So Sad That I Have to hate this game back when it was first coming out I was excited after the quite good just cause 3 I was going to think this would be good, but sadly it is not.

First Thing I noticed there are nowhere as many destructible objects like in just cause 3 or 2 in that fact and they are not really important as in 3 or 2 (As they were needed to take over bases), This leads to my second point, The base system doesn’t really exist anymore at least as it did, and that’s what I loved about the previous games is the destruction and taking over of bases. Overall this game was pretty disappointing and even with the newer update still not as good as it should be.

I bought JC4 when it was 60% off (fortunately…) because I really enjoyed playing its predecessor, but apart from beautiful landscapes to fly, drive and run around in, JC4 is one big disappointment. The weapon systems are awful, the camera is awful at times, the overall physics have deteriorated since JC3, even flying around with the wingsuit which I loved and did for hours on end in JC3 has lost its fun because of how they changed the physics.

Just Cause 3 was an open-world, mass-destruction masterpiece of nonsense and sheer fun. In JC4, they sucked all the fun out of it by changing one of the key mechanics: conquering territories. In JC3, you accomplished this by destroying all the government and military structures in the area, which makes a sort of sense. Now, to conquer an area, you have to complete all the ridiculous skill challenges: driving, flying, etc. Not only have they removed the reward for blowing things up, they’ve replaced it with something that makes no sense. A failure.

Loved both 2 and 3 when I played them and was really looking forward to playing this but now just feel like replaying JC3 instead. The new game structure is for me horrible and not a patch on the previous installments. After recently playing games a couple of years older than this the graphics are a jarring reminder of a previous generation. Played both JC2 and CJ3 a lot; now meah; just feels more of a chore than anything.

Oh, such a major fail. Since second game I was hooked, but man…. JC4 is a total bummer. I had such high hopes after the Third part. It is the same engine, but they have messed the game play and crippled the fun.

Just do not buy it, if you have to finish it – either wait for a minus 75% discount, rent or borrow,

I pre-ordered Just Cause 4 and eagerly waited several days to be able to play it. Because I bought the Gold Edition, I got to play it 7pm (Cincinnati time) Sunday night, while it released worldwide Tuesday.

My history with Just Cause is that I started playing JC3 February 2017. For years I’d seen it when I’d search for Just Dance (which I’ve been a fan of since 2014), so I was always aware of it. But I didn’t care about it until The Gaming Lemon made a funtage over it. I immediately added it to my Gamefly Q. I fell in love with the game in a similar way I did with Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I even bought all of the DLCs. Like I did with Odyssey. That’s why I bought the Gold Edition. I bought Just Cause 2 on sale earlier this year, but I’m that one weirdo who doesn’t like it.

So when I actually hesitated slightly when it came to pre-ordering Just Cause 4. I was afraid that JC3 would be an anomaly in the series, that I’d like just that one. And at first I thought that’d be the case. One of my favourite things about the third one is blowing up bases. They technically removed that here. You can still blow up stuff in bases, but there’s no list of things in each one to go through. It doesn’t feel as satisfying, because you blow up a ton of stuff in a base, and all it does is add you your overall Chaos Meter. At first this was a negative to me, and it still kind of is. It’s still satisfying blowing stuff up, but not as much.

The number one thing I see people complaining about is the graphics. It doesn’t look like an N64 game like I see so many people saying. There are times when the shadows dance around, and sometimes it looks like the pixels on the ground are alive trying to push past each other. But I honestly don’t notice it unless I deliberately look for it. When I’m wingsuitting around or doing actiony stuff, I don’t notice it. Graphically, my only issue was the tornado itself. The trailers made it look like this epic dark ominous figure with a life of it’s own. It’s actually all white except for the very bottom, and I barely even realise it’s there unless I wingsuit high enough to see it. But that’s the only thing I don’t like about the tornado. The physics around it are really cool.

I’m playing on my Xbox One S, and there was a moment when the tornado was going through a large base, blowing up a ton of stuff, and the game started lagging really bad as though the console couldn’t handle that much stuff going on at once. I don’t think that’s ever happened before, in this or any other game.

Story-wise, there doesn’t seem to be a main story. There’s a bunch of “main-side quests”, and each of them further the story in some way. It’s an interesting way of doing it, basically do the story your own way. I can still follow what’s going on, so it’s not like that makes things confusing. I’m just used to there being a main story questline. There are still the side quests that have to help people or take out this Black Hand person and such.

I really like the new gadgets. The balloons are very useful. When I saw them in the gameplay trailers, I was thinking they were a useless addition, but I use them more than I was excepting I would. Same with the boosters. It’s fun combining the two. Turn anything into a floating rocket.

There’s both more destruction and less destruction in this game. In JC3, you could blow up any bridge. In this one, I have yet to do that. I’ve tried. But pretty much anything else can be destroyed. When I’m driving any vehicle, the only thing that stops me are mountains and certain buildings. Trees and rocks get destroyed by vehicles. I don’t remember if that was a thing is JC3 because I hated driving in that game. This one still has awful driving. Which I was hoping they’d fix since they did Mad Max and that one had great driving, but they were probably hoping everyone would wingsuit around the map….so why put so much emphasis on how many vehicles are in the game? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One thing I didn’t like at first but am starting to really like is how you take over territories. In JC3, you do it by blowing up bases. Do every base in a territory and you take control of that area. In JC4, You do a mission or two in a area, and when you fill up the Chaos Meter you get more rebel squads, allowing you to push the front line further. It was an annoying mechanic at first, but I’m starting to like it the more I play it.

Overall, it’s not better than JC3, but it’s still a great game. I am very much enjoying this game, and it doesn’t have to be better than the previous one to be a good game. If you haven’t played it yet, I do highly recommend it.