8 things Far Cry 4 has to do better than Far Cry 3: an open letter to Ubisoft

Can Far Cry 4 be better than Far Cry 3? Yes. Here's how. WARNING: PROPER FAR CRY 3 SPOILERS (AND SOME BOOBS) AHEAD.

Far Cry 4 is out this November. We are excited. But let's not get those glasses rose-tinted about Far Cry 3. Amazing it may have been, but perfect it was not. We know you're watching, Ubisoft. This is what you have to do to make Far Cry 4 even better than Far Cry 3.

Warning: THERE ARE PROPER FAR CRY 3 SPOILERS BELOW.

1 - Go easy on the stereotypes

Come on. White hero men, "traditional" South Pacific islanders, black woman in tribal gear, the crazy German, ja; Far Cry 3 was stereotypes a-go-go. Let's hope Far Cry 4 is a little less "obvious".

2 - Drop the awkward sex scenes

Far Cry 3's sex scenes were all bit cringey. Do them better. But definitely keep the bit where climax includes being stabbed in the chest with a knife. Because that's the best kind of sex.

3 - More variety in the outposts

We know you tried, Ubisoft. The lack of variety in checkpoints was one of the biggest criticisms of Far Cry 2, so the format changed for the third game. But while the respawning checkpoint on the road thing was rightfully done away with, the outposts in Far Cry 3 were all the same. They got harder, and the sequence of attack, don't set the alarm off, set the alarm off, murder everything in sight was really well done, but after the twentieth time it was old. There are 33 outposts in Far Cry 3. If there's a similar sort of number in Far Cry 4, you've got to mix it up.

4 - More flight

We're assuming Far Cry 4 is set in the Himalayas for a reason. The flight in Far Cry 3 awesome, but there needs to be more of it, more variety than just the hang glider. Microlights? Helicopters? Throw in some heli-skiing and we're good.

5 - More fist-fighting animals

Punching sharks was a Far Cry 3 highlight. Build on it. We want in-air eagle combat and yeti-wrestling.

6 - More drugs

The drugs sections in Far Cry 3 were brave and used prominently in pre-release marketing. Go drugs mental this time, Ubisoft. Let's have it. Heroin, chillums, the full nine yards. Show them who's boss.

7 - Better pace

Far Cry 3 was an amazing game, but the timing of Vaas's demise was a gamble which just didn't pay off. It felt as though the plot ended prematurely, and the second half, in which the aim was the bring down Hoyt, was almost an afterthought. Pacing story is unbelievably hard in any medium, and nigh-on impossible in an open-world action game (I would imagine: what the f**k do I know?), but, allowing players to abruptly complete what they thought was the story's main aim halfway through the game felt wrong. More Vaas would have been a good thing.

8 - Better side-missions

This was probably the biggest Far Cry 3 fail for me. I hardly did any of the hunting or assassination missions because after a couple of times standing around in a wood trying (and mainly failing) to shoot a goose, or whatever, I realised that I didn't need to continue beyond crafting a bigger bag or wallet. It was boring. Either make it interesting or drop it. I don't want to feel as though all the side stuff was bolted on to make as much use of the open environment as possible without enough thought as to whether or not it's enjoyable.

Make all these thing right, Ubisoft. Because if Far Cry 4 is better than Far Cry 3, I doubt I'll be playing much else this Christmas.