Far Cry 3: Live Together, Die Alone

Live together, die alone. The 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. And the sentiment rings true for another set of tropical castaways: the players of Far Cry 3's multiplayer.

Ubisoft's latest instalment 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 incentivises 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 and dodging enemy fire.

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 Firestorm, really showcased what Far Cry 3 is trying to do with multiplayer. The distinctive mode has several different 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 the opposition'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 effectively 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.

Daniel Krupa is IGN's UK Games Writer. Follow him on IGN and Twitter.

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