Far Cry vs Far Cry 3
Far Cry is an FPS horror game (2004) while Far Cry 3 is an action-adventure FPS game from Red Storm Entertainment (2012).
Quick answer: Far Cry 3 rates higher, 8.1 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score, and Far Cry is the cheaper at $9.99.
What each one is
Far Cry is filed under FPS and Horror. In contrast, Far Cry 3 under Action-Adventure and FPS.
A tropical paradise seethes with hidden evil in Far Cry®, a cunningly detailed action shooter that pushes the boundaries of combat to shocking new levels. Freelance mariner Jack Carver is cursing the day he ever came to this island.
Stranded on the Rook Islands as Jason Brody, fight your way through a lawless tropical open world using a powerful arsenal to save your friends and escape the madness of this acclaimed visceral FPS.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The main Far Cry games are first-person shooters (FPS) with action-adventure elements. Whereas the first Far Cry and its spin-offs/remakes were typical FPS with discrete levels , Far Cry 2 and the subsequent games have adapted an open world -style of gameplay, with main story and side missions and optional quests to complete. There are minimal narrative elements or chronology between the games. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Michael Mando provided voice and motion capture for Vaas Montenegro , one of the game's antagonists. Jason Brody ( Gianpaolo Venuta ) is on vacation with a group of friends in Bangkok , Thailand . On a skydiving trip, they unknowingly land on the pirate-occupied Rook Islands, where they are captured by pirate lord Vaas Montenegro ( Michael Mando ), who intends to sell them into slavery. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception James Stephanie Sterling from Destructoid felt the game had a larger emphasis on storytelling when compared with its predecessors, and liked the game's cast of characters. Sterling called the story "tightly written" and "stylishly presented". Matt Bertz from Game Informer agreed, calling the story "compelling". (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Far Cry | Far Cry 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 8.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (82%, 11,764) | Very Positive (88%, 133,189) |
| Critic aggregate | 89/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2004 | 2012 |
| Developer | — | Red Storm Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Far Cry vs Far Cry 3, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Far CryFPS horror gameFar Cry 3Action-adventure FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Far CryFPS, Action, ClassicFar Cry 3Open World, FPS, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Far CryScore 7.6 · 82% on Steam · 89 criticFar Cry 3 ✓Score 8.1 · 88% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Far Cry11,764 reviewsFar Cry 3133,189 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Far Cry ✓$9.99Far Cry 3$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Far CryPlayableFar Cry 3PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFar Cry and Far Cry 3 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Far Cry 3 (GamingPickz Score 8.1)
- The cheaper right now: Far Cry ($9.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Far Cry 3 (133,189 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSActionShooterOpen WorldFirst-PersonSingleplayerStealthMultiplayer
Where they differ
ClassicDifficultSci-fiHorrorGreat SoundtrackZombies
HuntingOnline Co-OpNudityCraftingColorfulRPG
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Far Cry is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Far Cry 3 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Far Cry | Far Cry 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 512MB Video RAM (1GB Video RAM) |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Core®2 Duo E6700 @ 2.6 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Far Cry · Far Cry 3.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Far Cry and 1 for Far Cry 3. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Far Cry and Far Cry 3 in scope?
Far Cry has drawn 11,764 Steam reviews. Far Cry 3 has drawn 133,189 Steam reviews.
Is Far Cry or Far Cry 3 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Far Cry 3 rates higher (8.1 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Far Cry or Far Cry 3?
Far Cry is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Far Cry or Far Cry 3?
Far Cry 3 rates higher, 8.1 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score, and Far Cry is the cheaper at $9.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.