Controls

For the most Far Cry 3 handles like any other first person shooter. W, A, S and D control your character and allow you to move around the map. The mouse is used to look around and aim your weapon. It is also used to fire your weapons, look down the sights, and throw and cycle through grenades. Q is used to quick heal using a syringe or skill purchased abilities, X is used to quick switch to the previous weapon, and Z is used to pull up your camera which serves as a range finder and enemy identifier. There are specific buttons for melee, crouching, and interacting with things in your environment. The number keys each represent a slot on your weapon or syringe pouch and the shift key allows you to sprint. There are times when the number of keys starts to get confusing, and I hit Z trying to go prone and end up pulling up my camera, but there is a tutorial for everything. You aren’t just tossed into a game without any information or help.

As it was expected the controls are fully customizable and you may set it to whatever comforts you best. The game also supports gamepads, but will not let you change your mode of control on the fly, you must first go to the options and switch back to mouse and keyboard if you want to use them. Also, unlike the mouse and keyboard, you may only choose from a limited number of button layouts to play with. I have no doubt that this is because of the countless number of menus and actions that can be accessed and performed in the game. It’s probably better to have someone who knows more about mapping buttons take care of it than trying to remap them yourself and accidentally a button.

As far as how the game handles, I would say it feels like an arcade style shooter. This is what I really love about Far Cry 3 versus the second. I felt like Far Cry 2 felt like it was trying to be a bit more realistic to me, and I didn’t think it worked that well. In Far Cry 3 there are jokes everywhere and everything is fast and loose, the game is fun, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is the main reason while I prefer this game over Skyrim. Most of the missions are fairly simple and the worlds are open in both games, but Far Cry 3 keeps me laughing and feeling like a badass with every explosion, headshot and boar attack.