Far Cry 3 writer name drops Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia

Lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem seems to have some strong inspirations in mind for the latest Far Cry.

Speaking to MCV Pacific, Yohalem said the original Prince of Persia was a huge influence on his approach to games, because of the way it played with players expectations - almost re-writing the rules.

"We’re really trying to take the player on a journey and we’re trying to subvert expectations in the same way that [Jordan] Mechner did in Prince of Persia," he said.

"You can see the protagonist’s psychology when you’re in the dreamlike levels where you’re playing through what’s going on in his head. It’s very much a psychological action game."

If that sounds different, it's supposed to be; Yohalem said the latest game is "a complete refresh of what Far Cry is" - but that the team has retained key elements.

"I’m working with Far Cry 3’s creative director Pat Plourde, who is an absolute genius. Our visions are very much in parallel and we push each other in both directions, so for us, the core of the game was this sense of a Stranger in a Strange Land," he said.

"You get put into a location which is unlike anything you’ve seen. The second idea is stalking prey – the way the combat works is that you’re going through trees and coming upon people who are unaware of you. Far Cry 2 then added the notion that you can control things like fire to your advantage.

"So that was what we took to be the core of Far Cry, and the rest we’ve reinvented."

The result is a narrative-focused experience.

"You can think of it like an Assassin’s Creed game in first-person. We’re talking about a first-person shooter action adventure game. Some levels don’t even have shooting in them at all," he concluded.

More on Yohalem's ideas and inspirations through the link above. Far Cry 3 is expected on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in September.