Far Cry 3 is riddled with different elements in the game that really make it stand out. One of which is, crafting. Your stranded on the craziest island in the world, so resources are scarce.
In Far Cry 3, you can purchase weapons and ammo from stores around the island. However, certain upgrades require you to actual go out and fetch the materials. For example, Syringes are used to restore some health and other properties that effect gameplay but they cannot be purchased. That's when Apothecary comes in.
In order to make these syringes, you'll need to go out in the thick jungle and harvest certain plants and leaves. Activating a radio tower in Far Cry 3 is close to what happens in Assassin's Creed 3 when you synchronize with an area. The map opens up and certain icons light up. You'll be able to locate three different plant types that help you create different kinds of syringes.
In Far Cry 3, you start off with the ability to only carry one weapon and one grenade. So, you need to go and make your own holsters. Your wallet can only hold so much cash and your lootsack can only carry a certain amount of items. These items are all made of leather, so hunting animals is vital. Certain animals will yield certain items. For example, goat skins help create bigger weapon holsters, pig skins make bigger wallets and so on. The mini-map will tell you what kind of animals you can expect to run into in certain areas.
The game is filled with different animals like Komodo dragons, boars, sharks, alligators, snakes, birds, tigers, leopards, buffalo, deer and much more. The jungle is full of life and you'll be running into a lot of them. Survival is key, so any kind of upgrades or consumables need to be made yourself. So you'll be scavenging through the jungle in search of supplies and loot.
Make sure to check out the different tactics and skills and the Co-op and map editor in Far Cry 3. The game also has a pretty cool multiplayer, take a look at what its like.