If the story had made good on the strength of its initial premise, Far Cry 3 would have been shoo-in for best game of the year. As it stands, it's still the most fun I've had in an open world in ages, a game that plays so well and looks so good, I wish every other piece of it reached the same high bar. But you should play it anyway.

Far Cry 3 is not only one of the games of this year, it is one of the games of this generation. There was nothing about it that ever came close to ruining the fun, it is a true sandbox experience and all the faults from the previous games have been ironed out. Simply put, you must buy this now!

While Vaas is one of the best video game baddies in some time, with fabulous dialogue performed with unsettling verve, he is not the star. The island that lies behind him is...Rook Island is a magnificent creation.

Every so often, a game comes along which is so irresistible that it leaves you wondering whether sequelitis might actually be a good thing. Far Cry 3 being a classic example.

Far Cry 3 is all the best things about open-world gaming. It's a glorious anecdote factory, where you manufacture brilliant new memories every time you wake up in a safehouse and head out into the jungle. It's an astonishing technical achievement, as comfortable revealing incredible landscapes over the brow of a hill as it is when the setting sun winks at you through a canopy, or when the heavens open as you stalk wildlife through the trees and long grass. And it always lets you play, but it also controls the tempo - sometimes a little heavy-handedly, but always with good intentions.

What is insanity? Anyone who has yet to experience the thrill that Far Cry 3 has to provide.

Despite being a fan of the franchise, I am still surprised by just how good Far Cry 3 is. It looks the part, has great varied game play, an interesting story and hours of fun for your hard earned cash. If you are looking for another game to add to the Christmas list you can't go wrong with Far Cry 3. After the wait and worry, Ubisoft have produced an undoubted contender for game of the year.

Far Cry 3 was a shock all around. After being cold on the second game and only mildly excited about the original, I wasn't expecting groundbreaking. FC3 obliterated my expectations and is easily in my top-tier of 2012 games. I can see myself sinking hours into the campaign, and I am stoked to see what people concoct with the map editor over time. If you like FPS games in general, you owe it to yourself to pick up FC3. The game exceeds all expectations and is quickly becoming one I can't stop thinking about when real life takes me away from Rook Island.

Far Cry 3 is a very impressive game, one of the best of 2012, and will certainly make the list of most memorable games that I've played on the Xbox 360.

Brilliant. The last big release of the year, Far Cry 3 may well top them all. Almost unfalteringly entertaining, it's a game that will have you coming back for more long after the credits have rolled, in order to seek out every nook, cranny and secret of the game's tropical island. Chuck in a decent multiplayer suite, a fun co-op mode and staggeringly impressive map editor and you've got a winner. A must buy.

Far Cry 3 is a highly satisfying and content-rich experience with great characters, superb locations and where freedom and player choice reign supreme. Ubisoft could have done something more on the plot side, but it's undoubtedly a very fascinating and sometimes surprising game.

The story doesn't quite live up to the prologue and multiplayer feels tacked on, but otherwise Far Cry 3 is a sensational sandbox shooter that's a far cry better than Far Cry 2 (cue slow clap).

Drawing from open-world standard-bearers like Red Dead Redemption, Just Cause 2, and Skyrim have allowed Ubisoft to craft an open-world FPS that really follows the classic open-world template, and is easily the best Far Cry-branded game I've ever played.

Almost everything about Far Cry 3 speaks to the game’s skilled, confident and tightly interwoven design, and players are free to seek their specific flavour of gratification and victory as Jason becomes the most dangerous animal on the island.

It has excellent, explicit design layered on top of system-based chaos – which is a fancy way of saying that just about everything in Far Cry 3 feels like a reward.

By far one of the most impressive games of this console generation.

This is an ambitious and finely tuned adventure that gets better and better as you play.

Frenetic, wild, interesting, deep, full of content... the list goes on and on. It's one the best first-person sandbox ever made, and we only hope there's a bright future waiting for this IP.

Easily the best Far Cry game so far, with a near perfect mix of open world exploration, action, impressively ambitious storytelling, and one of gaming's best villains.

After two remarkable but uneven offerings, Far Cry finally pulls everything together in the third installment. The diverse open-world action, compelling story, and an alluring environment that begs exploration are all high water marks for the series. This is an island adventure all shooter fans should experience.

Far Cry 3 isn't too much of a departure, once you actually get to grips with the landscape that stretches behind that fidgety, histrionic exterior. It is, however, handily the best game in the series so far, and deserves to hold its head high among this winter's noisy crowd of sandbox offerings. If madness is repetition, this is one reworking of a formula I don't mind losing my mind to.

Packed with content, visually stunning and simply fun to play, it's difficult to find fault with Far Cry 3. Once you step into Jason's shoes, the urge to explore takes over, and you'll find yourself wasting hours wandering the island and trying to complete "just one more objective." Don't say we didn't warn you.

Far Cry 3 shines in its campaign, which is more layered and compelling than any game proffering a power trip through escapist ultraviolence has any right to be.

The allure of Far Cry has always been the open-ended tactical choices available during each encounter, and the variety of ways you could take down targets. With dynamic variables like aggressive wildlife and roaming pirates, your stealth and aggro options open up more than ever.

A beautiful and engaging game that mixes storytelling and gamesmanship with great success. All of the bad parts of Far Cry 2 has been polished away, without losing the parts that made it so addictive. Sadly the story gets a tad bit to exploitative and the plot's sense of urgency gets lost in an open world setting.

Far Cry 3's deep open world experience filled with its cast of unforgettably insane characters, entertaining storyline, vibrant visuals and varied gameplay make it one of the best open world games to touch down in 2012.

With freedom comes great responsibility. With a lush world for free-roaming and with freedom to execute your objectives Far Cry 3 delivers. The story missions and characters are not of the same standard but are also not a big annoyance. [Dec 2012]

Far Cry 3 executes beautifully on its promises, rolling together a massive open world, excellent stealth, smartly designed RPG elements, and tense gunfights into one smooth whole. The multiplayer fails to distinguish itself in any meaningful way, and a slightly smarter A.I. would've been nice, but those are the only things robbing Ubisoft of an uncontested victory.