45 Mins In: Far Cry 3
First impressions at 60 FPS
Far Cry 3 doesn’t ease you in. One moment you’re vibing to M.I.A.’s Paper Planes. Minutes later, you’re face to face with a man who clearly enjoys watching you suffer. I went into this game completely blind, with zero nostalgia and no expectations. Forty-five minutes later, I understood exactly why this opening has stuck with people for over a decade.
Earlier this month, Ubisoft rolled out a 60 frames per second update for Far Cry 3 on PlayStation 5. That update pushed the game straight to the top of my backlog. This was one of those games I missed when it first dropped in 2012, and once you game at 60 FPS, it’s hard to justify going back to anything locked at 30, especially action games.
Right from the start, I had one of those “wait… I know that guy” moments. Oh, that’s the dude from Better Call Saul. Vaas Montenegro, played by Michael Mando, immediately pulls you in and makes it very clear that you’re in trouble. He holds nothing back, and before you understand where you are or how you got there, you already know that getting out of this situation is going to involve going through him first. That works incredibly well.
The fast-paced, knee-jerk narrative is special here. Everything happens quickly, and it keeps you moving forward. By the time I hit the 45-minute mark, I was already locked in.
For most of that opening stretch, I had no real sense of place or backstory, and honestly, I didn’t need it. The game races. Tutorials are baked in naturally, teaching you mechanics without ever stopping the momentum. There are no drawn-out cutscenes. Just forward motion, constant engagement, and everything running buttery smooth thanks to the 60 FPS update.
Once that initial escape is behind you, the world opens up fast. Weapons feel abundant but not overwhelming. If a vehicle wasn’t already destroyed, I could use it. Every enemy could be looted after dealing with them. For every scenario, you could charge in guns blazing or play it slow and quiet to earn bonus skill points for stealth takedowns. Those points feed into a branching skill tree that unlocks new abilities with complementary tribal tattoos, which is weird but also kind of cool.
What surprised me the most was the amount of control I had. Nothing felt out of reach while progressing, and the controls didn’t feel dated at all. That’s wild considering this game originally released in 2012.
I wrapped up the session by hang-gliding off a cliff. It didn’t go great, but I fast traveled back to the mountain top in seconds. Unfortunately, the glider didn’t respawn. No do overs, no hand holding. Even though the game gives you a lot of freedom, you feel the consequences of your choices immediately. That’s how Far Cry 3 breaks you in within the first forty-five minutes. And it all just feels right.
