Just Cause 3

Long load times, sluggish frame-rate and awful shooting would usually be the end of an action game. Just Cause 3 just about gets away with it though thanks to the hugely open approach to carnage with the likes of grappling hooks, parachutes, wingsuits, rocket launchers, infinite C4, tanks, choppers and the freedom to do whatever you want with them.

It can start to feel monotonous after a while, and the presentation may not exactly be top-notch stuff, but the load times really dampen the experience. If you can live with all of that and just want some mindless gaming fun, Just Cause 3 fits the bill.

Just Cause 3 is a wonderfully constructed open-world, that successfully builds on its predecessor’s legacy with humour and aplomb. The key problem however is that at the moment there are too many technical problems which hamper play. You’ll want to be wild and free, blowing everything to hell in a variety of ways, and so often you can be, but that only serves to emphasize those moments where Just Cause 3 struggles to keep up.

Just Cause 3 can be a rather fun game, but it's not the sequel we were hoping for. There are some very impressive things to be found within its large-scale and explosive quest, and on its insanely large world of Medici, but technical problems and dated mechanics hold it back from living up to its potential.

Predictably enjoyable, Just Cause 3 is as big and ballsy as its forebear, but doesn't push the envelope quite enough. Yet, if it's action and explosions you seek, then look no further. Just Cause 3 is still the most fun you can have with a gun, a grapple and infinite parachutes. Boom.

Just Cause 3 is a no-frills game mainlyborn to let us play with destruction and over-the-top physics. Unfortunately there isn't much meat around this core skeleton, leaving it lacking in story and content variety.

The lasting memories of Just Cause 3 will be the small moments where everything comes together to make the most insignificant action feel like a unique event. The fact that all of the mechanics work together so seamlessly is impressive, but the magic is fleeting.

Ambitious in both scale and scope but sadly is just too much for the console hardware it will be mostly played on.

Unfortunately Just Cause 3 turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of this year. It’s marred by erratic frame rate, excruciatingly long loading times accompanied by extremely basic mission design, and an island that seems like it was enlarged tenfold by just copying and pasting the same environmental assets over and over again.

At times it feels like the mad power trip it ought to be – but repetitive action soon sucks the joy out of its amazing explosions, and unnecessary restrictions get in the way of the fun.

The core action is explosively silly in all the best ways, but the controls, missions, and story structure are all disappointingly underdeveloped.