Just Cause 3: Hell for tether

Just Cause 2 was the game that showed off just how spectacular grappling hooks could be. in 2010, they were leading man Rico’s tool of choice, and when coupled with the unlimited parachute also proved a legitimate way of traversing the sort-of asian jungle and city of Panau, with every single pixel available to be tethered onto and used  to chain together improbable items for maximum comedy. our favourite was the man-and-propane-tank combo.

So what’s better than one grappling hook? three, of course. or maybe five. avalanche Software isn’t exactly sure what’s best right now, and it’s still messing around. it’s not that the studio is limited by technical restraints, as even in the pre-alpha build we got our hands on, Rico’s new mediterranean playground was utterly beautiful, and three tethers were enough to concoct monstrous creations. a man and two propane tanks? madness! or, perhaps a helicopter tethered to concrete heads of statues you’ve toppled, being used as wrecking balls. or, a chopper tethered to a jet tethered to a sports car, just like a playboy billionaire.

Not that their use is limited to simply ferrying stuff around. You can set and forget the tethers, but lt’s been reassigned as a remote power winch. with according pressure, you can either collide your daisy chain of items together like they’re being sucked into a vortex, or gently reeled into just the right spot. we’re already imaging the ‘xbox, record that’ moments.

more? Rico’s parachute has been tweaked to be much more stable in flight, which is nice and all, but what’s really ballistic is a brand-new wingsuit, hit Y at any time you’re airborne and you’re away for a faster way to lark through the skies. and, like the ’chute, you can flick out the grapple, point it at anything within reach and use the ‘reel in’ prompt to accelerate across, over and now under the 400-square-mile landscape. Set your jaw to ‘gawp’ and wait for next’s month’s massive hands-on report.

What’s better than one grappling hook? three, of course. or maybe five

Just Cause 3

QTE bye
Those tempo-ruining, multi-button QTEs that popped up when you were hijacking a helicopter have been banished in favour of a tiny time penalty, signified by rico using, what else, an explosive to get into his vehicle of choice.

Mile High
Secrets are secret for a reason, but you can bet your last bullet that the infamous, bawdy mile High Club establishment will be here, careening around in the skies. it’s been in the last two games.

Get your meds
rico’s somewhere in the mediterranean, with its stucco walls and glorious poppy fields, and enormous mountain ranges with a skull carved into the side of them. What? Why? because it’s fun, that’s why.

Ammo Nation
Not wanting you to be short of ways of making things go boom, rico now has unlimited C-4. Although  they can no longer be thrown, you can lay five at a time. retreat to a safe distance and hit the detonator.

Ay Carboomba
Vehicles have been totally overhauled courtesy of an ex-Criterion staffer, but playtest stats show that cars generally only last about 30 seconds before they’re either been destroyed through ineptitude or better used as a weapon.