You've got quite a few islands to explore in the game in all sorts of ways

Dec 6, 2012 13:51 GMT  ·  By

Far Cry 3 is more than a shooter, as we've highlighted both in the official review and in the previous Gamer Diary about Ubisoft's latest game that it features a variety of other mechanics, including ones worthy of an RPG.

But while you'll be doing a lot of shooting and developing your character just like in a role-playing game by spending skill points into various ability trees, you'll also explore the huge environments of the Rook Islands.

From the North to the South islands, in which the main story takes place, to the three other smaller patches of land where the competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes take place, you'll do a lot of exploring while playing Far Cry 3.

Seeing as how just walking around can get a bit dull, Ubisoft has filled the islands with all sorts of things to do, from plants to harvest for their leaves, to animals that can be hunted for their skins, to various settlements or temples that can be looted for valuables.

The actual exploration mechanic is also very impressive, even if it borrows a bit from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. The island starts off as unknown but once you scale a radio tower, you can survey your surroundings and spot all sorts of things, from roads, to settlements, hunting grounds, and much more.

Once you've admired the land, you must then explore it by walking around or by using different vehicles. From small cars, to jeeps, buggies or ATVs, you can get around on land and, with the help of jet skis or boats, you can also master the water. Last but not least, there are also hang gliders scattered on top of hills and mountains, a clear throwback to the ones seen in Far Cry 1 or 2.

While the main game mechanic in Far Cry 3 is still shooting, exploration is deeply intertwined into practically every aspect, so take some time to just walk/drive/fly around the Rook Islands.