Just Cause 3 is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. Announced on November 11, 2014, it is the third game in the Just Cause series and the sequel to 2010's Just Cause 2. It was released worldwide on December 1, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Set six years after its predecessor, Just Cause 3 follows series protagonist Rico Rodriguez as he returns to his homeland of Medici, a fictional Mediterranean island country under the control of dictator General Sebastiano Di Ravello. The game is played from a third-person perspective and allows players to explore the island of Medici in an open world environment.
Just Cause 3 received mixed reviews; critics praised its open-ended gameplay, destruction mechanics and emphasis on player agency, while criticism was directed at its narrative, which some considered clichéd and uninspired, and performance issues, particularly on the console versions of the game.
A sequel, Just Cause 4, was released on December 4, 2018.
Gameplay
Just Cause 3 is an action-adventure game, played from a third-person perspective. It is set in an open world environment of a fictional Mediterranean island known as Medici with Rico Rodriguez set as the protagonist. The world size is 400 square miles (1,000 km2), similar to that of the setting of Just Cause 2. However, its volumetric terrain has increased to allow more verticality – as a result of this, it is possible for the player to explore subterranean caverns and to scale buildings more effectively and realistically. The game's world is composed of five major biomes, with each having unique landmarks and landscapes.
A variety of tools are provided to players for traversal in the game. Just Cause 2's signature features – the grappling hook and parachute – re-appear with improved mechanics. The focus on chaos and exaggerated physics also remain. A new wingsuit, which is permanently equipped by Rico, is featured in the game and allows the player to glide across the world in a much faster way. When the player almost reaches the ground while using the wingsuit, they can draw themselves back up in the air by using grapples. Players can switch between using the parachute and wingsuit freely. In addition to the equipment provided, a wide range of weapons, like assault rifles, missile launchers, shotguns, RPGs, and vehicles, such as fighter aircraft, planes, ships, and exotic cars, are included in the game. These vehicles can be customized by the player and can be used as weapons.
Other game mechanics have been overhauled and updated. For example, Rico has the ability to attach and tether multiple objects together with his grappling hook, with the amount of tethers available increase by activating in-game 'mods', earned by completing challenges. Parachuting is also more stable and allows players to shoot enemies from the air. The player can grapple to every object and non-playable character in the game, with the use of the grappling hook. In-game currency has been left out of Just Cause 3, making the series' supply drops more easily accessible and imaginative for the player. However, this affects difficulty; for example, if the player chooses to ride a tank, the enemy AI matches the power of it and adopts weapons that are able to take down a tank. Another new feature is giving the character infinite C4. The C4 can be placed free over the world by the player but only three at a time, though by using the in-game featured 'mods', up to five can be deployed. Unlike previous installments that required players to purchase C4, Just Cause 3 instates this weapon to allow for more chaos. In Just Cause 2 players were able to stand on top of moving vehicles but only in the center; players are allowed to move around on vehicles freely in Just Cause 3. Players are expected to liberate hostile military bases and towns featured in the game, and they will act as fast travel locations thereafter.
Creativity and destruction are heavily emphasized in Just Cause 3, with many things in the game, including structures like bridges and statues, providing a variety of ways to be destroyed. A new mechanic called Rebel Drop was introduced. It allows the player to pause the game to select equipment, weapons, and vehicles through a pause menu. The selected objects are dropped into the game's world and can be used by players. The game also features Challenge Modes. It includes mini-games like wingsuit races and the destruction frenzy mode, in which new objectives and challenges are unlocked when the player destroys an enemy base.
Despite the multiplayer mod of Just Cause 2 being well received by players, the game only featured asynchronous multiplayer, in which challenges and leaderboards were included instead of any cooperative or competitive multiplayer mode, as the studio wanted to focus their manpower, time and resources in creating the game's world.
Plot
Six years after the events of Just Cause 2, mercenary Rico Rodriguez returns to his homeland of Medici, a fictional Mediterranean island country that has fallen under the control of a military dictatorship led by General Sebastiano Di Ravello. Seeking to restore freedom to his people, Rico sets out to overthrow Di Ravello alongside an underground resistance movement led by his oldest friend, Mario Frigo.
After helping Mario save his forces from complete extermination at the hands of the regime, Rico reunites with another old ally from his past, Dimah al-Masri. With his help, the rebels retake the former Medician capital of Manaea and destroy the Vis Electra power plant, a symbol of Ravello's power. In response, troops are sent to destroy the coastal town of Costa del Porto as retribution, only to be defeated by the rebels. Dimah and her team inform Rico and Mario that Di Ravello has been mining Bavarium, a valuable mineral found only on Medici, so that he can use it to build the most powerful arsenal the world has ever seen.
