Far Cry 1 vs Far Cry 3

 Someone compares all the Far Cry games.  

Regarding Far Cry 1, he says: "Unless you are already a fan, do not bother with Far Cry 1". Regarding Far Cry 3 he says: "Ah, finally. We have arrived at what most fans consider to be the crown jewel of the franchise".

This couldn't be more different to my experience of these two games. I entirely disagree about Far Cry 1. It's one of the best games I've ever played.  I've never played any other Far Cry game to completion, but I did complete maybe about a quarter (third? half?) or so of Far Cry 3.  However, I just found it boring.  In the first Far Cry the game play is exhilarating with plenty of heart-pumping action.  And you just pick up weapons and ammo and health as you go along.


In stark contrast, with Far Cry 3 you have to find money, then go to shops or whatever to buy weapons and ammo.  And go around searching for plants for crying out loud!  Then crafting them to get health.  And killing animals for their skins to make bags to carry more stuff, which I found a bit distasteful. Then there's the confusing skills screens or whatever it is.  I just find it dull, and eventually I just didn't have the enthusiasm to play it any more.  In fact, to label it a first-person shooter kind of seems to be a bit of a misnomer to me.  This is all in stark contrast to the first Far Cry, which I've now played about 5 times.

I also tried Far Cry 2, Far Cry 4, Far Cry 5, but never really played much of any of these games before getting bored.

Regardless of whether we're talking about games, films, novels and even music, for some reason I always like the first of the series, but mostly never the sequels. Perhaps because the first of a series tends to be a product of a labour of love.  But when it proves to be successful, their creators like to cash in and produce sequels, which mostly I do not like.  Just consider something like the matrix compared to the sequels.  Or the very first (1996) Tomb Raider compared to all the countless sequels etc.  But that leaves it wholly mystifying why, for example, most people much prefer Far Cry 3 to Far Cry 1.  What are they getting out of it that I'm not?