Developer: Avalanche Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
Just Cause 3 Gold Edition – Review
It’s been nearly a year and a half since Just Cause 3 was released, and while it had its fair share of small bugs, it proved to be another wacky adventure in the Just Cause series. Now, the Gold Edition has hit the shelves and we were curious to see how this title would hold its own amongst the many new releases this last year brought us. Once again we found ourselves blowing up entire cities, massacring hordes of communist soldiers and looting nice rides, all for the liberation of Medici. We’ll not be diving into the specifics that much in this revisit of the game, but you can always check out our original review of Just Cause 3, by clicking here.
Story
You’ll be playing as Rico Rodriguez, and ex-CIA agent, who decides to go back home to Medici, and archipelago in the Mediterranean sea. You don’t get a hearty welcome however, as your home is currently under the yoke of an evil dictator, Di Ravello, who will not allow any opposition to his ideas. From here on out, you’ll, for once go on a mission to save your own home and family, rather than to follow the orders of the American government. As expected, the plot is quite simple and it remains as such for the duration of the game. Then again, games such as this don’t really need an elaborate plot to work.
Graphics
Just Cause 3 is still a Mediterranean open world bliss, where you’ll be treated to beautiful environments, a lot of life in the streets, and of course ‘original’ cars, and a hefty amount of explosions that will accompany you from start to finish. The DLC packs take away a bit from the realism as you’ll find yourself entangled with robots and a flying city, but overall things remain in the same style as the rest of the game.
Nonetheless, it’s clear that this game is already more than a year old, as it doesn’t really stress the potential of our current generation of consoles, and still many of the bugs that were present when we wrote our original review are still there, where you seem stuck in buildings, experience frame drops and see poorly animated shadows of cloud formations and so on. Luckily these bugs don’t really interfere with the otherwise fun gameplay mechanics.
Sound
Explosions, cheesy one-liners and proper voice acting carry this game from start to finish, as the game is all about destroying the many government installations on Medici. The game has proper voice acting, albeit with sometimes very tacky accents, but they contribute to the overall ‘action movie’ atmosphere this game is aiming for. Nonetheless, while all of this is quite decent, the music is fairly nonexistent. The latter may not be a big issue, seeing the sounds of gunfire and destruction will certainly entertain you for quite some time, but it would have been nice to have some action packed music to go along with everything.
Gameplay
The Gold Edition of Just Cause 3 is still an open world action-adventure game where you’ll occupy yourself with liberating Medici from the evil clutches of Di Ravello. You’ll be roaming around the world, pretty much doing as you like, or following the storyline, but you can opt to do whatever you want, whenever you like. If you fancy taking out the opposition first, before digging into the story, it might even help you in the long run, as you take down bases, you’ll also face less opposition during missions. Or if you’d rather stay away from such monotone tasks, you can simply play the story missions and be done with it. Of course, this package comes with the DLC, which is more of the same, albeit in a different setting, namely one which has a few naval battles, and one that revolves around robotic invaders and a flying city. That being said, the gameplay remains the same, and it’s simply a fun addition to an already explosive game.
You’ll still have a few fun goodies at your disposal, be it in the form of a limited arsenal of weapons, which can be replenished by utilizing the many weapon lockers on the map, or your trusty grappling hook, which allows you to move around rapidly on the map, help you soar through the air when your parachute is open, or simply tether enemies, buildings and explosives together to create many hilarious sights. This is one of those games that revolves around a gimmick, namely the grappling hook, but it is done in such a great fashion that it simply works.
Of course, just like we mentioned in our initial review of the game, not everything this game throws at you is top content, as you’ll have to deal with fairly simpleminded enemy AI, who forget all about your presence even though you just shot a dozen of their compatriots, poor loading times, shoddy camera angles and a mod system that feels a bit underwhelming, as you’ll only be able to earn mods, after completing things that are supposed to be side content. Nonetheless, most of these items will never become really bothersome, but they do take away from the fun this game has to offer.
Conclusion
Just Cause 3 Gold Edition is more of the same for those who already own Just Cause 3, and for those players it might just be interesting to check out the DLC, rather than repurchase a game they already own. Players who were on the fence for this title, but love to roam around freely, while blowing up half of the map, should certainly check this one out, not only for the base game, but the fun DLC content as well. While some aspects may already feel a bit dated, the game is still very entertaining, albeit a bit monotone at times.
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