5

THE LIFE OF GAMING

FARCRY3

MAY 2013

Issue 104$ 6.99

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE

REVIEWSUncharted: Golden AbyssEscape PlanMod Racers Nation: Road Trip

CheatsSSX, Batman: Arkham City

4 MAY 2013

37

46

15 26 58

Contents

MAY

201

2IS

SUE

104

5

46

46 An inside look at Far Cry 3

26 Exploring the Assassin’sCreed III Universe

15 Super Mario Bros: 25 Mariofacts for the 25th anniversary

58 Diablo III: Twelve yearsin the making

9 | FeedbackReaders will discuss the demise of Star Wars Galaxies, video game franchises that are past their prime and our controversial Top 50 Games of 2011.

13 | ConnectThis month in Connect, the talented writers at Marvel sound off on how video games impact comics, Soldier, and more.

63 | PreviewsThis month we look at Far Cry 3, Diablo 3, Assassin’s Creed 3, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and more.

76 | ReviewsThe PlayStation Vita comes with a blow-out of game reviews. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Escape Plan, and ModNation Racers: Road Trip.

102 | CheatsThis month we’ve got cheats for: Uncharted 3 : Drake’s Deception, Gears of War 3, SSXand more.

Departments

Features

37 Ghost Recon: Future SoldierWeapon inspiration

MAY 201346

LIV

ETOGETHERDIE ALONE

47

T he refrain might sound familiar. It was uttered time and time again in the TV series Lost,

whenever the survivors of Oceanic 815 found themselves in peril. This becomes a rule of sur-vival throughout the campaign and the sentiment rings true for another set of tropical castaways: the players of Far Cry 3’s multiplayer.

TOGETHERDIE ALONE

MAY 201348

Ubisoft’s latest installment of the exotic first-

person shooter attempts to stand out from

its peers by encouraging players to work as a

team. Battle Cry is a brand new mechanic that

incentivizes working closely with the other members of

your squad. Simultaneously click the analogue sticks, and

your ‘Battle Cry’ will ring out, conferring a perk – such

as a minor health boost – to all of the teammates within

earshot. It doesn’t punish lone

wolves – you can still strike

out into the distance with only

a sniper rifle for company, if

that’s your thing – but those

who choose to fight together

will receive a slight advantage.

Domination has a typical FPS

set-up: dotted around the map

are three locations to capture, protect, and conquer.

Holding locations accumulates points. Yes, it’s familiar,

but Far Cry does enough to keep things fresh. Firstly,

Far Cry is visually more interesting than your annual

military shooter: from the clear tropical waters to the

crumbling temples strangled by vines, there’s a vibrancy

that’s every bit equal to the game’s violence. But more

importantly, the gameplay has a different feel to it –

your character is a little more athletic, and the ability to

slide opens up interesting ways of traversing the smartly

designed maps.

A nice touch is the introduction of the recently unveiled

‘Psyche Gas’ into the game’s multiplayer. Rack up

enough points through kills and teamwork and you’ll be

able to drop a vial of psyche gas over a

quadrant of the map.

If you’re unfortunate enough to receive

a lungful of the hallucinogenic gas, you’re

perception of reality will be warped; the

environment takes on a sickly yellow

hue and all other players, friend and foe

alike, are transformed into diabolical

black silhouettes with glowing eyes. And

to make things slightly more dangerous, friendly fire is

momentarily activated – you have no idea who you’re

shooting at, unless they attack first. Altering perception

and the look of the game acts as a nice palette cleanser,

and is far more creative than having a slightly bigger

explosive as the second increment on the kill-streak.

The second multiplayer mode shown off, entitled Fire-

there’s a vibrancy that’s every bit equal to the game’s

violence

49

storm, really showcased what Far Cry 3 is trying to do

with multiplayer. The distinctive mode has several differ-

ent stages to it, but it begins with two teams positioned

at opposite sides of the map. Both have two ‘nodes’

each, containing canisters of fuel. Successfully reach one

of theopposition’s nodes and you’ll be asked to hold

down a button, kick-starting an animation in which your

character pierces one of the drums, dousing the enemy’s

territory with gasoline and callously sets it on fire.

Of course, while playing arsonist you’re a sitting duck,

and one well-placed bullet will halt the devious act. But

if you successfully ignite one node, all your focus must

switch to the second stash of fuel. You’ll have a limited

amount of time to set fire to the remaining canisters

before the first fire is extinguished, and the game ef-

fectively resets. But to make matters more complicated,

the fire will rage through a section of the level,

dynamically changing the map – cherished camping

points will be engulfed in flames and gameplay will

become more compressed.

If you can navigate the flaming landscape and set alight

the second node, you’ll initiate an endgame. A radio will

be activated in the middle of the map. If the dominant

team can capture it first, they can call in a plane to drop

gallons of gasoline onto the enemy’s territory, reducing

them to ash. But if the beleaguered team can retrieve

the radio, they can call in a plane to drop water and

extinguish the flames; essentially, it’s a ‘comeback’

mechanism, and the game will start again from square

one with all nodes restored.

It might sound a little convoluted but it’s a lot of fun,

and having several stages to the mode allows frequent

changes in the balance of power. When the end game is

initiated, and the radio is activated, it pays not to rush

in. Again, it’s an example of Far Cry 3 encouraging well

coordinated play – if you heedlessly storm into the centre of the map, you’re likely to

be picked off. Multiple strategies open up – you can rig the area with explosives and

let the enemy make the first move, or one of your team can try to seize the radio

while others position themselves in smart sniping locations.

Whatever you choose to do, it pays to stick together. Far Cry 3 is trying to make

online multiplayer feel less isolating and less alienating. In so many shooters you’re

side-by-side at the beginning of a match but soon everyone scatters and it quickly

feels like you’re playing alone – fighting your own battle. Far Cry 3 attempts to

change that, to alter the attitude of its players, through subtle gameplay mechanics,

like ‘The Battle Cry’, and some interesting multiplayer modes, such as Firestorm. But

it’s difficult to say whether this will be enough to overcome the deeply-entrenched

and sometimes antisocial habits of FPS fans.

MULTIPLAYER SPECIFICATIONS

PlatformsXbox 360

Playstation 3

Game ModesDomination

Team Deathmatch

Free-for-all

Capture the Flag

Firestorm

Assault