“What we wanted to do with this one is we wanted to make driving a fun experience,” says lead game designer Jamie Keen. “We wanted it to feel like you can pull a handbrake turn round a corner and when you do it it is great and fun to do. You can just launch your vehicle at 70mph off a cliff – it might not do very well – but you can do that stuff.”
But Ubisoft Montreal don’t want to dictate pacing, Keen told OPM. “We have fast travel points that let you move quickly around the world. You never feel like anything is too far way but it’s there and its the choice that you are making, This idea of player choice is very important to us, that you are the one that’s deciding the pace and what you engage with.”
You can see some of those player-created highs and lulls in this Far Cry 3 demo from PAX.
Frankly, there’s nothing I’d like more than to take the coastal road and head for the sunset – something Keen specifically noted was still very much possible. But I do know others soon tired of repairing trucks in its predecessor – if that was you, let us know what you think of the proposed changes in the comments.