Avalanche's New York studio is ready to tackle the new installment of the highly explosive, go-anywhere sandbox series Just Cause. Grappling ace Rico Rodriguez is back, but this time he's traveling to his come country, a fictional Mediterranean island nation called Medici to fight off another evil dictatorship. What will Rico do when he gets to Medici? As you can see in these screens, he'll blow a lot of stuff up.

Just Cause 3 takes place several years after the second entry. You might not be able to tell from these screens, but Rico has been significantly aged since his last outing. Now he’s returned to Medici in order to fight General Di Ravello who has set up an oppressive regime in his backyard. As you can see in this screen, Rico will get a lot of height during the game, thanks to a grapple mechanic that allows him to hook onto nearly any object, including enemies and passing aircraft. A new wing suit allows Rico to reach untold new speeds while free falling.

Just Cause has always been about crazy explosive action, and Just Cause 3 is no exception. Avalanche Studios has spent a significant amount of time retooling the game’s controls, which now feel a lot tighter. Several ex-members of the Burnout team have also worked to make sure that the vehicle handling is a lot more fun, which is something the series has needed for some time.

We didn’t get much of a look at any of the main story missions, but Avalanche did let us tool around the environments and explore Just Cause 3’s emergent gameplay. The game features a 400 square mile map, and the team wants to let players explore any of the three main areas from the very beginning. Throughout this journey players will attack several enemy bases and destroy propaganda billboards, statues, loudspeakers before installing their own forces in the town. Once Rico “owns” these towns, he can use them to fast travel, lay low and dissipate heat, or save vehicles that he can then call in as a supply drop later on.

Be sure to visit our Just Cause 3 cover hub for updates on the game throughout the month, including hands-on impressions and videos with the team about the creation of the studio.

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