Far Cry fans have been waiting patiently to get their hands on the third installment of the successful first-person shooter game, and it seems as though, after months of falsely leaked release dates, we can finally breathe easy. Breathe easy because the Far Cry 3 release dates are here.

The anticipation around the latest offering from Ubisoft Montreal has been mounting since we first heard the game was in production back in mid-2010. The Xbox 360 game will be released on the 4th December 2012 for the US and Australia, while consumers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East should already be able to get their hands on it.

During the first-person shooter game, you will be responsible for commanding Jason Brody, a vacationer who, along with his friends, has been kidnapped as part of a pirate run slave trafficking ring lead by the insane Vass. Brody manages to escape to Rook Island and is now on a mission to rescue his friends from the pirate clutches gaining allies and enemies along the way, all set amongst a visually breath-taking tropical island backdrop.

Far Cry 3 has kept true to the original, allowing for players to enjoy the open-world gaming aspect of it, although it is slightly more direct than the previous two games. This is one of the games biggest drawcards; it allows you to play the way you want. You can scope out, think, plan, and set up areas for ambushes, stealth attacks, and explosions. There is even a camera option to help your memories of the places you have been to. The first person Sandbox will have you tracking through and exploring the island for hours with a mixture of narration, exploration, and full-on action. Ubisoft has covered their bases by taking note of what Far Cry and Far Cry 2 players loved and combined it to make the ultimate first-person experience.

So far, the Far Cry 3 rating will have many fans happy. It has received some impressive user reviews, being dubbed as “an astonishing technical achievement” by Eurogamer and “Easily the best Far Cry game so far” by Metro GameCentral.

It’s easy to see that the critics are thoroughly enjoying the latest installment of Far Cry. If anything, the overall consensus has been wildly addictive, so if you are waiting to pick up your copy on the weekend, perhaps make sure your pantry is stocked because you may not leave the house for some time.

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