“Crazy” has played a big part in every bit of gameplay we’ve seen from first-person shooter sequel Far Cry 3. Whether it’s Mohawk-sporting villain Vaas lecturing you about the definition of insanity or fellow tropical island-dweller Dr. Earnhardt sending you on a fetch quest for hallucinogenic mushrooms, everything in the game seems to be caked in cuckoo.
“It’s off the map; there’s no chain of command, and there’s no order,” says senior lead game designer Magnus Jansén. Given this tableau, how best to bring a nuanced multiplayer component to the proceedings? This was the task set before Swedish development house Massive Entertainment.
After much to-ing and fro-ing, teamplay became the heart of Far Cry 3’s multiplayer component. “I think the teamplay, the ‘friends matter’ philosophy is a counterpoint to the insanity and the chaos,” explains Jansén. “We use your teammates fighting side-by-side as a guide, like a guiding light through all the explosions and anarchy.”
The most impressive level we’re shown, dubbed “Sub Pen,” is an impressive effective exercise in jungle warfare. A thick canopy opens into a bright blue sky, while springs and rivers abound underneath, carrying runoff from frequent rains. Zip lines and barracks are scattered about, and an abandoned submarine provides the shadow of past encounters. As far as FPS sandboxes go, this is an enticing one.
Teamplay mechanics range from helping downed friends back onto their feet to an in-game shout dubbed a “Battlecry,” which buffs all players within earshot. These types of proactive team mechanics feed into an elaborate teamplay economy, which rewards help as much as it does harm.
One of the perks you’ll earn through effective teamplay is being called “Psyche Gas,” a mind-altering chemical that makes everyone on the battlefield—friends and enemies alike—look like shadowy wraiths, and which has the net effect of creating absolute chaos. Since you’re liable to unintentionally kill a teammate when under the gas, it’s not uncommon for you to get popped by a teammate, purely to ensure the survival of the squad.
“If you team up with some people and run with them…and then suddenly you all get infected, you won’t shoot those four because you know they’re good, even though you can’t tell who they are,” says Jansén. “But if you’re alone and meet somebody around the corner, then you’re in trouble.” The Barrel Bomb gives you a bird’s nest view of the battlefield and lets you target groups of enemies with destructive airstrikes, while Scout will let you and your teammates see enemies on the mini-map and through walls.
At the end of each round, an interactive cinematic lets the highest-scoring player decide how to treat their compromised opponent, not unlike a finishing move in Mortal Kombat. Punches to the face or a compassionate cutting free of the enemy are the only options we saw, but the team is aiming to have 30 or more, which span the violence spectrum. “You’d get court-martialed if you did something like that [in a military setting],” muses Jansén. “And here it’s just, ‘this is what these crazy pirates will do.’”
One of the modes, dubbed Firestorm, shows off the game’s rather impressive fire effects (as Far Cry 2 players will undoubtedly remember). Essentially, it gives each team a pair of fuel tanks to defend against the other; whichever team is able to destroy both of the opposing team’s tanks in a limited window of time sets the firestorm in motion, at which point the ensuing blaze redirects the flow of the action. It’s chaotic and dramatic, and requires quite a bit of coordination. Aah, it burns!
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PUBLISHER: Ubisoft • DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Montreal/Massive Entertainment • MULTIPLAYER: You're damn right • RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2012 • FOR FANS OF: Getting trippy, paranoia
