E3 2018: Behind Closed Doors with Just Cause 4

Heading into E3, there are always bookings being made for Unannounced Title, sometimes these turn out to be new games, other times the next in a series, so when I was offered the chance to check out a new title from Square Enix, I honestly had no idea what to think, but when I checked in and found out it was Just Cause 4, I was excited.

Being that what I got to see was a behind closed doors demo, I was not able to play the game, but myself, along with around 25 other people, including Rage 2 director Magnus Nedfors. Sitting down on a comfy bench and donning a pair of headphones, the rep from Avalanche Studios took us through the game, show casing just how crazy things are in Just Cause 4, which to be honest, was not something that I thought could be increased, given how crazy things got in the third game.

It is something to note now, while Avalanche Studios is making both Rage 2, Generation Zero and Just Cause 4, the first two are being made in their Sweden studio, while Just Cause 4 is being handled by the New York studio, with the same team responsible for Just Cause 3, so the people know what they are doing and speaking of that, one of the things they have changed for this game, is adding a heap of features to the grappling hook, based on player feedback. Now, you can still use it as you like, from past games, using it to pull yourself up to higher levels, or zipping around the world and so on, but now you can add options to it. The retract is a mode anyone who has played Just Cause before should know about, but you can now jump in and add another mode to it, in the case of the demo, we got the pulse added, the results were hilarious.

Perhaps if you have seen the E3 trailer, you might have noticed that weather seems to be a big factor to the game, in the demo I was shown, wind especially was crucial. In the air, you can see how the wind is blowing, as it kicks up dust and debris, that floats on the wind, Rico then jumped from a cliff and deployed the shoot, it was at this point that the person playing just removed their hands from the controller, to show that the wind was now guiding where Rico went, as they were no long attempting to correct the destination. Later on, we were presented with a look at a mission, where Rico has to help a tornado take out an airport that is controlled by the baddies, the problem is, they have a host of air cannons around that can cancel it out, so destruction is key.

The thing with the Just Cause 4 demo, is even while they were following a pre-planed path, things were constantly acting differently, which is a tribute to the level of chaos that the series is known for, my issue is, I am not sure if the game presents enough of a change from the last game. I have no played Just Cause 4, sadly, but from watching it, unless you were told it was number 4, you might think it was number 3 and I don’t know if people were asking for another already, of course, for now, only time will tell how it goes.