Developer: Avalanche Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Available On: PS4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, PC
Released: December 1st, 2015
The Just Cause franchise is an interesting one. The second entry in the series was an under-the-radar open world sandbox game, which suddenly became incredibly popular when some independent programmers created a mod that added a multiplayer option to the already chaotic single player experience. The ability to run around an open world with a bunch of people where explosions are as common as blades of grass was irresistible to many, and led to an increased amount of anticipation for the third game, Just Cause 3, which was released this week.
Avalanche Studios, which had a moderate hit earlier this year with Mad Max, brings back the delightful anarchy that has been a trademark of the series, and while there is no multiplayer to speak of (at least until the mod community cobbles one together again), this game is an incredible feast of guns, cars, helicopters, and enough C4 to blow everything up five times over. In addition, Just Cause 3 has seemingly found the perfect form of open world travel, as a combination of a parachute, a wingsuit, and the ability to fire tethers at practically anything to pull yourself along lead to most purely enjoyable flight simulator ever found in a video game, a sensation that, thanks to an extremely generous physics engine, you can feel at a moment’s notice. Trust us, once you start sailing through the environment on your incredibly responsive wingsuit, you’ll never want to walk (or drive) anywhere ever again.