Several years ago, I wanted to play Just Cause 2; but I never got around to it. When I heard about Just Cause 3, I wasn't going to allow another Just Cause game to get away from me, so I played it as soon as I had an open spot in my gaming schedule. Little did I know; I would spend the next three months playing it!
[Combat]
At its core, Just Cause 3 is a third-person shooter. However, if you find yourself in close quarters with an enemy or two, you can perform a little shoulder charge to get you out of trouble. Depending on the enemy; you'll either kill him or temporarily stun him. It's very simplistic, but I enjoyed doing it. The combat can get hot and heavy in a matter of seconds, which can lead to a lot of deaths; if you're not careful. In most of the third-person games I've played; you're able to take cover behind objects when the going gets tough; but not in Just Cause 3. There's no such thing as "taking cover", and you're strongly encouraged to run out in the middle of the fray, which is right up my alley. If you need to regenerate your health, your best bet would be simply running away or using your grappling hook to quickly leave the scene and your health will replenish on its own. I can't begin to tell you how many different ways I've died! If you can think of it, it's probably happened to me. I've died from grenades, bombs, guns, rocket launchers, melee attacks, getting run over by vehicles, drowning, falling, helicopter missile guns, etc -- And that's just to name a few ;)
[Weaponry]
Regarding weapons; Just Cause 3 is everything a game like Uncharted 4 isn't. You have a TON to choose from; for starters. I'm not necessarily a 'gun guy'; so I'll refrain from naming each and every one. There are three main weapons at your immediate disposal -- A two handed gun, dual guns, and a special weapon. My two handed weapon of choice was the Ump; the dual weapon I chose were some type of machine guns, while my 'special' weapon was a rocket launcher (Capstone Hydra) that fired several rockets at once! Yes, it's as cool as it sounds. There's one more weapon I saved for last. My favorite, by far; are the C4 explosives! First of all; you can never run out of them. Secondly; there's nothing quite like planting a few explosives on a massive fuel tank and watching it blow to smithereens! In a game like Just Cause 3; it probably goes without saying you'll be able to use just about anything as a weapon, if you get sick of your traditional weapons. For example; you can take flight in a chopper and make use of its mini guns and missile launcher. Or, feel free to be creative and use your grappler as a weapon.
[Enemies]
As to be expected with a game like this; enemies are probably the only weak point. You'll have your run-of-the-mill military personnel, and that's about it. Believe me when I tell you the lack of enemy variety doesn't make the game any less fun. Heck, I've taken down more military bases and settlements than I can count; and not once, did I get bored of it, regardless of the 'meh' enemies. It's important to note that you'll be attacked from land, air, and sea. If you're lucky; you'll have to deal with all three at once :) There's just one boss battle, and to be honest; it wasn't too bad.
[Miscellaneous]
There are quite a few things to hunt down and collect; to scratch that 'exploration itch' in all of us. I really wish Just Cause 3 kept track of how many hours I spent playing because I'm thinking the number of hours I logged is north of 100. There are more sidemissions and mini games than I was able to keep track of; so you'll have plenty to do in between missions.
Just Cause 3 is a beautiful open world game with a massive map that offers plenty to do. It exceeded my expectations and kept me busy for hours. In my opinion, it's a vastly underrated game that deserves to be given a chance. Rise of the Tomb Raider; you're up next!
