Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3
Developer(s)	Avalanche Studios New York division
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Engine	Avalance Engine
Aspect Ratio	4:3 and wide-screen
Resolutions	PC - Up to "4K"; PS4 - 1080p; Xbox One - 900p
Platforms	Microsoft Windows (Vista or later); PlayStation 4; Xbox One
Release Date(s)	Dubai: November 23 or 24, 2015; EU and NA: December 1, 2015; India: December 5, 2015; Japan: January 19, 2016
Genre(s)	Action; Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player; Multiplayer (PC only)
Ratings	ACB: MA 15+; CERO: Z; ClassInd: 16; ESRB: M; OFLC: R13; PEGI: 18; USK: 18
Media	Retail box and digital download
Languages	English; French; Italian; Japanese; German; Spanish; Arabic; Russian; Portuguese; Spanish; Polish (text only)

Just Cause 3 is the third game in the Just Cause game series.

This game is the sequel to Just Cause 2, and is followed by Just Cause 4.

General info

The game was rumored to be under construction for over a year, until it was announced on November 11th, 2014. By the time of the announcement, the game had been worked on for about 3 years.

According to the developers, the Just Cause series is a proper sandbox and they are improving further on that. That means JC3 is even less story-focused. The map is also said to be much more densely full. The story will basically let the player know how to use the tools and the player will be able to use them anywhere.

In comparison to Just Cause 2, the storyline is now much longer, but there are no faction sidemissions. However, there are now Random Encounters (which can re-occur) and a lot more types of races and other challenges.

The game allows players to shoot their way through walls, blow up and pull down even bigger radars and statues, which will shatter into more pieces. You can even blow up an entire bridge if you're being chased on it. "That is the scale of destruction we're after, not really breaking a hole in the wall."

"The Modding community has always been something spectacular in all games and any game that gets the love of the modding community is already in a good spot. A game that's all about the sandbox - really in a good spot." - A developer for Just Cause 3.

The game also has "volumetric terrain", which allows players to explore underground caves and climb tall buildings easier.

Just Cause 3 was officially announced by Square Enix at the 2015 E3 conference on June 16th. The game was released on December 1st, 2015.

This is the sequel to Just Cause 2, released in 2010.

A sequel, Just Cause 4, was released in 2018, three years and three days to the date this game was released.

Setting and plot summary

General Di Ravello took over the nation of Medici (located in a fictional Mediterranean archipelago) when Rico was still a child. Rico's parents were killed during the coup, but Rico managed to escape and eventually join The Agency. Several years after the events of Just Cause 2, Rico has left the Agency and travels back home to Medici to fight Di Ravello in Medici Civil War.

Di Ravello is planning on using Medici's unique explosive and magnetic mineral Bavarium, along with a vast military to conquer the world. There is a rebellion fighting a civil war against him, but it's failing until Rico shows up to aid them.

Medici was reported to be "nearly 400" square miles but also sometimes "just over" 400 square miles. 400 square miles is the size of Panau, but it will be more densely full than Panau.

Special editions

"Day one edition" (preorder). The preorder vehicles have later been released as separate DLC. This pack is also known as "Weaponized Vehicle Pack".
- Weaponized Pescespada SS speedboat with miniguns.
- Weaponized Urga Ogar buggy with machine guns.
- Weaponized Serpente high-end car with rocket-launchers.
Collectors edition. Available for purchase at the Square Enix store. It includes:
- Day one edition of the game.
- 24 x 24 inch (60 x 60 cm) paper map of Medici.
- 32-page book of screenshots/artworks.
- 15 inch (37.5 cm) replica of the JC3 version Grappler.
EB games exclusive day one edition. Available only at EB games.
- Same as the normal "day one edition", but includes a "Capstone Bloodhound RPG".
- A collectors edition bought from them will also include the unique rocket launcher.
"XL edition". This seemed to only be available as a download version. It includes:
- "Day one edition".
- "Air, Land & Sea Pass" with 3 DLC mission packs. Owners of the pass will get Downloadable content for Just Cause 3 one week before it becomes available for separate purchase.
- Exclusive day one Flame Wingsuit and Parachute skins.
Preordering on Steam granted the Final Argument sniper rifle.
Gold Edition. This is available for Xbox One and PS4 only. It includes all of the Downloadable content for Just Cause 3.
- The game.
- Sky Fortress expansion.
- Mech Land Assault expansion.
- Bavarium Sea Heist expansion.
- Weaponized Vehicle Pack (Weaponized Pescespada SS, Weaponized Urga Ogar and Weaponized Serpente).
- Explosive Weapon Pack (Capstone Bloodhound).
- Reaper Missile Mech.
- Kousavá rifle.

List of game features and gameplay info

See Category: Just Cause 3 Vehicles and Category: Just Cause 3 Weapons for more about those subjects. The below list no longer covers those.

Rebel Drop. Similar to the Black Market in Just Cause 2, it allows you to use beacons in exchange for vehicles and weapons.
- Pre-release leaked screenshots appeared to show vehicles available for purchase with real money, introducing micro-transactions into the game. As revealed later by Christofer Sundberg, Avalanche Studios co-founder, and chief creative officer, that is not the case. The game does not have any micro-transactions.
- There is a time limit for how often it's possible to get a vehicle drop from the market. This can be reduced, using gear mods.
- The PDA is shown to have a flexible screen connected to the inside of Rico's left arm.
The game brings back Chaos points, however now they are useless, other than for achievements.
There is a list of objectives and mission info for the province that the player is in on the map.
The Protec Grappler G3 will return and it will look about the same as it does in Just Cause 2. The new grappler will at first have 2 tethers but can be upgraded to 6. Each set of tethers can be used to retract, pulling objects together.
Parachute and Grappler mechanics are vastly improved.
The main antagonist is a dictator - General Di Ravello.
There is a new Wingsuit, used for faster traversal.
The game has lots of different Small Destructibles.
There is a new vehicle unlocking system that ties in with the rebel drop system. Most civilian vehicles become available for delivery if you've driven them to a garage.
Rico can carry 4 different weapons instead of 3 now + explosives. One single-handed weapon on each leg, one two-handed weapon on his back, and one special weapon on his back.
The Stunt positions at the front and back of a car don't exist anymore, but it's possible to freely walk around on the car roof.
The Wingsuit is something you can switch to while in the air. It's possible to switch between the wingsuit and the Parachute.
Rico carries an infinite supply of small triggered explosives, but only 3-5 can be used at a time depending on your active GEAR mods.
Races are back and they work the same as in JC2, but leaderboards are uploaded over the internet.
It's possible to hack SAMs in Medici to make them shoot at government aircraft.
Capstone FH155, anti-aircraft guns, are no longer connected to the ground, so they can be dragged around with a grappler.
There are destructible Di Ravello statues.
Rico used to be a race car driver before joining the Agency.
Mixed quotes from game director Roland Lesterlin and design principal Francesco Antolini:
- Cars have full deformation and hinged parts so they break and parts move. "The feel of it has a full racing engine underneath. We do shocks, downforce, and things that you’d find in a full racing game. All vehicles have modifications, too." Even a bus can be given nitro.
- "In JC3 you can move freely on the wing" (of a plane)", so you could spawn a motorbike on the wing of a plane and ride it off."
- "It buys into that philosophy of an open world that’s at your disposal, if you want to spend a lot of time on challenges, then by all means. If you want to drive a vintage sports car along the Mediterranean coastline and skid around corners, sure. Maybe your big thing is rocket-propelled grenades and huge bases. Because the world is so big, we want to scratch whatever itch you have."
- It's only possible to set 5 Triggered Explosives at a time, but "There are modifications to your equipment which can change the way you play. They're not upgrades in a sense they make you better – you can choose to have an immediate explosion or switch it to be a propellant and you'll see a line of fire come out. You could put it on a dynamic object and it's going to propel it in a certain direction. This way, you can create the Rico you want."
- "...enemy AI adapts to fight back. We thought we had it all sussed when we rolled up for battle in a tank, only to discover the enemies gearing themselves up with RPGs. Helicopters are called in when you take down half the base. Battles escalate quickly and you can easily find yourself biting off more RPG than you can chew, as you're free to roam the world from the moment the tutorial starts."
- "Completely destroy a base and a new challenge becomes available, tentatively named 'Destruction Frenzy'. It's as subtle as it sounds. It’s a Red Faction: Guerilla-inspired affair, where you're given the rebuilt base minus the enemy forces, a set of explosives and told to tear it down in the shortest amount of time."
- "Avalanche has dropped the Black Market and instead has made all weapon and vehicle drops completely open and free. Players said they had to spend lots of money to get a car, a jet or whatever in JC2, so we got rid of that. You can call in anything you want: vehicles, two-handed weapons, specials, whatever. We make a joke about it because it happens so fast. We know people have a strategy, like using a chopper or a certain weapon. We don’t want to hold them back, so we say 'go for it'."
- Grenades have auto-aim when thrown from mid-flight, because "if I’m going to throw a grenade I want to be a cool action hero, and cool action heroes don't miss with grenades".
- Roland Lesterlin (JC3 game director) about Easter Eggs: "So you know, you work on a game for so long, you have to have those days of joy. In fact, a little while ago we said to the whole team: "Like hey guys, whatever you wanna put in the game and hide, you can do it." And so we'd spend some days developing all sorts of crazy stuff that's gonna be in there cause we have so much fun making this game and hopefully that comes through in how the game works and feels. It's hard to say "no". It's really quite hard to say "no", I mean they are so funny and it makes you quite happy just to allow all that exuberance and enthusiasm in developing the game to get in there and we hope the fans like it too."
If you put a marker on the map and get in a vehicle and a faction member is in the car, you can stunt jump to the roof then the faction member will jump to the driver's seat and drive to the marker.
Bridges are destructible, but they respawn.
Gas stations in Medici will respawn.
Missions do not restrict anything. The missions will only give goals, but how these are to be achieved is entirely up to the player.
Missions do not have any actions that can't be done in free-roam. Other than meeting storyline characters.

Downloadable extra content

Main article: Downloadable content for Just Cause 3.

Before launch, Christofer Sundberg reported that "Beyond launch, we are likely to look into DLC packs and items as part of our ambition to support Just Cause 3 and its players for many years to come, but until that time we're completely focused on making the best Just Cause game we possibly can."

There are 3 large expansion packs that add additional areas, missions, vehicles, and weapons. In addition to that, there are a few smaller DLCs that add a few individual vehicles and weapons.

People playing on the PC can also use the Just Cause 3 Multiplayer.

Patches

Main article: Just Cause 3 Patch history.

Official system requirements for PC

Minimum requirements:

Operating system: 64-bit operating system required. Vista SP2 / Windows 7.1 SP1 / Windows 8.1.
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K, 3.3 GHz / AMD Phenom II X6 1075T, 3GHz.
RAM: 8 GB.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (2GB) / AMD Radeon HD 7870 (2GB).
Storage: 54 GB.

Recommended requirements:

Operating system: 64-bit operating system required. Vista SP2 / Windows 7.1 SP1 / Windows 8.1.
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770, 3.4 GHz / AMD FX-8350, 4.0 GHz.
RAM: 8 GB.

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (3GB) / AMD R9 290 (4GB).

Storage: 54 GB.

Reception

Compared to previous games, Just Cause 3 received mixed reviews. The idea that Rico was fighting to liberate his homeland from oppression did receive some praise, but the game itself was criticised for being bland compared to Just Cause 2.

The graphics were relatively improved compared to Just Cause 2, just as more clearer water and sunlight, but the scenery was relatively the same compared to Just Cause 2. Destructible bridges and trains are a "fun" note, but there were significant bugs and glitches that were a big criticism.

Still, the gear mods section of Rico's PDA allowing Rico's grappler and wingsuit to be customized is a very fun feature of the game. This area received praise.

Awards and ratings

According to the PC and Xbox retail box cover, it's the "winner of 10 E3 awards".
According to Machinima, it's the "number one craziest action game".
This game won the "Cry Havoc And Let Slip The Dogs Of War" Award at the 2017 Steam Awards.
IGN and Eurogamer rated this game 8 out of 10 stars.
Screen Rant listed it as the fifth among their "5 Best Open-World Games With Vehicular Combat, Ranked".

Trivia

Gameinformer.com was given exclusive publishing rights for all new info during the first month after the announcement. People from that site reported having gotten to play the game for several hours.
A few screenshots that were leaked a few days before the announcement (see below in the gallery) indicated that the new Black Market will use real money and introduce micro-transactions into the game. Christofer Sundberg, Avalanche Studios co-founder, and the chief creative officer has denied this and explained that the game will not have any microtransactions. "To be perfectly clear: Just Cause 3 will be available in 2015 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC. It will be distributed as a retail box and digital download. It is not a "Free To Play" game. It does not feature in-game microtransactions." According to avalanchestudios.com, those screenshots show how they were considering different business models. That model was cancelled.
See the locked archive page Just Cause 3 News for all the info that was slowly leaked and published before the announcement. The game was rumored to be under construction for over a year.
By the time of the announcement, the game had been worked on for about 3 years (since 2011). We know this because that's when the earliest known game artworks were drawn and when Roland Lesterlin was hired for "Project Mamba".
During development, the codename for the game was "Project Mamba".
Members of the development team that created "Burnout" have worked on JC3 to improve vehicle handling.
This is one of the first nine games in the world to use Denuvo "anti-tamper technology", which is hoped to eliminate game piracy in the future.
Until Just Cause 4's mixed mission structure exceeding 30 or more, this game had the most storyline missions of any Just Cause game with 22 in total, exceeding Just Cause (1)'s 19 (though technically 21 due to the three parts).
Until Mech Land Assault and/or Bavarium Sea Heist, it was possible to go through the entire game without a special weapon. While it certainly makes the game harder without a special weapon, this was still technically possible.
- Rico wields a UVK-13 with unlimited rocket propelled grenades during Welcome Home, but drops it when Di Ravello's CS7 Thunderhawks force Rico's Urga U17 Akrobat to make a sharp turn. Rico falls into the canyon below and eventually reaches a small area with some dead rebels and finds another UVK-13. The weapon is not required to be picked up though, and never during any subsequent part of the game is Rico made to pick up a special weapon.
- Mech Land Assault requires Rico to pick up two Power Cores during the first mission, but again a special weapon is not required at any other point during the DLC.
- Bavarium Sea Heist requires Rico to pick up the eDEN Spark in the laboratory, marking only the second time a special weapon is required to be picked up, assuming one does Bavarium Sea Heist after Mech Land Assault.
Obviously every game in the series has had its differences, but this was the first Just Cause game to have bullpup firearms. This was also the first game with collectibles that could only be obtained through a DLC. The M488 is also arguably the most powerful weapon in the Just Cause Game Series so far. The eDEN Spark does have infinite "ammunition," but the damage per second seems smaller than the M488. This is also the first game where Rico's health bar was replaced but at the cost of what appears to be less tolerance towards being hit more often.
This is so far the only game in the Just Cause Game Series that can be completed to 100%.
- Just Cause 2's highest percentage is 99.95% (or .98) because of some missing items the developers forgot to put in.
- Just Cause 4's highest percentage is 98% overall because Danger Rising cannot be completed beyond 92% for unknown reasons.

Gallery

Artworks

Info sheets and others

Game editions

Screenshots

Most, if not all the screenshots here are promotional ones from developers. This explains some otherwise unobtainable (or just difficult to obtain) camera angles.