Are you a huge fan of Michael Bay movies, but find the explosions in previous action titles simply too small and infrequent? Are you willing to sacrifice a sophisticated and gripping story for a good dose of action? If both of these points apply to you, then the new “Just Cause 3“You can’t really go wrong.”
The developers at Avalanche, who are also responsible for the recently released Mad Max, have finally released the long-awaited installment for the current generation of consoles after five years. We couldn't get enough of the predecessor and even managed to snag the Platinum Trophy after dozens of hours of gameplay. In our review, we explain why "Just Cause 3," while still a top action recommendation, unfortunately falls short of our expectations overall.
Who hasn't been there? You're a passenger on a plane heading home when a swarm of fighter jets targets your aircraft, their missiles narrowly missing you. Without hesitation, you decide to do the obvious thing: you grab a rocket launcher, climb out, run across the wings of the still-flying plane without holding on, and unleash unlimited ammo at anything that moves. To finish, you make a daring leap towards the ground. Since anything else would be far too easy, you only deploy your parachute five meters before impact, then effortlessly blast away several enemies with your gun. Welcome to Medici!
Medici is a gigantic, completely open-world game set in a Mediterranean archipelago currently embroiled in civil war. The rebels aim to overthrow the ruthless dictator Di Ravello. As a loyal countryman, you – Rico Rodriguez – take on the challenge. It shouldn't be too difficult, really, since you've already single-handedly brought down more than one dictator by destroying your entire surroundings. Can't handle this kind of corny humor? Then you should definitely tune out the (skippable, by the way) cutscenes, or better yet, steer clear of Just Cause 3 altogether, because the game thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously and deliberately pushes the action to the extreme – and beyond.
If you still haven't grasped what your main objective in the game is, here's a little mnemonic: If it's red, it goes BOOM! You have to destroy as much as possible to attack the regional command center and thus gradually weaken the dictator's power. Since you'll spend more time destroying things without a specific target than on the story missions themselves, these missions are actually almost incidental. While they do offer a certain degree of variety, you're essentially doing the same thing as usual: destroying as much as possible. Occasionally, you'll find yourself on or in a car, plane, boat, or tank and might have to protect someone or something. It's all rather unexciting and therefore, unfortunately, not particularly interesting. However, this doesn't mean it isn't fun. Destroying is part of the game. Just Cause 3 It's actually a lot of fun! With Rico's arsenal of useful toys, the game offers you an incredible number of ways to get rid of your opponent or just to go wild.
The biggest innovation compared to its predecessor is the dual grappling hook. While you could already use it to pull yourself onto any vehicle or ledge, you can now chain up to two objects or even people together simultaneously. With a simple button press, they're pulled together. This opens up truly insane possibilities. For example, if two attack helicopters are on your tail, you can simply link them together and marvel at the ensuing fireworks. Your destructive rampage is further amplified by unlimited remote-detonated explosives and, of course, grenades. Since there are always objects in your environment that can self-destruct, nothing stands in the way of gigantic chain reactions. The game will repeatedly bring a smile to your face when the explosion turns out to be significantly larger than initially expected. As if that weren't enough, you also have a paraglider and wingsuit at your disposal.
Combined with the grappling hook, this gives you unparalleled freedom of movement. The numerous cars, which you can grab at any time in true GTA style, are therefore more like decorative or exploding accessories. This is further compounded by the sluggish, inexplicably poor controls of almost all vehicles, which unfortunately turn much of the driving fun into frustration. This is especially true for the numerous side missions you unlock by liberating a city. These missions come in a wide variety of types, and depending on your score, you can earn up to five of the respective gears, which you can then use to improve your abilities or equipment in the appropriate category. For example, in a classic checkpoint race, you can earn a boost and even a jump function for all the cars you drive. That is, if the car doesn't completely ignore your inputs – or at least not as expected. In this way, the most amazing extras await your unlocking. If desired, you can transform your explosives into nozzles that can be attached to anything and, together with the grappling hook, enable crazy ideas that make Just Cause 3 a truly unique sandbox game.
Another unique selling point is the gigantic game world. Several islands feature attractive Italian-style settlements with beautiful surrounding fields. Lively forests, vast quarries, and, of course, various military bases provide some variety. Unfortunately, the game world can no longer be described as particularly dense compared to its predecessor. While the latter boasted a staggering 368 locations, the current installment only manages about a third of that – despite a roughly similar map size. This is especially noticeable on the large main island, which consists almost entirely of mountains with hardly any roads and only a few small military bases. Even with a helicopter, you'll search for quite a while before you can even spot the next settlement. Just Cause 2 offered far more cities and significantly larger military bases. On one very large island, we couldn't find any added gameplay value whatsoever. While it's cool to fly across the beautifully designed volcanic island with a wingsuit, it still leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. While a similar island in the predecessor enticed players with cool Easter eggs and missions, here it strongly resembles paid DLC or unfinished ideas. As a result, we increasingly got the feeling later in the game that the world map was a bit of a sham, since only the lower half is truly vibrant. The same applies to the collectibles. Over 200 collectibles in Just Cause 3 might seem impressive at first glance, but compared to the previous 3000, they are rather disappointing. This means you'll need significantly less time to complete the game. Those unfamiliar with the predecessor will still be impressed by the sheer size, but series veterans, like us, might find their initial enthusiasm somewhat dampened.
Technically, Just Cause has its highs and lows. The developers clearly focused on the explosions, which are flawlessly executed and can't be admired in such splendor in any other game. The draw distance is also impressive, although pop-in is a drawback. This is forgivable, however, as you can traverse the entire game world without encountering a single loading screen. You should currently avoid loading screens as much as possible, since the loading times, which only appear between missions and side quests, are still far too long. All the landscapes are generally very well done, although the quality of the visuals varies depending on the situation. The voice acting, on the other hand, is inconsistent, with Rico's voice being the least impressive. It's definitely still several levels away from the industry's leading voice actors.
