Far Cry 3 stands slightly apart from FPS big-hitters such as Battlefield 3 and COD: MW3 it's the third in a series of games that share almost nothing apart from an ideal; to place the player in a game environment where for the first time, they feel like they could lose.

This latest instalment is arguably the most accomplished of the three games to put across that ideal. Indeed with lead script writer Jeff Yohalem citing the likes of Apocolypse Now as an influence, this was always going to be a game that would question what it really means to be sane.

In fact, from what we've seen, this game goes much further, with a villain like Vaas in charge of the show, you'll be questioning your own character along with every single inhabitant in Far Cry's twisted world.

Far Cry 3 Storyline and Characters

On the surface the premise is relatively simple. You play Jason, a young 20 something who's travelled with his friends to a tropical island.

Sadly what they don't realise is that running this island is Vaas; a man with a passion for amateur filmmaking and a rather unhealthy addiction to mass genocide.

While Vaas may sound like your run-of-the-mill villain Ubisoft have made it their personal mission to have his manic stammer and erratic ruthlessness burned into the back of your brain, and from what we've seen so far they're going to fulfil that remit on all counts.

Far Cry 3 Gameplay

The first thing you’ll notice is the resemblance to the original Far Cry, not in the sense that you’re on a tropical island, but that you have to take a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty of the world they’ve created.

Boasting graphical detail that must surely be pushing the Xbox 360 and the PS3 to its upper limits Far Cry 3 is an achingly pretty world juxtaposing perfectly with the carnage it contains.

Covering pretty much all the bases the E3 2012 demo takes place around two weeks into Jason's holiday from hell, his friends are gone and Vaas has already managed to push your character to the limit forcing you to take the fight to him.

Gone is the Malaria, rusty weapons and cars that constantly needed attention (Far Cry 2 we’re looking at you). Instead Far Cry 3 offers a world that can be interacted with and attacked from 360-degrees.

In fact just a few minutes into the demo we’re given our first choice, having swam to the shore we’re presented with the option of brutally pulling our victim from a pier into the water, or landing further up the beach and sniping him from a distance.

We went for the brutal melee option being greeted with a suitably efficient animation which then cleared the way for us to get ashore.

Further up the beach we’re greeted by two enemies, again giving us two options: Do we use our bow and arrow and take them out from afar or try out Ubisoft’s stringed melee attack?

Yup, we went for the melee again. Working in a very similar fashion to the stringed attacks on Assassin’s Creed you simply attack the first target and then when prompted move the stick in the direction of your next foe instigating a beautifully seamless barrage of blows.

Once dealt with we’re able to try out another melee attack, this time by jumping down on the target. Other moves include kicks and silent takedowns while our personal favourite consists of removing a grenade pin from the villain’s jacket and then firmly kicking them in the direction of more foes.

Vehicles still play a big part in the game with jeeps, boats and jet skis all available.

Far Cry 3 Multiplayer

In our hands-on with the game we played across two maps: Sub-Pen and Temple. The former was a sun-kissed beach village stationed near a rusting submarine pen, with a dilapidated building separating the two.

Temple, for its part, was set in and around ancient temple ruins, pock-marked with jungle overgrowth. It looked like the sort of thing one would find in Uncharted, or a postcard from Mexico.

Aside from their weapons, players are able earn Team Support Points (TSP) by reviving teammates, scoring kills and tagging opponents.

Once they’ve racked up enough TPS, they’re able to activate certain powers ranging from the low-level Battle Cry, which buffs the armour of any teammates in earshot, all the way to Psyche Gas, which blurs the enemy team’s vision making every single target on their HUDs (both friend and foe) a shadowy figure.

Far Cry 3 availability: September 2012

Far Cry 3 price: TBC