Explosions from start to end: an hour of Just Cause 3 gameplay

For all intents and purposes, without wanting to take away from the narrative and plot baked into the island of Panau (the island Just Cause 2 is set on), Just Cause 2 was essentially a ‘splosion sandbox.

The thing is, while it’s evident that Avalanche Studios knew what they were developing, we don’t think they knew just quite how well it would be received, nor that it would evolve into something else entirely.

It’s overarching story and characters didn’t actively discourage what we wanted to do, but for us at least, they were a little dull and far from the most interesting thing. More often than not, we only followed the story so that it might grant us new things to destroy, grappling hook in hand.

Just Cause 3, it seems, is an entirely different beast.

Avalanche Studios knows exactly what Just Cause 3 is about, and it’s clear from the hour of gameplay shown, as well as from hands-on time we’ve had, that it’s about granting the player as many tools as is possible to paint their own portrait of destruction upon the canvas that is Medici.

Characters are more vibrant; the tools at hand are more destructive; and everything else begs you to have fun. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.

It’s weird how excited we are for Just Cause 3, perhaps because at its heart it’s a game that, more than anything else this year, does everything it can to encourage having fun.

The Witcher 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and just about every other big game this year have just been so serious. Just Cause 3 feels like a vacation.