From Bad To Vaas: Far Cry 3

Brendan did a spot of de-scaling when he murdered his way through the opening hours of Far Cry 3. Providing a side dish to his words, Ubisoft have released four videos that show how the journey from holidaymaker to hardened warrior begins. It's more tell than show, actually, with producer Dan Hay describing what the scenes are intended to do. The first couple are character-based and don't contain a great deal of running and shooting, the third documents the takedown of an outpost and the fourth is the burning hotel setpiece which we've seen before.

Video three comes closest to convincing me that I Far Cry 3 could be a good thing, although I'm perfectly content to meet the islanders, providing I can lead them into chaotic gunfights.

It's telling that Hay is keen to point out that the game's opening is intended to remind players of the "first time [they] realised they weren't tough". Presumably, the rest of the game should be seen as open mockery at their inability to become death-dealing heroes the moment their lives are threatened.

I realise how not tough I am every time I stub my toe or drink coffee before it has cooled sufficiently. If I were having a jolly getaway on a mysterious island and then found myself imprisoned by an evil, sadistic maniac, I wouldn't deal with the "loss and raw emotion" and fight back. I'd just be dead. I think my heart would fail at least six times during the whole process, probably beginning with the skydiving and that bit's a playful activity rather than part of the horror.