Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 may not trump its predecessor in every way, but it does excel beyond Just Cause 2 in its sheer creative freedom. The new tools and tweaks to old ones work great, it’s just up to gamers to discover how best to use them. Having so many choices you lose track of them is one of the best things any game can offer, and Just Cause 3 does so in spades.

In spite of some technical setbacks and repetitive tasks, Just Cause 3 delivers the kind of stress-relieving destruction to get you through the doldrums. It's easily the best looking game of the series thus far, and the awesome gameplay will have you continue to think up ways to bring down enemies. You're due a holiday vacation, and Rico's trip will certainly fulfill the need.

Those that found JC2 underwhelming or repetitive won’t find much to change their mind here, but for fans like myself that simply can’t get enough destruction, Just Cause 3 delivers on all levels.

Just Cause 3 entertains at first with its symphony of destruction, but becomes repetitive. [Jan 2016]

Just Cause 3 is the game for you, so long as the game you’re looking for is almost exclusively about bending the laws of man, nature and physics until they break for comedic effect.

It’s a solid and light-hearted game that offers a sprawling open-world playground for you to explore and destroy in as many creative and humorous ways as you can imagine. There are bugs that need to be addressed, it lacks the depth of other games in its genre, and it can be repetitive over long periods of play, but in short bursts of a couple of hours or so there’s no hiding from the fact that being given the freedom to blow things up to your heart's content provides some of the most chaotic fun you’ll find on the Xbox One right now.

The sound of every gun and explosion are incredible and make it very difficult to not play this one with the surround sound on and the volume turned up way too loud.

Just Cause 3 is an over-the-top blast that embraces the term “sandbox” more literally — and un-apologetically — than any other game in the genre. If you’re seeking substance and depth, wandering Fallout 4's RPG wasteland might be more your speed. If you want to ride a weapon of mass destruction like a hobby horse, however, you'll want to consider joining Just Cause 3's rebellion.

Avalanche does a good job of giving players access to new tools just as it seems the novelty is close to wearing off, right until the end. By the time I finished clearing out the final outpost, however, I was definitely ready to move on. Medici’s a great place to visit, but I’m not prepared to make it a new home – certainly not considering the state I left it in.