Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is a 2012 first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the third main installment in the "Far Cry" series. The game takes place on the fictional Rook Islands, a tropical archipelago which can be freely explored by players. Gameplay focuses on combat and exploration. Players can use a variety of weapons to defeat human enemies and hostile wildlife, and the game features elements found in role-playing games such as skill trees and experience. After a vacation goes awry, protagonist Jason Brody must save his friends, who have been kidnapped by pirates, and escape from the island and its unhinged inhabitants.
Ubisoft Montreal collaborated with Ubisoft's global development team, including Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Reflections and Red Storm Entertainment. The game's development was partially restarted in 2010 after the departure of several key creative staff. The team evaluated the feedback for "Far Cry 2" and identified areas that needed to be improved or removed. The team spent considerable time designing the island, which they described as the "second most important character" in the game. Inspirations were taken from films and TV shows such as "Apocalypse Now" and "Lost", as well as video games "" and "Red Dead Redemption". Michael Mando was hired to portray Vaas, an antagonist the team compared to Darth Vader.
The game was announced in June 2011 and Ubisoft promoted the game with various companion apps, webseries and crossover. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2012. The game received critical acclaim upon release, with praise directed at its characters, world design, progression, and gameplay, though its narrative and multiplayer modes received criticism. Despite weak pre-order sales, nearly 10 million copies of the game were sold. It was nominated for multiple year-end accolades including Game of the Year and Best Shooter awards by several gaming publications. Ubisoft supported the game with downloadable content and released "", the game's standalone expansion, in 2013. A successor, "Far Cry 4" was released in November 2014. The game was re-released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2018.
Gameplay.
"Far Cry 3" is a first-person shooter set on the fictional Rook Islands, a tropical archipelago controlled by bandits and pirates. Players portray Jason Brody and can approach missions and objectives in a variety of ways. They can kill enemies by utilizing firearms such as assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and explosives like land mines and grenades. Alternatively, players can utilize stealth to avoid the attention of enemies. For instance, players can scout an enemy's outpost by using a camera to mark the locations of enemies, or toss rocks to distract enemies. The stealth approach, which can be done by using silenced weapons and combat knives, can prevent enemies from triggering alarms which call for reinforcements. Skills are collected by gaining experience from completing missions and killing enemies, and are unlocked in three skill trees, themed as the Spider, the Heron, and the Shark. Each skill tree upgrades different aspects of Jason's abilities, with the Spider upgrading his stealth takedowns and hunting skills, the Shark upgrading assault takedowns and health, and the Heron upgrading his long-range takedowns and mobility. As skills are collected, a tribal tattoo on Jason's forearm grows correspondingly.
Rook Islands is an open world in which players can explore freely. Jason can travel using a variety of vehicles including dune buggies, all-terrain vehicles, cargo trucks, jet skis, boats and hang gliding. Later in the game, players will find a wingsuit that Jason can wear. Jason will encounter different friendly settlements where he can shop for weapons and materials and complete side missions including hunting quests and assassination missions. Rook Islands is inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife including jaguars and sharks, and the game's artificial intelligence (AI) enables the wildlife to interact with each other to simulate a realistic ecosystem. By hunting different animals and harvesting their corpses, players gain materials necessary for crafting new items such as weapon holsters and ammo pouches. Players can hoard green plants to produce syringes, which heal Jason when his health depletes during combat scenarios or provide other gameplay advantages. Players can climb different radio towers and remove their scramblers. When they are removed, areas of the map are opened up, various points of interest are highlighted and players will unlock a new weapon and gain access to a supply-run side mission, a timed quest in which players need to deliver medicines as quickly as possible from one place to another. As pirates control the island, players can infiltrate and liberate numerous enemy outposts. Once an outpost is retaken, it becomes a base for the rebels which unlocks additional side missions for players. It also become a location where players can quickly fast travel to and trade with vendors. A patch was later released to allow players to reset outposts. When exploring the game's world, unscripted events may occur, such as Jason being attacked by wildlife or pirate patrols. Players can complete Trials of the Rakyat missions, which are timed combat challenges; join different minigames including poker, knife throwing and shooting challenges; and gather different collectibles such as relics, letters, and memory cards.
The game features a four-player cooperative multiplayer mode, which is set six months before the events of the main game. The mode features five different classes: Warrior, Rusher, Deadeye, Saboteur or Bodyguard. Players can customize each class's loadouts and weapons. In multiplayer, players can activate "battle cry", which boosts the team's health, accuracy and running speed. The game includes competitive multiplayer modes including Team Deathmatch and Domination, in which two teams compete against each other to capture control points. There is also Transmission, a Domination variant in which the control points are radio transmitters that change location. In Firestorm, a team needs to ignite two fuel dumps held by another team while protecting their own from being set on fire. Killing enemies successively, reviving team members and utilizing battle cry grant players Team Support Points, which can be used to unlock perks like "psyche gas" which causes enemies to hallucinate all players as shadows. The game features a map editor that allows users to create and share custom content. Players can create their maps by customizing landscapes, and by placing buildings, trees, vehicles and units controlled by AI.
Plot.
Jason Brody (voiced by Gianpaolo Venuta) is on vacation with a group of friends in the fictional Rook Islands between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, celebrating his younger brother Riley (Alex Harrouch) receiving a pilot's license. On a skydiving trip, they land on an island that turns out to be a pirate base and are kidnapped by pirate lord Vaas Montenegro (Michael Mando), who plans to sell them into slavery. Jason escapes with help from his older brother Grant (Lane Edwards), who is killed by Vaas. Jason is rescued by Dennis (Charles Malik Whitfield), who is an adopted member of the islands' native Rakyat tribe. Dennis recognizes Jason's potential as a warrior and gives him the Tatau, the tattoos of a Rakyat warrior. Jason then helps the Rakyat in a number of missions which leads him to find one of his friends, Daisy (Natalie Brown), at the house of Dr. Earnhardt (Martin Kevan), a botanist studying the island's flora. Impressed with Jason's prowess, the Rakyat allow him to be the second (after Dennis, who is Liberian) outsider to enter their sacred temple. After he returns the Silver Dragon Knife, a Rakyat relic, Jason is initiated into the tribe by priestess Citra (Faye Kingslee).
Jason undertakes a series of missions, during which he rescues his captive girlfriend Liza (Mylène Dinh-Robic) and his friends Keith (James A. Woods) and Oliver (Kristian Hodko), while simultaneously assisting the Rakyat in retaking their island with the help of Dr. Earnhardt and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Willis Huntley (Alain Goulem). After a few encounters with Vaas, Jason discovers that Vaas is Citra's brother, and his pirates are employed by Hoyt Volker (Steve Cumyn), a notorious South African slave trader and drug lord. Jason soon matures into a fearsome and skilled warrior and, revered by the Rakyat, begins to enjoy all the killing while growing more distant from his friends. After Citra asks him to stay on the island, Jason returns to Earnhardt's house and tells his friends that he is staying. Meanwhile, Jason has an affair with Citra after she drugs him and has sex with him in a hallucination.
After bidding goodbye to Liza and his friends, Jason, with Willis's help, heads to Vaas's pirate base. Vaas seems to be celebrating Jason's death, believing him defeated in an earlier encounter. Jason takes advantage of this, but Vaas has actually set a trap. After Jason kills numerous pirates and reaches a warehouse, Jason fights Vaas but enters a delusional state, fighting multiple duplicates of Vaas in a dream. He reaches a final Vaas, and impales him through the chest with the Dragon Knife before collapsing. Jason awakens with Citra in the Rakyat temple and promises to kill Hoyt for her.
After Huntley helps him reach Hoyt's island, Jason infiltrates Hoyt's personal army with the help of Sam Becker (Stephen Bogaert), Huntley's fellow operative. During this time, Jason discovers that Riley is alive and a prisoner of Hoyt. Riley is beaten by Jason to maintain the ruse, but when Becker loops the video Jason reveals himself. Jason works his way into Hoyt's confidence, and Jason and Becker plan to kill Hoyt at a poker game. However, as they sit down to play, Hoyt exposes them having seen through the looped video Becker made, stabbing Becker fatally in the throat. Jason kills Hoyt and his men in a knife fight, losing half a finger in the process, and rescues Riley, though not before receiving a call from Liza which is quickly cut off.
Jason and Riley fly to Dr. Earnhardt's house to find it on fire: the dying doctor tells them that the house was attacked by the Rakyat, who have captured Jason's friends. Jason confronts Citra at the Rakyat temple but she drugs him and captures Riley. Citra tells Jason that she has fallen in love with him, believing him to be a powerful warrior of Rakyat legend, and that she will free him. He starts dreaming of walking a fiery path with the Dragon Knife, with Liza appearing as a monster in his dream. He awakens holding Liza at knifepoint with the Dragon Knife and is given the choice to either save his friends or ally with Citra, after killing them.
Jason freeing his friends will result in him leaving the island, despite Citra begging him to stay. An outraged Dennis tries to stab Jason, inadvertently stabbing Citra as she jumps in front of Jason; she proclaims her love for Jason as she dies in his arms. Jason and his friends then leave the island by boat, with Jason narrating that despite becoming a monster from all the killing, he still believes that in some place in his heart he is better than this. The game ends with a still image of the boat and the Dragon Knife on the beach while the credits roll.
If Jason instead allies with Citra, the two have sex in a ritual after Jason kills Liza. Afterwards, Citra stabs Jason in the chest, telling him as he dies that their child will lead the Rakyat to glory and that he "won".
Development.
Ubisoft Montreal served as the game's lead developer and was responsible for creating the game's single-player. It was a global production that involved multiple Ubisoft studios: Massive Entertainment created the game's multiplayer portion, Ubisoft Shanghai designed the missions and crafted the AI of wildlife, Ubisoft Bucharest provided quality assurance, Ubisoft Reflections assisted Montreal on the design of vehicles, and Red Storm Entertainment was responsible for making the PC version and the game's user interface. West Studio created early concept art for the game. The game's pre-production started in 2008, and more than 90 people worked on the game. "Far Cry 3" was initially planned to form a single cohesive narrative with the previous installments of the series, though this was abandoned when the game's development was partially restarted in 2010 due to the departure of several creative staff including the original creative director and narrative director. On November 6, 2012, Ubisoft confirmed that the game had been released to manufacturing.
Gameplay design.
The team avoided creating distinct levels. As opposed to traditional game design – in which designers carefully calculated where and how to place environmental objects on a grid – the team instead experimented with dynamic cover design and utilized an algorithm provided by the Dunia Engine to quickly procedural generate the layout of a large area. The team would then manually adjust the placement of different objects and test the output. By avoiding repeating patterns, this enabled the world to be unpredictable and realistic, and allowed dynamic wildlife and enemy encounters to remain fresh even when players explore the same area again. Spaces are created to be logical and grounded. For instance, some enemy outposts are sites of industries, crucial for the pirates to operate at Rook Islands. The team wanted players to believe that the spaces they explore "[exist] for a reason" within the game – not merely for gameplay purposes – and these efforts at creating a civilization helped increase the game world's credibility. When creating the world's space, the game was inspired by "The Elder Scrolls" series and "Red Dead Redemption" in how these series reward players with progression. However, the team wished to avoid repetitiveness in gameplay, and created over 250 different hostile encounters and a system that remembers each encounter and only recycle it after extended play. The team believed that this helped raise the diversity of the experience.
The team evaluated the gameplay elements from "Far Cry 2" and determined which gameplay elements they should include or improve. Weapon degradation and malaria infection were removed as the team thought that it made the game less fun. According to producer Dan Hay, "Far Cry 2"s world was barren and lacked reactions to players' actions. Therefore, the team decided to make the world more lively with the goal of creating "an actual civilization" for players to encounter. In "Far Cry 3", players' actions impact the game's world, with Vaas's influence gradually reducing after Jason liberates a hostile camp. The world of Rook Islands was designed to be filled with opportunities and activities for players, enticing them into exploring so that they would not feel bored while traveling within the game's world. The team introduced side quests which allow players to learn more about the history and inhabitants of the islands. The world was designed to be empowering, so that players were free to do what they wanted in the world without being hurried into completing the main quests. The team also attempted to increase the accessibility of travel by improving the game's driving mechanics and introducing fast travel points. Within each mission, players can freely choose their playstyle, whether they choose to eliminate enemies using stealth or firepower, Hay believing that the game respects players' choices. He also believed the team had crafted a meaningful open world, and Rook Island was considered to be the "second most important character". According to Jamie Keen, the game's lead designer, the world was both "alluring and repulsive" and players will "feel seduced by the place and all the people in it". Inspirations were taken from media including "Apocalypse Now" and "Lost". The team decided to return to an island setting, like the first "Far Cry", as a narrative decision made during the game's early development. The team believed that the setting mashed well with the story they wanted to create, enabled them to create a world filled with variety, and helped inspire a sense of isolation and discovery.
Story.
Level designer Mark Thompson stated that in a "Far Cry" game, morality was not absolute and that there was always "a moral gray space". The team intentionally avoided introducing a morality system which would judge players' actions. Gray morality is seen as Jason murdered the pirates in order to rescue his friends and survive on the hostile island. The team took inspiration from "Apocalypse Now", "The Deer Hunter", and "Deliverance" when they were writing the story. They understood the game as a first-person shooter, which involves killing many non-playable characters to succeed, and the team wanted a story that embraced the concept of shooting to prevent narrative dissonance that might hinder the story and the overall experience. As Jason kills more people, he becomes increasingly tolerant toward violence. Hay stated that players will slowly see the transformation in Jason, as he strays further from who he was at the beginning of the game, and begins to parallel his pirate counterparts. Jason's hallucination sequences were meant to reflect his destabilizing psyche. Thompson described them as "introspective sequences" in which Jason's conscience questions the players' actions. When he was writing these sequences, Jeffrey Yohalem was inspired by the dreamlike levels from "Prince of Persia". Jason's friends view him differently and he will begin experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite his explanatory closing narrative, the game left room for interpretation. Ultimately, Hay stated that the story was about the cost of becoming a hero, and how heavy the toll can be in one's journey.
Yohalem designed a story that examines the minds of players. The game was described as being "self-aware", reacting to players' style of play. Yohalem, in particular, wished to contrast the difference between players and the playable character, in which players have fun playing the game, while Jason is forced on a terrible journey killing people. Being able to freely explore the game world and enjoy the activities it can offer, while ignoring the urgency to save Jason's friends, was meant to reflect players' inner mindset. According to Yohalem, the game can reveal a player's personal perspective, and asks whether players are willing to "kill these characters in the game in order to finish your entertainment". This creates a sense of discomfort to players. Yohalem, when creating the story and the world, was inspired by "Pulp Fiction", "A History of Violence", "Requiem For a Dream" and "Exit Through The Gift Shop". As opposed to "Far Cry 2"s oppressive world, the game was inspired by "Alice in the Wonderland"; Yohalem stated that the game asked why players would willingly trap themselves in a beautifully-crafted but virtual world instead of spending time with real people. The story was widely criticized for racism and colonialism, though Yohalem defended it by calling the game "the opposite of "Avatar"" as the local indigenous people did not need Jason's help and he was being manipulated into doing what the people wanted. He insisted that players need to approach the game like a riddle so as to understand the subtext and clues that the game offers.
Initially, the game's primary villain was named Bull, a bald and muscular man who looked similar to "a 300-pound, six-foot-tall bullmastiff dog". The character was redesigned after Michael Mando auditioned for the role, as his physicality was very different from what the developers had planned. Bull's physical fierceness transformed into the villain's emotive and volatile personality. A second iteration of the character was named Pyro and featured a heavily mutilated body, though such features were later removed as Mando's portrayal of Vaas enabled his personality to be expressed through subtle mannerisms. The team envisioned him to be a charming but menacing villain. Hay compared Vaas to Darth Vader, in which his presence is often short and brief, yet when he appears, he catches attention and galvanizes players' memories. Hay described Vaas as a character that was "very much in your face", which helped cemented Jason's early status as a "victim". Yohalem added that Vaas's death at the game's midpoint was inspired by the novel "To the Lighthouse", in which the protagonist died midway through the story and the rest of the plot explores her absence. To create nuanced characters, the team utilized motion capture so that actors could convey more-complicated emotions on-screen. Enemies are controlled by AI which was designed to be believable, such as when untrained enemies would make mistakes during combat. Elias Toufexis initially was chosen to voice Jason Brody, though he was replaced by Gianpaolo Venuta two years later.
Multiplayer.
Massive Entertainment handled the game's multiplayer development. According to David Polfeldt, the managing director of Massive, the team was involved at the early stage of development and the opportunity helped diversify their portfolio, as the team had only had experience working on real-time strategy games like "World in Conflict". Magnus Jensen, the multiplayer portion's creative director, stated that the multiplayer carries the theme of insanity from the single-player. To accomplish this, the competitive multiplayer allows players to use supernatural elements to combat enemies, while the cooperative multiplayer features characters that are "as unhinged as any of the characters" in the single-player mode. The multiplayer was also said to include elements commonly found in independent games and social games.
Promotion and release.
"Far Cry 3" was announced in June 2011 during Ubisoft's press conference at E3 2011. A closed beta for the game's multiplayer portion was launched for players who purchased "" at GameStop before May 22, 2012. A companion app named "Far Cry The Outpost" was released for iOS and Android to allow players to manage their multiplayer loadout and monitor their progress. A UK-exclusive companion app named "Insanity Mirror" imagines what players would look like if they are trapped on an island. A Facebook app named "Holiday From Hell", which allows players to create and customize their own postcard, was released in September 2012. The first 2,000 participants had their own postcard printed and delivered by Royal Mail for free. To promote the game at PAX East, players who shaved their head or received a permanent tribal tattoo would receive a free copy of the game. At PAX Prime, attendees can shave their head into a mohawk to look like Vaas. Ubisoft commissioned Michael Lambert, a "Minecraft" enthusiast, and artists Axel Janssen and Yohann Delcourt to create a custom map and texture pack mimicking "Far Cry 3"s setting and characters within the popular indie game "Minecraft". The "Minecraft" texture pack was released, along with a "Far Cry 3"-"Minecraft" custom adventure map, on October 26, 2012. A four-part webseries named "Far Cry: The Experience", which stars Mando as Vaas and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as himself, was released.
The game was initially set to be released on September 4, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This was delayed to November 29 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions and December 4 in the US, to give additional time to complete the game. On launch date, the Windows version of the game suffered from server issues which temporarily caused the game to be unplayable. Players who pre-ordered the game gained access to "The Lost Expeditions" pack which includes two single-player missions named The Forgotten Experiment and Ignition in the Deep and a flare gun for multiplayer. Players who preordered the game at GameStop gained access to the "Monkey Business Pack", which adds four missions to the game. European players could also purchase the "Insane Edition" which includes all pre-order bonuses and all other forms of launch downloadable content (DLC), along with a Vaas bobblehead and a survival skill manual for usage in real situations of danger. Uplay users can unlock bonus content ranging from a new mission to customizable items. The "Monkey Business Pack" and "The Lost Expeditions" were later bundled with another two DLC packs, namely "The Warrior" and "The Predator Pack" in the Deluxe Bundle, which was released on January 17, 2013. Not included in the bundle were "High Tides", a PlayStation 3-exclusive DLC that concludes the cooperative multiplayer modes with two missions, and "", the game's standalone expansion. "Blood Dragon" was a parody of 1980s action films, cartoons and video games and takes place on a retro-futuristic open world island with players assuming the action role of the military cyborg Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt. "Far Cry 3" and "Blood Dragon" were later bundled with "Far Cry 2" and "Far Cry Classic" in a compilation game named "Far Cry: The Wild Expedition" for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Starting from May 29, 2018, players who purchased "Far Cry 5"s season pass or the Gold Edition on PC can gain access to the "Classic Edition", the game's re-release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The "Classic Edition" was made available for standalone purchase on June 26, 2018.
Reception.
Critical reception.
Jim Sterling from "Destructoid" felt the game had a larger emphasis on storytelling when compared with its predecessors, and liked the game's cast of characters. Sterling called the story "tightly written" and "stylishly presented". Matt Bertz from "Game Informer" agreed, calling the story "compelling". The game's cast of side-characters was praised for their acting and characterization. Mando's performance as Vaas was praised by critics: Ryan Taljonick from GamesRadar stated that his presence made some missions memorable. Mitch Dyer from "IGN" noted that Jason is a relatable character due to his many flaws. Kevin VanOrd from "GameSpot" questioned some of the narrative decisions, such as the heavy emphasis on drug use. Other story beats, such as Jason's transformation into an effective combatant within a short period of time and Vaas's early death in the story, were criticized. Both Bramwell and Tom Francis from "PC Gamer" remarked on the main quest's linear design, which Francis described as a "guided tour of all the clumsiest ways to mash story and videogames together until both of them break". Arthur Gies from "Polygon" criticized the story for being clichéd. The game's handling of subject matter like misogyny and homophobia and its usage of the white savior trope were also criticized.
The island setting received critical acclaim. Tom Bramwell from "Eurogamer" stated that the island was the main reason he became captivated by the game, mainly due to the game's diverse activities and the island's rich history. He liked the artificial intelligence of the game's wild animals, which makes the game unpredictable. Bertz agreed, saying that the environment was "varied" and "gorgeous", and appreciated its design for accommodating multiple playstyles. VanOrd appreciated the effort Ubisoft had put into designing Rook Islands, saying that ""Far Cry 3" isn't so much about the story as it is about its world", and called the world "enthralling" and "focused". VanOrd also liked the ecology, which interacts with each other and helped make the world more believable. Dyer enjoyed finding the game's collectibles, which helped enrich the island's history. According to Dyer, the game had an "astonishing sense of place" and "captivating culture and scenery". Arthur Gies from "Polygon" was also impressed by the world design, which he felt allowed various emergent events to occur and systems to flow and intertwine with each other. Taljonick added that the emergent gameplay contributed to some personal stories which are unique to each player.
Critics generally enjoyed the gameplay. Sterling praised the freedom given to players to approach objectives, though he felt that many of the side-objectives became repetitive very quickly. He praised the game's increased accessibility, though he noted that travel was an annoyance for him. Bramwell appreciated players' freedom, citing stealth as one of the game's strengths and noting combat's adaptive nature. VanOrd agreed, calling stealth "a blast" and praised the game for presenting opportunities that allow players to experiment and be creative. Dyer agreed, saying that the game's action can be exhilarating and that actions can be chained together. Bertz and Taljonick liked the gameplay improvements such as the inclusion of fast-travel points and the removal of weapon malfunctioning, though Bertz was disappointed that the AI-controlled human enemies were not more adaptive. VanOrd liked the gunplay and vehicular control, and the game's sense of progression presented due to the inclusion of role-playing game elements, though he and Francis lamented the respawning enemies, which they felt were frustrating. Gies praised the game's wealth of content, though he warned that such could be "intimidating".
The multiplayer component of the game was considered as a disappointment. Sterling remarked that the game's competitive multiplayer lacked new ideas and he compared it to "Call of Duty". He liked the efforts put into cooperative multiplayer which he compared to "Left 4 Dead", but he criticized the lack of characterization for the player avatars. Francis called the cooperative multiplayer "fun", though he was disappointed by the lack of a server browser. Bramwell called the multiplayer components the least interesting parts of the game, though he appreciated the presence of bonus content, saying that it made for a generous package. Bertz called the cooperative mode "a fun diversion", though he lamented clumsy movements and sub-par hit-detection mechanics as factors that hindered competitive multiplayer's appeal. VanOrd felt that the cooperative mode did not use the excellent open world created by the team, though he praised the "unique twists" featured in the progression system. Dyer had a more negative view on the multiplayer components, calling them uninspired and criticizing the confusing map design. He felt that the cooperative component made the game a "mindless shooter with senseless direction", and further criticized the lack of difficulty scaling.
Sales.
The game's preorder sales were below Ubisoft's expectations. In the US, it was the sixth-bestselling video game according to NPD Group. It was also the second-biggest launch for a video game in the region in December. In January 2013, it became the second-bestselling game, trailing behind "Black Ops II". In the UK, it was the ninth-biggest launch for a video game in 2012. In its week of release, it became the second-bestselling retail game, only behind "". "Far Cry 3" later toppled "Black Ops II" as the bestselling game of the week during Christmas.
More than 4.5 million copies were shipped to retailers in December 2012. In October 2014, Ubisoft announced that approximately 10 million copies of the game had been sold.
Legacy.
The game's success helped elevate the franchise's status, which is now viewed as a blockbuster series with a strong identity. Dom Peppiatt from GamesRadar wrote that "Far Cry 3" and its expansion "Blood Dragon" helped cement Ubisoft's domination in the open-world first-person shooter genres and its position as both a developer and publisher. Many features from "Far Cry 3", such as the presence of towers and wildlife hunting, were later used in other Ubisoft non-"Far Cry" games.
Ubisoft initially planned to make a direct-narrative sequel to "Far Cry 3", which involved the return of Jason as the game's protagonist and other supporting characters and the resurrection of Vaas. The plan was quickly abandoned. A sequel, "Far Cry 4", set in the Himalayas region, was released on November 18, 2014, for Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It features a new cast of characters and a new map.


The Everlasting (role-playing game)

The Everlasting is a role-playing game created by Steve Brown of Visionary Entertainment Studios Inc in the 1990s. The system has four core books: "The Book of the Unliving" (1997); "The Book of the Light" (1998); "The Book of the Spirit" (1998); and "The Book of the Fantastical" (2004). There are also two supplement books available for the game: "The Codex of Immortals" (2004); and "The Magician's Companion" (2004).
The Everlasting is based on several immortal races who struggle with an unknown force. Since Hiroshima and thereafter Tchernobyl, many seals are broken and "something" is coming.
These immortal races span a wide range of mythological beings from societies around the world. Steve Brown had done extensive research on these various types of mythological beings and incorporated different ideas and concepts from the different societies that these mythologies originate from. As an example, he included many different types of vampires from varying cultures around the world. Among the varying creatures and beings that players can take on the roles of in this RPG are the following:
This RPG also heavily stresses the development of each player's own personal mythology, and encourages developing a meaningful and interesting story (to a degree beyond what is seen in most paper and dice RPGs). This goes as far as referring to the characters being played by the players as "Protagonists" and any creatures or other beings and humans that they must struggle against as "Antagonists" similar to what is commonly seen in literature.


Jesse Honey

Jesse Honey (born 1977) is an English urban planner and quiz player from South London, best known for winning the "Mastermind" series 2010 and holding one of its records, becoming a member of the English National quiz team later in the year, and going on to win the World Quizzing Championship (individual title) 2012.
Life.
Honey, the son of an English father and American mother, Nancy Honey, was born and grew up in Bath, Somerset, but later moved to London. He studied Japanese at Durham University and took a Master's degree in Town planning at University College London. He worked full-time as a town planner and was therefore the only quiz amateur in the national team.
Tv/ Mastermind.
In the 1990s he won "Blockbusters".
In the 1998-99 series he lost the semifinal of "University Challenge" as part of a team from Durham University, who controversially lost to the Open University. He won the "Mastermind" 2010 series, in the final achieving a record total score of 37 in the John Humphrys era of the programme.
In a further tournament called "Mastermind Champion of Champions" he even established a new record for specialist subjects reaching 23 points with "Flags of the World". He beat David Edwards but was edged out in the last round by reigning World Champion Pat Gibson on pass countback (Gibson 36 points, no passes; Honey 36 points, two passes).
Competitive quizzing.
He has also won nine English Grand Prix events as of June 2012, made the Top 10 of the World Quizzing Championships three times straight 2007 to 2009 and in 2010 won a British Quizzing Championships Bronze medal in the individuals and a Silver with partner Sean Carey at pairs. For a long time he stood in the shadows of England's four world champions Kevin Ashman, who holds the overall Mastermind record with 41 points, the aforementioned Gibson, Olav Bjortomt and Mark Bytheway and thus only made the national squad after Bytheway's premature death in 2010.
In the Quiz League of London he replaced David Stainer at the world's most successful club "Broken Hearts", three time European Champions 2007 to 2009 in the line-up Bjortomt, Dr Ian Bayley, Stainer and Mark Grant, the team won Silver in 2010 losing to Kevin Ashman's Milhous Warriors. In pairs he teamed up with Bayley at the EQC 2010, creating a duo of 2010 season winners as Bayley had won Brain of Britain season 2009/2010 but did not medal. In 2012 he won several British Grands Prix and won the WQC with a world record score.


Shogi opening

A shogi opening ( ) is the sequence of initial moves of a shogi game before the middle game. The more general Japanese term for the beginning of the game is 序盤 "joban."
A jōseki () is the especially recommended sequence of moves for a given opening that was considered balanced play at one point in time for both sides by professional players. (However, some josekis have become outdated when they are reevaluated to no longer give balanced play.) Josekis also typically include commentary about the possible reasons to deviate from the joseki especially regarding blunders. Note that not all openings have josekis. For example, trap openings like Demon Slayer, while they may have standard moves, are considered to favor one player and, thus, are not balanced play.
Introduction.
The very first opening moves in most games are pawn pushes. In particular, most games start with two types of pawn pushes. A player can move the rook pawn forward (P-26) as the first type of pawn push, or, more commonly, advance the seventh file pawn to open the bishop's diagonal for attacking (P-76) as the second type of pawn push. Strategically, these two moves aim to activate the two most powerful pieces in the game.
Furthermore, these two types of pawn pushes are the most common moves for both Black and White (which would be 1..P-84 and 1..P-34). Thus, almost all games (over 90%) will start with the one of the four possible combinations of these two pawn push types (see adjacent diagrams).
With a bishop diagonal first move (P-76 or P-34), it's common to exchange bishops by having one capture the other (although not necessarily at the beginning of the opening). This allows each player to put their newly captured bishop into play anywhere on the board on their next move although care must be taken to avoid weaknesses in defense which may allow for a bishop drop from their opponent. However, it is not advantageous to exchange bishops if your opponent has a better defensive setup or more lines of attack. Moreover, making a bishop exchange constitutes tempo loss, so it is not advised without a good reason. Opening the bishop diagonal as the first move is the most flexible first move, which leads to the largest number of opening possibilities. Additionally, although P-76 and P-34 may occur as the first two moves allowing for a bishop trade off, it is always possible that either Black or White can prevent an early bishop exchange by closing their bishop diagonal with a subsequent pawn push – P-66 for Black or P-44 for White.
With the rook pawn first move (P-26 or P-84), the intention is usually to keep the rook on its initial file on the player's right side of the board and develop an attack on this side with support from the rook. Compared with opening the bishop diagonal for the first move, a rook pawn push limits the range of opening possibilities for the player and for their opponent. Additionally, it signals to their opponent that they will be playing against a Static Rook position (see below for the definition of "Static Rook"). Thus, 1. P-26 is comparatively more informative of a player's planned strategy.
A third common first move is to push the central pawn (P-56). However, P-56 is an order of magnitude less common than the other P-76 and P-26 moves. With the central pawn push first move, the player most often is preparing to move their rook to the central fifth file in order to support this central pawn push (See: Central Rook). However, other configurations (such as Opposing Rook) are possible.
Many common opening attacks involve advancing a silver and ideally pawns, protected by other pieces. Because silvers have more possibilities for retreat, silvers are generally considered superior as attacking pieces in the opening and middle game while golds better defend their sides and are superior as defensive pieces. It is common practice to defend the king with three generals, two golds and a silver.
Because defense is so important, and because shogi pieces are relatively slow movers, the opening game tends to be much longer in shogi than in western chess, commonly with a dozen or more moves to shore up defenses before the initial attack is made. As part of the defense, typically the king is moved to the side in a castle with three generals. Leaving a king on its original square (居玉 "igyoku" "sitting king") may be a particularly dangerous position.
Over the past 400 years, Japanese professional players have invented various "jōseki" (定跡), which determine moves and sequences which are thought to be the best for a particular situation. It also covers a branch of different variations within an intricate strategy, including alternative options and the certain consequences that some moves may bring.
Shogi openings are generally slower than that of western chess, due to the larger board and less mobile pieces. But since a quick offense will leave a player's home territory open to drop attacks as soon as pieces are exchanged, one aim of the opening is to build up defenses for the king. (See: Castle.)
Classification.
Rook position.
Openings for even games are traditionally classified by the position of a player's rook – specifically whether it remains on its starting square or moves to a different square. In this binary classification, Static Rook (居飛車 "ibisha") openings are where the offense is supported by the rook in its original position. Ranging Rook (振り飛車 "furibisha") openings are where the rook moves to the center or left of the board to support an attack there, typically with the idea of allowing the opponent to attack while arranging a better defense and aiming for a counterattack. Before the modern era, shogi openings were categorized by both the position of the rook (whether Static Rook or not) and by the position of bishop (whether Static Bishop or not).
Openings are further subcategorized based on the opening each player chooses:
Interaction with castles.
As the most powerful piece on the board, the rook invites attack, and in most cases, especially for inexperienced players, it is a good idea to keep the king well away from the rook. Relatedly, the Static vs Ranging classification corresponds to castle development: static rook positions with the rook on the right side of the board tend to have castles on the left side of the board while ranging rook positions tend to have castles on the right side.
The adjacent diagram shows a Static Rook vs Ranging Rook game. Here Black (the first move player on the bottom of the diagram indicated with (☗) is playing Bear-in-the-hole Static Rook with their rook remaining on its starting square and an Bear-in-the-hole castle on the left side of their board while White (☖) is playing Central Rook (a Ranging Rook position) in which their rook has moved to the central fifth file and their king placed in a Kimura Mino castle on the right side of their board.
Certain castles are traditionally thought to be more appropriate for particular Black/White opening combinations. For example, Fortress castle is a strong defense against an opponent's headlong Static Rook attacks, but it is a weaker choice for a Ranging Rook opponent as the Fortress does not provide as much defense against side attacks (since the gold on 78 is only defended by the king), which are likely to occur when the Ranging Rook player's rook breaks through the right side of Black's camp.
Static Rook.
Static Rook openings usually have the player's rook at its start position, which is second file (28 square) for Black and the eighth file (82 square) for White.
Most Static Rook openings coincide with a castle development on the player's left side of the board. In the adjacent diagram is an example of a castle built on the left side of the board paired with a Static Rook position. The castle is a Left Silver Crown Bear-in-the-hole (with advanced edge pawn).
Further classification of Static Rook positions depends on response to the opponent's position of either Static Rook or Ranging Rook. Thus, there are the two types of Static Rook positions: Double Static Rook formations and Counter-Ranging Rook formations.
Examples of Static Rook openings are below.
Ranging Rook.
Ranging Rook openings are positions in which the rook moves to the center or left of the board to support an attack there.
Most Ranging Rook openings coincide with a castle development on the player's right side of the board. In the adjacent diagram is an example of a castle built on the right side of the board paired with a Ranging Rook position (Fourth File Rook). The castle is a Mino castle.
Examples of Ranging Rook openings:
Attack initiation.
The other traditional main categorization of shogi openings is based on the timing of a player's attack within the opening. A rapid attack (急戦 "kyūsen") variation of an opening has a player initiating an attack with only a weaker castle developed first or with very minimal castle development and sometimes with no castle development at all (leaving the king in its start position). The opposite type is a slow game (持久戦 "jikyūsen") in which both players spend much of the opening developing strong castles.
For example, Fourth File Rook is an opening that has one player moving their rook to the fourth file if playing as White (or the sixth file if playing as Black) while the opponent plays Static Rook with their rook in its start position. Fourth File Rook has several rapid attack variations and slow game variations that are identified by the attack formations of the Static Rook player. In the rapid attack variations, the Static Rook player constructs a Boat castle – a weaker castle – and quickly builds an attack formation. In the slow game variations, the Static Rook player will build stronger castles such as Bear-in-the-hole castle or Left Mino castle.
History of opening research.
The earliest openings in the historical record are Sleeve Rook, Wrong Diagonal Bishop, Right Fourth File Rook, and the Ranging Rook openings – Central Rook, Fourth File Rook, Third File Rook, and Opposing Rook – which are found around 1600.
The earliest record of a shogi game (see adjacent diagram) is a single board position mentioned in the 家忠日記 "Ietada Nikki" (diary) of the Matsudaira clan dated 1587 February. The players are not known. Black appears to be playing a Static Rook position while White a Central Rook position. The position appears unrefined from a modern perspective.</small>
The earliest full game record is a 1607 game between the First Lifetime Meijin (Black) and Hon'inbō Sansa (White). Black is playing a Right Fourth File Rook (Static Rook) position while White is playing a Fourth File Rook position. As the Ōhashi–Hon'inbō games are Ranging Rook games, it is believed that these two significantly developed the opening theory.
In 1615, the first handicap games – Right Lance (now obsolete) – are attested between Ōhashi and Hon'inbō.
A little later around 1625, a form of the Double Wing Attack opening appears. Later still are Snowroof, Fortress, and Bishop Exchange.
The 4th Lifetime Meijin, Sōkei Ōhashi III, who held the position 1691–1713, was responsible for making many advances in shogi opening research. However, after Ōhashi, opening theory developed relatively slowly. At the start of the tumultuous Meiji Restoration in 1868, opening research largely stopped. In the 1910s, shogi tournaments started to be sponsored by newspapers, which lead to renewed study of openings and the creations of new josekis. In particular, Yoshio Kimura, Chōtarō Hanada (花田長太郎), and Kingorō Kaneko (花田長太郎) lead many opening innovations in the 1920s and 1930s.
Opening popularity.
Over time the popularity of various opening theory has changed. For instance, the earliest games in the historical record were Black's Static Rook vs White's Ranging Rook. However, after the 8th Lifetime Meijin was appointed in 1744, Double Static Rook openings became the standard way due to the superior winning results of Static Rook over Ranging Rook at the time, and Ranging Rook openings were mostly abandoned. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that Ranging Rook openings became more popular. The popularity of Ranging Rook gained more ground with high winning results 1950s–1970s from strong Ranging Rook player Yasuharu Ōyama.
The opening principle of fighting for control of the center with both players pushing central pawns ☖...P-54 and ☗P-56 can be seen in older variations of Double Wing Attack opening. This way of playing was heavily researched and reached its pinnacle during 1790–1800 when the 9th Lifetime Meijin Soei Ōhashi wrote a book on it. Nowadays, this is considered old fashioned as control of the center is no longer emphasized in modern shogi theory. (Cf. Chess strategy§Control of the center.)
Another example is the Bear-in-the-hole castle. It was used during the Edo period and later lost popularity to the Mino castle. However, it was rediscovered and began to used in the 20th century in Ranging Rook positions. And, later in the 1970s, the Bear-in-the-hole gained popularity in Static Rook positions as well, which continues into the 21st century.
The Snowroof opening was invented in the Edo period as well. It was popular in the first part of the 20th century but lost popularity after the 1940s and 1950s and was found only sporadically in professional games. However, recently, in 2017, the Snowroof has surged in popularity with professional players as a good strategy to combat opponents using Fortress strategies.
Other openings.
The list of openings presented above don't fit as well with the traditional classification. They include trap or surprise openings (奇襲戦法 "kishū senpō") – such as Demon Slayer – and uncommon openings (such as the Ureshino opening). Others are somewhat harder to classify in the usual way by the position of the rook. For example, Twisting Rook is both a Static Rook and a Ranging Rook opening position while Right King exceptionally uses the rook as a defensive piece adjacent to the king flouting the general maxim that kings are castled away from rooks.
Right King.
Right King (右玉 "migi gyoku") is a defensive opening in which the king stays on the right side of board along with rook, which protects the last rank 9 as well as the eighth file. It is an exception to the general rule that the king is castled away from the rook.
It is possible to use a Right King formation within a Bishop Exchange opening as well as other openings.
Twisting Rook.
Twisting Rook (ひねり飛車 "hineribisha") or Rook On Pawn (縦歩取り "tate fudori") is characterized by first playing a Static Rook opening that then switches to a Ranging Rook strategy with the rook positioned in front of one's camp. Since the starting Static Rook opening is Double Wing Attack, it is usually considered a variation of Double Wing Attack.
Wrong Diagonal Bishop.
Wrong Diagonal Bishop (筋違い角 "sujichigai kaku") is characterized by an early bishop exchange followed by dropping the bishop in hand on the 45 square if played by Black or the 65 square if played by White. The Wrong Diagonal Bishop player has the options of playing a Ranging Rook or a Static Rook position.
Bishop Head Pawn.
Bishop Head Pawn or Bishop's Head Pawn Push (角頭歩 "kakutōfu" or 角頭歩突き "kakutō fuzuki") is characterized by advancing the bishop's head pawn on 87 to 86 early in the game, in which it is undefended.
Pinwheel.
Pinwheel (風車 "kazeguruma") is an opening with the rook on the bottom rank 9 (or rank 1 if played by White) enabling it to switch between a Ranging Rook and Static Rook attack.
The pinwheel name comes from the way the king is able to rotate around the gold positioned on the 58 square as if it were a wheel.
First File Rook.
First File Rook (一間飛車 "ikkenbisha" or "ichigenbisha") is a surprise Static Rook opening in which the player's rook supports an attack on the player's rightmost edge file.
Buoyant Rook.
Buoyant Rook (浮き浮き飛車 "ukiukibisha") is a surprise Static Rook opening in which the player's rook is advanced to the file directly above their line of pawns (rank 6 for Black or rank 4 for White).
Pac-Man.
Pac-Man (パックマン "pakkuman" or 四歩パックマン "yon fu pakkuman") is a trap opening.
It is named after the video game Pac-Man. The opening has an early pawn gambit made by White on the fourth file which may be metaphorically eaten as if by Pac-Man. If Black takes the pawn with their bishop, then White will play a Fourth File Rook position. In this case, if Black plays without careful thought, then White's trap may succeed.
Demon Slayer.
Demon Slayer (鬼殺し "oni koroshi") is a trap opening sequence initiated by Black that characteristically advances their left knight blocking their bishop. Later moves attempt an attack using a further advanced knight and also possibly White's left silver.
There is also a variant known as New Demon Slayer (新鬼殺し "shin oni koroshi").
Ureshino.
The Ureshino (嬉野流 "ureshino-ryū") opening is a newer aggressive Static Rook opening characterized by moving the right silver to the sixth file and then pulling back the bishop to the silver's start position.
It has an element of surprise as the move sequences are nonstandard and not found in professional play.
Lady Killer Wham-Bam Rook.
The Lady Killer Wham-Bam Rook (女殺しドッカン飛車 "onna koroshi dokkan hisha") is a Ranging Rook surprise opening that was used by pornographer Oniroku Dan.
Tonari.
The Tonari opening (都成流 "tonari-ryū") is a new Ranging Rook surprise opening that was invented by professional Ryuuma Tonari.
It was presented on the 囲碁・将棋チャンネル (Go/Shogi Channel) by professional player Tetsurō Itodani.
Identification by initial moves.
Although it is more common for Japanese theory to categorize openings by their shape rather than move sequences, it is nonetheless also possible to identify specific openings based upon initial move sequences in a way reminiscent to the way western chess openings are classified. (Cf. "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.")
Below are common four-move sequences associated with common openings as presented by Kōji Tanigawa on the NHK television program "Shōgi Kōza" (NHK将棋講座) in April 2006 and organized by the position of Black.
Black's rook pawn push ☗P-26.
By advancing their rook pawn (1. ☗P-26) in the first four moves, Black reveals very early their intention to play a Static Rook position. Although this move obviously gives White more information about Black's strategy, it also does limit both players' future moves in a way that opening the bishop diagonal (that is, 1. ☗P-76) on the first move does not. (For instance, the 1... R-32 opening and Quick Ishida are not possible for White if Black pushes their rook pawn first.) At the same time, not opening the bishop diagonal also adds some other possibilities which rely on a closed diagonal such as the Iijima Bishop Pullback opening or the Ureshino opening.
However, a Feint Ranging Rook position is still possible where this rook pawn push is the feint that tries to convince White that they will be playing against a Static Rook position after which Black moves their rook leftward to form a Ranging Rook position instead. The advantage is that if White develops certain structures to attack or defend against a Static Rook opponent they may not be as effective against Ranging Rook opponents. Although Feint Ranging Rook has occurred in professional games, it is uncommon.
An initial rook pawn push could either be pushed further (2. ☗P-25) or combined with activating their bishop by opening its diagonal (2. ☗P-76).
☗P-26, ☗P-25.
1. P-26 P-84 2. P-25 P-85. Looking at Black's position with two pushes of the rook pawn, the most common way this is used is when Black first pushes their rook pawn (1. P-26) which is answered by White doing the same (1...P-84) leading to a Double Static Rook game. From here, a natural way to play is for Black to push their pawn once more (2. P-25). Then, since White is under the threat of an attack on the second file, White is most likely to push their rook pawn again as well to give Black the same counterattacking threat (2...P-85).
This 4-move position usually leads to a Double Wing Attack opening with the subsequent moves: 3. G-78 G-32 4. P-24 Px24 5. Rx24 P*23 to be followed by either 6. R-26 or 6. R-28. Note that although this is the most common sequence leading to Double Wing, it is not the only way Double Wing openings can come about.
☗P-26, ☗P-76.
Another set of openings with Black's rook pawn push also include opening the bishop diagonal in addition (☗P-26, ☗P-76). Although Black will be playing a Static Rook position, White has the freedom of responding to Black with either a Ranging Rook position or a Static Rook position.
1. ☗P-26 ☖P-84 2. ☗P-76 ☖P-85.
After Black's chooses Static Rook with 1. P-26, White can also push their rook pawn (1...P-84) for a Static Rook position leading to a Double Static Rook game. Then, Black also opens their bishop diagonal activating their bishop (2. P-76). This sequence could be transposed to a 1. P-76 P-84 2. P-26 sequence.
After this, White may push their rook pawn once more (2...P-85) threatening a pawn exchange on the eighth file. This 4-move sequence usually leads to a Bishop Exchange opening. One variation has the following moves: 3. B-77 P-34 4. S-88 preparing for 4...Bx77+. Another variation could include a rook pawn push by Black first: 3. P-25 G-32 4. B-77 P-34 5. S-88 again preparing for 5...Bx77+.
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗P-26 ☖P-84.
Besides pushing only their rook pawn, White can open their bishop diagonal during their first 2 moves as well leading to a greater range of opening possibilities.
Black's open bishop diagonal (1. P-76) is met with White's open bishop diagonal (1...P-34). Then, Black plays the most common move of choosing Static Rook (2. P-26). These three moves could also be transposed to 1. P-26 P-34 2. P-76. After this, White does the same rook pawn push (2...P-84) leading to a symmetrical Double Static Rook board. Another possible (but less common) transposition of the four moves could be 1. P-26 P-84 2. P-76 P-34.
This 4-move sequence will usually be followed by 3. P-25 P-85 4. G-78 G-32 5. P-24 Px24 6. Rx24, which is a sequence that often leads to the Side Pawn Capture opening (after 6...P-86 7.Px86 Rx86 8. Rx34). This opening is fairly sharp since both of the major pieces (rook and bishop) are being activated from the start before any castle construction is attempted. Although Side Pawn Capture is most common, a Double Wing Attack opening with mutually open bishop diagonals is another possibility.
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗P-26 ☖P-44.
In this sequence (or transposition 1. P-26 P-34 2. P-26), after mutual open bishop diagonals and Black's Static Rook move, White opts to close their bishop diagonal (2...P-44). This move reduces the complexity of the opening by preventing both players from trading their bishop off the board.
After the diagonal is closed with this 4-move sequence, Black usually develops their right silver toward the center with 3. S-48. White's most likely set of responses is to play a Ranging Rook position by moving their rook leftward, such as with ...R-42 for Fourth File Rook, ...R-32 for Third File Rook or ...R-52 for Central Rook. And, whenever Black pushes their rook pawn again with P-25, the pawn trade on the second file will be prevented by White's bishop with ...B-33. If Black pushes the pawn early, then White may opt for yet another Ranging Rook position, Opposing Rook, by moving the rook to the second file with ...R-22 as the bishop will no longer be blocking the rook's movement to this square.
Examples include the following:
However, White's position is also flexible enough to play a Static Rook formation such as Fortress by moving the silver up to ...S-42 so that a Fortress castle can be formed and preventing Black from trading off the second file pawn by moving the silver to the 33 square. For example:
Yet another Static Rook possibility for White is for the silver on 42 to move up to 43 for a Snowroof opening where pawn exchange on the second file may be prevented by White moving their bishop to the 33 square (although White is not required to prevent the pawn exchange by leaving their bishop in its start position on 22).
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗P-26 ☖P-54.
After open bishop diagonals for both players, another possible response to Black's pawn push (2. P-26) is for White to push their central pawn (2...P-54).
After this 4-move sequence, White aims to support this central pawn by swinging their rook to the central file. With both players' bishops fully activated, this particular Central Rook variation is Cheerful Central Rook. The opening continues with 3. P-25 R-52. After this, Black may develop a general (with 4. S-48 or 4. G49-58) or the king (with 4. K-68), and White will push their central pawn once again with 4...P-55 in order to convert it to a vanguard pawn. Of course, since the bishops are activated, a bishop trade variation with 4. Bx22+ Sx22 instead is also possible, which is known as the Maruyama Vaccine (丸山ワクチン "maruyama wakuchin").
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗P-26 ☖G-32.
Another fourth move response to the same 3-move 1. P-76 P-34 2. P-26 sequence is for White to protect the second file with a gold (2...G-32). After this 4-move sequence, the opening is likely to be Tempo Loss Bishop Exchange with 3. P-25 Bx88+ 4. Sx88 S-22. The Tempo Loss Bishop Exchange opening has many similarities with the regular Bishop Exchange opening (shown above) – the important differences being a loss of one tempo for White and White's 85 square being unoccupied for a possible right knight jump later in the game (since White's rook pawn was not pushed early like in the regular Bishop Exchange).
Black's bishop pawn ☗P-76 (no ☗P-26).
There are several possible openings if Black does not push their rook pawn forward in the first four moves and instead focuses on activating their bishop (P-76) and developing other pieces. These include Ranging Rook openings as well as Static Rook openings where the rook pawn is delayed. Likewise, White can respond to Black's moves with either Static Rook or Ranging Rook positions.
Thus, the world of possibilities include Double Static Rook, Static Rook vs Ranging Rook, Ranging Rook vs Static Rook, and Double Ranging Rook games.
☗P-76, ☗S-68.
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-84 2. ☗S-68 ☖P-34.
After Black opens their bishop diagonal (1. P-76), White plays Static Rook (1...P-84). Then, in order to defend the eighth file so that White cannot trade off their rook pawn, White develops their silver (2. S-68) so that it may reach the 77 square should White push their rook pawn again to the 85 square (which otherwise would aim for P-86 Px86 Rx86). Since Black's bishop is now undefended, White activates their bishop (2...P-34). For this reason, this 4-move sequence cannot transpose to 1. P-76 P-34 2. S-68 P-84 (or 1. S-68 P-34 2. P-76) because after 1. P-76 P-34 2. S-68 Black's bishop would be captured for free.
This leads to the very common Fortress opening, which is often (but not always) a Double Fortress opening. There are two common developments following this:
The 3. S-77 variation is very clearly Fortress since the Fortress castle is formed with the characteristic silver on the 77 square. The 3. P-66 variation, although a very common sequence for Fortress, is also flexible enough to transition to a Ranging Rook opening like Fourth File Rook (for example, 3. P-66 S-62 4. S-67 P-54 5. R-68) or the less common Static Rook opening, Snowroof.
☗P-76, ☗R-68/78.
Black's open bishop diagonal can be combined with an early Ranging Rook movement to play Third File Rook or Fourth File Rook. (Central Rook is also possible but less common.)
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-84 2. ☗R-78 ☖P-34.
After Black's open bishop diagonal (1. P-76) and White's Static Rook (1...P-84), Black swings their rook over to the seventh file (2. R-78) to play Black's variation of Third File Rook. Then, White opens their bishop diagonal as well (2...P-34) threatening to exchange the bishops off the board.
After this 4-move sequence, the opening is Black's Normal Third File vs Static Rook continuing with 3. P-66 P-84 4. B-77.
Note that this sequence usually does not transpose to 1. P-76 P-34 2. R-78 P-84. If Black moves their rook with mutually open bishop diagonals (1. P-76 P-34 2. R-78), it leads to a sharp variation starting with a bishop trade with 2...Bx88+ 3. Sx88 B*45.
1. ☗P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗R-68 ☖P-84.
This may transpose to 1. P-76 P-84 2. R-68 P-34. Transpositions of 1. R-68 P-84 2. P-76 P-34 and 1. R-68 P-34 2. P-76 P-84 are also possible but very uncommon since other minor variations may follow 1. R-68 P-34.
☗P-76, ☗P-16.
☗1. P-76 ☖P-34 2. ☗P-16 ☖P-84.
After opening both bishop diagonals (1. P-76 P-34), White has not revealed to Black what their strategy will be. If Black wishes to play a Ranging Rook opening (like Fourth File Rook), Black may only choose a particular Ranging Rook opening if White chooses a Static Rook opening while they may want to choose a different set of openings if White chooses a Ranging Rook opening. Therefore, pushing an edge pawn (2. P-16) in the first two moves is a noncommittal move by Black aiming to wait and see what their opponent's opening will be. This edge pawn push also fits well the common Mino castle construction on the right side regardless of whether playing against a Ranging Rook or Static Rook opponent. If White pushes their rook pawn indicating Static Rook (2...P-84), then Black can choose a Fourth File position. This is often seen in the Fujii System strategies, which can develop with 3. P-66 S-62 4. R-68 K-42 5. S-38.
Of course, White can sidestep the issue by playing a noncommittal edge pawn as well with 2...P-14.
Frequency of initial move sequences.
Out of the 64,046 recorded (mostly) professional games on Kyokumenpedia (局面ペヂィア) as of 2018 Mar 17, 77.2% started with a bishop pawn opening (P-76) and 20.8% started with a rook pawn opening (P-26).
A less common first move (1.6% of Kyokumenpedia games) is the king's pawn (P-56).
Other first moves are relatively rare.
Handicap openings.
Games between players of different strengths are often played with pieces removed from the stronger player's side.
Many of these handicap games have their own josekis.