house obsessively when not caring for patients.

Earnhardt, giddy to have a guest, offers a rundown of his homemade remedies: “I like the red ones myself. The purples will give you a lift on a gray day. Everything’s excellent really...not the yellows, don’t take them, they’re liable to kill you...the mix is not quite right yet.” After injecting Jason with something from his makeshift medicine cabinet (not the “yellows,” we hope), the nutty physician sends him off with an enthusiastic scout’s honor salute and the promise of future “VIP treatment” if Jason retrieves some cave mushrooms for him.

Disoriented from whatever Dr. Demento sent swimming through his veins, a woozy Jason — conveyed through intentionally disorienting screen effects — accepts the errand. What unfolds over the next few minutes, however, is unlike any fetch quest we’ve ever encountered. Hay describes it as a “trip down the rabbit hole,” but it reminds us of one of Tomb Raider’s exploratory, treasure-seeking quests…if Lara Croft was hopped up on hallucinogens.

Jason swims through underwater caves, explores cavernous interiors, and navigates vines, ziplines, and rocky cliffs before happening upon the rare herbs. Still a bit loopy from the doc’s magic medicine, he accidentally smashes some of the ’shrooms, reducing them to a dusty inhalant. Needless to say, things get trippy fast: colors go all psychedelic, raindrops fall upward, strange voices speak nonsense, and a hallucination of Earnhardt’s house zooms backward every time Jason attempts to take a step toward it. This “crazy-ass s***,” as the comfortably numb protagonist calls it, finally begins to cease when a flurry of bats to the face sobers him up. The mission concludes with Jason delivering the goods to the doc, who then suggests he come back later for a taste of his latest recipe. Hay describes this twisted ride as a “palate cleanse,” an opportunity to take a breather from knifing pirates’ necks and ripping rounds into bad guys’ heads; the goal is to provide the player with non-traditional scenarios so compelling and seamless they’ll hardly realize it’s their mind, not trigger finger, being tested.

While Earnhardt’s mind-effing mission might have you wondering if Ubisoft maybe did some mushroom taste-testing of their own, lead game designer Jamie Keen stresses the importance of Far Cry 3 retaining the core appeal of its predecessors: “We want to make sure we hit all the high notes of what a good shooter is: the combat’s got to be as good as it can be, the weapons should feel really powerful in your hands, and the A.I. should react to you.” Noting that what really separates Far Cry 3 from the pack is its ability to empower the player, Keen continues: “It’s about what the player brings to the table, what they can do, how they approach a scenario.”

Our demo saw Jason fighting his fragile psyche more than traditional enemies, but we did witness enough of what Keen described to feel confident that Far Cry 3 will indeed encourage experimentation through stealth, aggression, and the many play-styles in between. The part of our demo that led up to Jason’s sudden need for Dr. Feelgood’s services provided a more familiar mix of satisfying neck-snapping and magazine-emptying action. Following some sneaking and slaying, which sees Jason open a few jugulars with a hunting knife, things get intense. While frantically navigating a beached barge with the intent of reaching its radio tower, he fills foes full of smoking holes, sends others skyward under the force of a few well-placed grenades, and — with the help of a mounted turret and some flammable barrels — turns the beach into a bonfire probably visible from outer space.

We’re relieved that the game’s retaining the same qualities that gave us refreshing experiences in previous Far Cry entries — something sorely needed in a genre dominated by more than its share of me-too military shooters — while also refining those entries’ flaws (bye-bye, boring travel and respawning outpost enemies). However, it’s the prospect of meeting more of Far Cry 3’s demented denizens that’s got us excited. If the third Cry can marry its psychotic cast to a compelling narrative, and also keep our trigger fingers happy, then consider us booked on the next flight to crazy town.

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PUBLISHER: Ubisoft  •  DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Montreal  •  MULTIPLAYER: Yes (specifics TBD)  • RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2012  •  FOR FANS OF: Tropical islands, psychopaths, shooting said psychopaths in the face