While it might belie Far Cry 3's more predominant themes of isolation and insanity, co-op looks to be receiving a significant part of Ubisoft Montreal's development attention when the game releases this December. (It could even be the culprit behind its late-announced delay).
We detailed co-op extensively when it was announced and demoed at E3 2012, and today Ubisoft released a plethora of new details highlighting the mode's standalone storyline and unique cast of characters. There's even a fresh trailer to walk us all through the minutia.
Set six months before the marooning of Jason Brody on a twisted tropical island, Far Cry 3's co-op mode is an entirely divergent adventure from the aforementioned single player campaign: the island, the villain, the protagonists and their abilities all exist within their own realm of fiction.
The story begins when a devious ship captain sells out his vessel - the SS Astrid - and crew to a pirate warlord named Hoyt. Unfortunately for the captain and the pirates infesting Hoyt's Pacific island hideaway, most of the crew aboard the Astrid stems from tumultuous roots of their own.
It's four of these incensed, highly skilled crew members who comprise our co-op cast, as they decide to hunt down their new enemies and salvage their stolen money.
There's Callum, a knife-obsessed former gang leader from Scotland who Ubisoft says becomes "psychotic when provoked"; Mikhail, an elite Russian criminal who fled to the Astrid after fostering bad blood with his clan; Tisha, a strong-willed combat medic from Las Vegas booted from the Army after punching out her corrupt CO; and Leonard, a crooked cop from Philadelphia who surrendered his badge after crossing one too many ethical lines (and who looks and sounds like the awesome union of Victor Sullivan and Ron Swanson).
As for the trailer itself (view it below), it's a visual accompaniment to the bridge destruction mission Ubisoft let us go hands-on with at E3 2012. Accruing points and stats as they go, players repair a train and then blaze their path toward a bridge - where explosives ever-so conveniently lie in wait. Planting the charges requires several trips, as one player lugs the explosives to the proper bridge location while the other three fend of attackers from all flanks. Provided someone stays alive and all the charges are applied, the bridge explodes to finish off the level, victoriously engulfed in flame and violently spewing debris.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgyNQyUfmdw
It's fairly straightforward - too straightforward, quite frankly. In our E3 preview, we thoroughly enjoyed co-op's combat and gunplay - nothing seemed sacrificed from the fundamentals of singleplayer - but the overall objective variety and mechanical depth needed some work. Hopefully, with four months left to go, the mode receives enough concentration to turn a standalone experience into standout.
Ranters, do you find Far Cry 3's co-op (and online multiplayer) to be as intriguing as the singleplayer campaign?
Far Cry 3 releases December 4, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
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