Ubisoft's open-world formula finally reached Call of Duty-levels of exhaustion with this year's much-maligned Watch Dogs (honestly, it's not that bad), yet when that formula is applied to a game that can actually do it justice without feeling tacked-on, it's truly something special. Featuring one of the best antagonists in gaming history and an extremely fun sandbox to play about in, Far Cry 3 remains one of the best open-world experiences this side of Grand Theft Auto, thanks in no small part to a dynamic system of interactions between all the NPCs in the world. The moment we all knew this was something incredibly special was that instance of raiding a tropical enemy outpost only to find them firing at something in the distance rather than you. As you approached the base to finally get a look at this mysterious antagonistic force, it's revealed to be some rogue bullet-sponge tiger that's slowly mauling its way through the troops. Although the story was all over the place, when it comes to pure gameplay and escapism, the world of Far Cry 3 is that rare gem of an open-world game where we actually wanted to do all the side quests just for the sake of enjoying the gameplay some more. Oh, and did we mention there's a wingsuit upgrade you can deploy whenever you want and soar away down a mountainside? Yeah, it's pretty special.
