Far Cry 3 Classic Edition Reviews

Far Cry 3 is personally one of my favourite Xbox 360 games, I have a high level of nostalgia for this game, as at the time it truly was an innovative and brilliant open world FPS. That said, time hasn't been kind to Far Cry 3, due in part to its open world structure being copied countless times throughout the Xbox One era, but it doesn't mean Far Cry 3 still isn't a good time... it's just a shame that Far Cry 3 Classic Edition is just a barebones port that in parts is weaker than just buying the original Far Cry 3 through backwards compatibility.

"Classic Edition"
If you've played Far Cry 3, and are curious about the "Classic Edition", well it's literally just a port of the PC version of ultra settings, whilst the Xbox 360 version was the PC version of medium settings, so whilst it does look a little bit better, it's kind of barely noticeable on anything that isn't a 4K TV, because even at 1080p, it hasn't aged that great. Yes, the lighting, and foliage looks beautiful, but Far Cry 3 kind of could do with an actual remaster instead of this lazy port that only shines in 4K. Most insulting of all, is this version lacks one key feature that the Xbox 360 version of Far Cry 3 has thanks to backwards compatibility... and it's the lack of a 60FPS option... why on earth does this not run at 60FPS? Even the original Far Cry 3 can run at 4K 60FPS on Xbox One. It's a baffling omission that to some makes this version null and void somewhat. Worst yet, this version doesn't include the co-op and multiplayer, which has admittedly doesn't work on the original version now, but still, there is less content in this edition.

Gameplay
The gameplay is basic for open world FPS games nowadays, with the simple mission structure of start at A, go to B to kill or loot objective C, but it's a structure that does still work. Yeah, it can be called tedious, but due to the fun gunplay and stealth mechanics, it doesn't really feel tedious, and it really shines when capturing outposts in the game, the amount of approaches you can take when doing an outpost is amazing, you can either go in guns blazing, but risk reinforcements coming in, stealthily takedown all the enemies for more XP, or sometimes shoot an animal cage to let an animal predator wipe out an outpost. By today's standards it's nothing new, but at the time of Far Cry 3's release, this was some innovative gameplay that even today shines.

Gunplay is still satisfying, and there's a big enough arsenal to use. From the standard pistols, assault rifles and smgs, to long range snipers, flamethrowers and a bow and arrow. All guns feel really fun to use, and the customisation is well done for the most part, though it can feel a bit limited.

The Story *SPOILERS*
Now, i'm not too sure about the story personally, on one hand, Jason Brody's story here I actually enjoy a lot, there's a good progression for his character as he becomes more out of touch with his friends as he embraces the Rakyat's culture in an effort to kill Vaas and Hoyt. But on the other hand, the 2nd half of this story is a massive let down, with a so-so ending.

First off, Vaas is easily the most memorable character in this game, sure nowadays he's been meme'd to all hell for his famous "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" line, but it truly is an amazing scene, and he has many more like that. He stands out so well thanks to Michael Mando's excellent performance, and I wanted to continue the storyline just to get more Vaas scenes... however,

Bugs/Issues
Weirdly, this version felt buggier than I remember Far Cry 3 being, now it could be me looking this through nostalgia glasses, but the AI would often bug out randomly teleporting or get stuck, I’d notice a few texture pop ups during side missions, and the map wouldn't allow me to fast travel to name a few.
One other issue I had is an issue that Far Cry 3 always had, and it's the audio quality, it sucks, it really sucks. Main and supporting character dialogue is fine, the weapons sound fine, and the soundtrack is still amazing, but the minor characters dialogue and foliage diegetic sound awful, like they are so compressed it sounds like something from the early PS2/Xbox era, it's terrible and sadly something Ubisoft would repeat with AC: Valhalla (seriously, the audio in that game is horrifically compressed).

Overall
Far Cry 3 is an amazing game even today, sure it hasn't aged as gracefully as some other Xbox 360 games, but it does still pose an enjoyable time. It's just a real shame that Far Cry 3 Classic Edition is a barebones port that lacks enhancements that the original game includes via backwards compatibility, and because of that, I’d actually recommend buying the original over this version. The few graphical upgrades this version includes are so minor, that it doesn't compare to the 60FPS 4K option of the 360 version.

3.5