Tomb Raider or Far Cry 3?

As someone who has only played Tomb Raider, I can't compare the two, but I will whole-heartedly recommend TR. I wouldn't rely on comparisons to past iterations in the franchise; it's kind of it's own beast. There are common criticisms which are valid such as Lara's character progression goes from trembling neophyte to bloodthirsty assassin in the blink of an eye. You can tell there was a vision in there of the character they wanted to make, but that vision was compromised in favor of a more actiony game. If you're playing on PC and have an up to date graphics card, it looks great. The world has a metroidvania type aspect to it, in that you gain access to certain parts of the map as you gain different equipment. The controls and the combat are great. Pulling off headshots with a fully tensioned bow never gets old.

I haven't played Tomb Raider, but as 'good' as Far Cry 3 was, I'd still say Tomb Raider. I want to play Tomb Raider. There's a thread around here about if someone should get Far Cry 3 on 360 or not, my opinion of the game is stated in there. Actually, I'll find it... OK, here.

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At first, the frame rate may be unbearable on the 360, but after about... I don't know, five hours, you'll be fine with it. I would have loved to play it on PC though. In the end, as in, literally after everything is done in Far Cry 3, I was left disappointed and felt like I had wasted my time in some ways. I guess I'm happy I played it though. If it had way better characters, more Vaas, and a better story, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As I went through it, I had a great time, but when all was said and done, I questioned if I regretted doing all of it.

I say more Vaas, merely because he's in it a lot less than I had expected, for as much as they had been pushing him as a villain, and the story is awkward. Later in the game, it goes all weird; you feel like you can guess what's going to happen and what's going on, and even that's a bit disappointing, but when it turns out that no, it's actually a generic ending, it feels disjointed, as if the developers gave up on some ideas they had going for it, and ends up perhaps even more disappointing. The characters are some of my least favorite this generation, but at least the majority of them are voiced well.

Only problem when it comes to controls is that the sensitivity, as compared to other shooters on the console are a bit unwieldy, making it hard to shoot an enemy where you want unless you're stationary. You get used to it so it becomes easier, but I remember it's just not as good as other shooters. You'll have fun shooting; getting and using upgrades, as well as exploring new areas even if there isn't great payoff, at least to me. Soundtrack could have been a bit better too, but it's adequate.

I'd say if you can, get the PC version at some point, but if you really don't want to wait, just get the 360 version. Furthermore, I remember hearing a lot about how great it was to see crazy things happen, like how animals can attack, and, on consoles at least, I didn't feel that at all. It was something that was just there. Maybe that experience is heightened on PC for some reason.

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Anyways, yeah, that's what I wrote. With that being said, if you're able to play it on PC, you'd probably have an even better experience, so plus points for that, but I don't know what your situation is.

The thing about Far Cry 3 is, once you're done with it, you're done with it. That's how I felt anyways. As for Tomb Raider, it seems like game that I could go back to every once in a while after I've gone through the story, and to me, there's more value in that, but I just don't know.

I like replaying great, more linear games. Far Cry 3, as an open world, has you doing some, somewhat repetitive things for 20 hours plus ten for the story, and after that, it's onto something else. I might add that Tomb Raider The Definitive version is coming to next-gen consoles, so you might want to wait on that.

Far Cry 3 had a better world to explore.

Tough call... both games were really great end-to-end experiences, but if I had to pick one it'd be Far Cry 3. If you are FPS'd out though, Tomb Raider is definitely worth playing through. I haven't finished a Tomb Raider game before as they always got boring before they were over but this one not only held me through the end but had me picking it up to find collectibles for a while after I finished the narrative.

Far Cry fell apart at the end and overstayed its welcome. I thought Tomb Raider was a stronger game overall.

Despite the story I had more fun with FC3

I enjoyed the previous Tomb Raider games but was very cautious about getting excited about this one. And it continues to be my game of the year.

Far Cry is cool and all, but I loved everything about Tomb Raider. The world, the combat, the characters, the audio/visual business, and the surprising Metroidvania-inspired design.

I'm the same. However, Tomb Raider is pretty shallow. It has fine combat mechanics and an interesting setting, but everything else is weak. The upgrades are overpowering but if you don't upgrade the enemies become bullet sponges, collecting is mostly superficial, there are too many "cinematic" interruptions and ridiculous setpieces, the characters are poor, music is cheap and the game rarely requires you to really think. The shootouts are always the same. You can get a little creative, but with the regenerating health, upgrades and how the enemies are placed there's no need. Many of the shootouts are over in seconds. Then it's back to pointless collecting, if you wish. They try to mix it up with a hulking fighter, but his size (about 9 feet) makes it seem extremely silly. The enemies always have conversations before they notice you. It's unrealistic. From the start you have a pistol with a suppressor and arrows which the enemies can neither hear nor see whizzing by, so the stealth is broken. Other than occasional wolves, the animals are not threatening, and you don't need to hunt them anymore after one part in the beginning, whereas in Far Cry 3 they're always useful. I didn't finish my fourth playthrough. It became a numbing waste of time. I'm probably not going to play Far Cry 3 a third time, for similar reasons, but I enjoyed my time with it more.

Dude: Both.

edit: Maybe I'm just playing devils advocate but I found Tomb Raider to be a more memorable experience. It was clear and focused where as I found Far Cry to be fun but disjointed and compromised on story.

Far Cry 2 gets a lot of hate, and while it's a rougher game than 3, I felt it was ten times more impactful as a game experience. Number three just felt a little like Far Cry 2 for dummies. That SOUNDS harsh and Far Cry 3 is certainly a better made game, it just didn't leave much of an impact on me.

But: Both.

Both games are great. It all depends on your taste. Open World or Uncharted like gameplay and storytelling.

I found Tomb Raider much more enjoyable, I didn't get to finish Far Cry 3 because of that one mission where you have to protect the airplane from a seemingly infinite wave of fuckery, no thanks.

Tomb Raider is fun in the moment but you can lose yourself in Far Cry 3 for a few days. I really thought Tomb Raider was rather half-baked. The gameplay and structure was there but the set-pieces and the story fell flat on their respective faces. Far Cry 3 squanders its story but awesome gameplay is its own reward.

Tomb Raider is a great experience overall but it also depends on what your preferred genre is. I like third person platforming a lot more than first person shooting.

Tomb Raider is actually one of the best action platformers this generation. You get free-roam on a diverse island full of interesting and unique locales. There is good variety in weapons and gadgets, all which can be upgraded and those upgrades are actually represented graphically within the game. The story is decent as far as video game plots go and has a very definite beginning, middle and end - something of a rare quality these days. Combat is enjoyable and allows for a bit of everything, from ranged stealth to up close and personal finishers. Platforming feels perfect offering just the right amount of float with fine air control ensuring that you will very rarely miss a jump because of clunky controls. Action packed set-pieces that keep you playing the game instead of sitting back and watching it.

I greatly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any fan of the genre. I've never played FarCry 3 but each time I look at it the game world just looks so boring. I respect that others really enjoyed it, but while FC3 is mainly about shooting, Tomb Raider is equally about combat as it is about exploration and platforming - which is more my cup of tea.

As one of the most level-headed and rational PC gamers on this website who really seem to get the greatness of interactivity and choice in gameplay, you're one of the last people I expected to say that!

No hate though :) do elaborate, if you want to.

I enjoyed the freedom of Far Cry more, the accessibility to the world, it's vast assortment of activities, and especially the fluidity of the controls. Tomb Raider was great though.

You'll make a lady blush!

I think everything about that game is as shallow as a puddle, the characters and story are awful and it suffers from a chronic case of padding-itis. Like ~70% of the content in that game is just busy work. The combat is competent enough but that isn't enough when it's used in such humdrum and repetitive missions. The whole experience just felt hollow and soulless to me.

A lot of the same criticisms could be leveled at AC4 --merely competent gameplay, chronic padding-itis-- but it kinda manages to get away with it anyway just because it feels like it genuinely has some heart and soul to it. Just little touches like the crew singing shanties and cheering when you come aboard, how awesome the atmosphere is when a storm whips up, how the protagonist isn't an insufferable douchebag... for me those little differences manage to make what is structurally a very similar game to Far Cry 3 feel completely different. The AC4 world feels alive and fun to be in, where FC3 only ever felt like a bunch of icons to slog my way through.