Just cause 3 is an open world action adventure game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. Available on windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Really not having too much of a clue about the whole just cause series and always getting it confused with the uncharted (although I doubt there are too many similarities) it was something I went into with a lot of ignorance. Well now I feel a little less ignorant – enough not to accidentally point at an uncharted game when Just Cause is mentioned.
The story starts with you playing as the “Dictator Removal Specialist” Rico Rodriguez arriving to take down General Sebastiono Di Ravello the dictator of Rico’s home Medici. But, your arrival is not pleasantly received as you are attacked by the local governed forces forcing you to stand on top of the plain firing rockets in a summer movie time esk opening scene. This is all going surprisingly well until you are eventually thrown off and have to parachute to your friend Mario and learn that the reason you are here is to help the rebels take back the island of Medici. After meeting Dimah al Masri a scientists working with the rebels and much later in the game the Medician politician – Rosa Manuela – that had been outside you start to turn the tables on General Di Ravello. The events of the story follow this same kind of premise through with big explosions and set pieces with no-massive deep story but plenty of action. This works for the game. If I am honest I really did not get attached to any of the characters and was far to immersed in the cool stuffs to play with rather than the peoples distracting with their babbling conversations. I am sure there was mention of some important “Bavarium” mineral however I took it for what it was which was to make sense of why all this really cool stuff works and why the conflict is so important. Kind of like the good old mineral “unobtanium” from Avatar.
The mechanics of the game are what probably defines why the game is so fun as the grappling hook does not just make you feel like a Mexican Spiderman. Oh no, it also gives me the ability to attach two militia troops across the map together and watch as they smash together in the middle of an intense firefight making things entertaining. This was made even better with the game giving you more than a couple of detachable grappling hooks to use at a time that increase as you progress to a limit. Which surprisingly never loses its humour, this and there are many things to attach people to if one uses there imagination. In fact I did not realise the extensive number of guns available until a good couple of hours which was due mainly to having far too much fun with using the environment and the grappling hook in conjunction. However the gunfights do feel sometimes lacking as I could easily run straight at the militia gunning them down and grapple away without breaking a sweat which turned some of the smaller fights into more of an annoyance rather than a challenge. If you were expecting more than grapple hooked explosions and the fun this brings to mostly destructible environments then there is with the side objectives. Mostly. These range from Helicopter frenzy were you turn your surroundings into a fiery mess, Lighthouse blast were you drive a car packed with massive explosives to try and hit a massive lighthouse and cavern tour were you glide around checkpoints. You know, when you need a rest from blowing all that stuff up. This coupled with the amount of gear available to be unlocked will keep you quite busy indeed if you are a completionist hell bent on getting every car, chopper, weapon etc.
The game itself looks very pretty on the Xbox One like you would expect on the Xbox One however there were a few times were I noticed the frame rate drop when some real mayhem started happening but this was not enough to really ruin the experience. The general setting of a fictional Mediterranean g country gave a really beautiful landscape to look at when you’re a bit tired of setting General Sebastiano’s men on fire. The soundtrack was slightly disappointing with no real memorable tracks however listening to some of your own songs on your own playlists instead while causing massive mayhem I guess has its merits.
Overall the game does bring its own set of tools to the sandbox genre like the grappling hook, used not merely as a gimmick however as an integral mechanic allowing multiple ways to fight. This and couple of things to do that actually feel fun that allows it to compete with its compadre’s such as GTA, Mad Max and Far cry 4 just to name a few in the past year and delivers an explosive exciting experience. But, the game still feels lacking in any real plot and once the smoke clears after all of those Michael bay esk explosions there really is not much left except a very good set of reasons I should never be given a grappling hook.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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