Spoiler alert: A selfie joke doesn’t save this game’s mediocrity

Before Just Cause 3’s release, I thoroughly appreciated what it was trying to accomplish. From what I had seen based off of preview footage, developer interviews and commentaries, and overall trailers, I assumed the game would fix the fundamental issues of Just Cause 2, while also adding a new level of mindless fun, something akin to a video game equivalent of Fast & Furious, or any other over-the-top Hollywood flick. Just Cause 3 achieves some of this, but with mostly middling results. It’s issues are wide and varied, but the biggest and most overlooked of all, is that it doesn’t have any personality. It builds this huge big world that quickly becomes so monotonous, it can only be enjoyable if accompanied with something else, such as music or a podcast. Although, it’s quite ironic that this is where the game tends to shine. Here are three reasons why Just Cause 3 is the best background game of 2015.

It’s story is practically non-existent

The only glimpse you get of Di Ravello in the first five hours

After a credits intro reminiscent of something only the best blockbuster directors could only dream of, Just Cause 3 cuts abruptly to Rico doing a mission with his friend Sheldon. Although we are given previous context to Rico’s overall situation in Medici, the game never explains how he got to that specific point. It breaks the immersion, and just goes to show how little development was put into the story structure of this game, something that could have been easily fixed. Because of this, everything is given a non-descript moral value. We rarely see how bad the General Di Ravello is in the first couple of hours, something that rarely happens with a villain in games. (Pagan Min and Skul Face were done way better!) This is a huge criticism of Just Cause 3 for me, but it also adds to it’s hidden meaning as a backdrop more than a playground. Giving so little care to the story as a whole makes killing hordes of enemies a lot less troubling and a lot more whimsical, attracting to a more inattentive experience.

There’s no in game radio or morale system

One of the few and better developed missions in the game

In addition to losing proper gameplay mechanics such as a sprint button, Just Cause 3 has no in game radio or morale system. As much as this can feel like a last-minute addition in an open-world game, I believe that it always adds more identity to the task at hand. Just simply hearing about General Di Ravello’s next evil plan would have made the game so much better, and given a sense of adrenaline rush to get to the next mission, and so on. An absent morale mode is also a big issue, because your soldiers never cheer you on. They just help you as much as a standard NPC would, giving little to no feedback on Rico’s actions to the city. Removing these two features gives the game far less weight, adding another notch to it’s mindlessness.

The missions are overly repetitive

Believe it or not, this gets old quick.

Unfortunately, Just Cause 3 is one of the many games where you get more upgrades and gadgets the farther you progress, basically turning the whole thing into a grind due to it’s repetitious level design. Almost every mission involves destroying a base, hacking SAM’s, freeing prisoners, and so on. There’s very little freedom even with items like the grappling hook and wingsuit at hand, and adds to an overall monotony, something that is better alongside another entertainment distraction. In yet another way, Just Cause 3’s biggest disappointments equal a more disjointed experience, depending on how you are playing.

Conclusion

One of the few times Just Cause 3 can achieve greatness. (Picture taken from The Chive)

All of Just Cause 3’s problems specifically falter to remove a proper satisfaction from the player. In order not to land with a resounding thud gameplay wise (due to all the things it’s missing) it’s purpose serves to be complimented by something else. Again and again, the game misses a huge attempt for single-player reactions, and only really works with friends or any other amusing interference. It’s the best background game of 2015 not because it’s generic, it’s because no other recent game has felt so effortless.