Burke's Joystick

Ubisoft seems to be one of those game companies with a passion for self-destruction.  I mean, when one looks back at their record, how could anyone feel differently?  Not only did they come up with one of the most hated, most draconian, and ultimately, most failed DRM schemes imaginable, but they also have a way of rubbing people the wrong way with inappropriate political comments.  For example, recall the forthcoming title Rainbow Six: Patriots , a game that turns a Tea Party-like political movement (the "True Patriots") into domestic terrorists, including giving players the chance to play a hostage with an attached suicide vest .  Yeah.  Can you say tasteless?  Sigh.  I guess I could say something here like  'what do you expect from a French company?' , but do I really need to at this point? Well, today Ubisoft decided to dig itself a little deeper into its favorite politically inappropriate hole with two bizarre i...

[This was an unexpected trip.  After reading some rave reviews about Ubisoft Montreal's Far Cry 3, and getting some enthusiastic recommendations from fellow gamers, I decided to give the game a try - I mean,  what else is there to play as we suffer through yet another post-Christmas lull?  Sheesh!  Anyway, I went into this game with low expectations because 1) the previous entries to the franchise never interested me in the least, and 2) the description for Far Cry 3 didn't interest me in the least.   I prefer fantastic settings as a gamer , be it alien planets like Borderland's Pandora, or a realm of medieval fantasy as in Skyrim, so the idea of traipsing around a contemporary tropical island as a 20-something spoilt brat, one who runs afoul of white slavers no less, isn't exactly on my top 10 list for game settings.  But perhaps that is where the magic came in....