The Grenade Launcher is an essential in my loadout. When the shit hits the fan, as it occasionally does, the grenade launcher will take out most heavies and many clusters with a single shot. You soon get expert at judging the distance at which it can be fired without killing yourself as well - and it's probably unfeasibly close.  It's also useful for continuing to soften up enemy outposts from height after your sniper ammo runs out or you've been detected.  Plus it's huge fun firing from a buzzer.

My loadout tends to be the aforementioned grenade launcher, the best sniper rifle I have access to, ditto best LMG and a last weapon bespoke to the mission - often the recurve bow or a missile launcher.

I've never played any Far Cry games. I might give it a go. Which one should I start with?

I put away the grenade launcher and LMG for the last couple of posts as it was becoming boringly easy. New fun is killing everyone on a jeep with a HMG turret, driving it into the base and using the HMG to hose it down.

3, I reckon.  It's probably the best story and you'll know from playing it whether or not you'll enjoy the franchise.

Then 4 for the tweaks to the gameplay and for the script & voice acting of Pagan Min.

Radio towers are becoming annoyingly difficult to climb. I've actually died more times from misjudged leaps than from combat (well maybe. I lost count).

The story in FC3 thus far (and I'm about 80% through, no hurry to complete), or at least the way it's presented, is its weakest element. A lot weaker than Dead Island I & II (and they were no great shakes), slight improvement over Call of Juarez Gunslinger (execrable). The things that make it all worthwhile IMO are the superb open world (stunning), environmental effects in said world (ditto), vehicles, combat (really good bots), animals, hunting tha' animals, being mauled by tha' animals, and watching the animals run amok (or just graze peacefully). Weapons, weapons and crafting systems are *pretty good* and adequate for gameplay, I've had better. It all adds up to a great game flawed, but not ruined by a weak (ludicrous, frankly) story.

If you think the story in FC3 is risible, I can't wait for you to have a pop at 4, Primal or 5...

Cool, thanks. When I've got some free time (don't get much of that at the mo) I'll have a look at FC3.

All their bases are belong to me.  (woot)
Last one I shot down a helicopter with the assault rifle.

Now I have to go back to the story.

I sure hope storming the big-ass prison is part of the story.

Ah. It's not a prison, it's a "fortress" http://ca.ign.com/wikis/far-cry-3/All_In

Was FC3 the first one with a 'stop all bases are belong to you' button in the options menu?  It's always worth one or two pops.  Keeps the love alive.

Apparently you can reload the bases after completing the game (including the story) with the latest patch (1.05), which I believe I have, but AFAIK you can't before that. It doesn't reset any man/beast hunts you already completed though. I am already looking forward to replaying on a higher difficulty level -- after getting all the best weapons, I find it's unbalanced.

It does get unbalanced - and there's a pleasure in tearing through the last few bases - but yes, I did exactly the same; cranked up the animosity in the reruns

I reckon it's the ability to take a base by sniping alone that makes it feel unbalanced.

Enjoying the sustained CQB firefights in the final missions, hated the phony knife "fight". I tried leaving the rocket launcher home, big mistake. Luckily I could pick one up here and there to deal with heavies. I even was able to gun down all the enemies (including three choppers, a bunch of jeeps with HMGs, and multiple RPG dudes) in the final helicopter escape on the first try.

Time for FC4. The moment your life has been leading up to.

Gotta hone my sneakin around skills and get the bad taste of the ending out of my mouth. Pah!

After resetting the bases (and losing all the fast-travels :-O ) I left the sniper rifle home and killed three pirates from close range using the "Shadow" suppressed pistol. I could've carried on without triggering the alarm, but I like bringing in reinforcements to these understaffed outposts.

Oh yeah, the ending was beyond stupid but, like, dude were on drugs :O) .

Did you see both endings?

One was enough.

Fair point.

My memory's a tad hazy remind me of the ending - is that bit where you can either kill or procreate with the warrior woman the end, or is there a bit after that?

She kills you. After you procreate. Then you turn up alive, as a "Survivor" (slightly higher difficulty).