Just Cause 3 is a worthy successor to Just Cause 2 because it manages to improve upon its predecessor in just about every way. My only real complaints about the game (see my review) revolves around the unstable framerate and the fact that there's practically nothing to do after the game is beaten and all enemy areas are cleared. Sure, players can return to Medici and have a blast experimenting with Rico's various tools and weaponry, but there's no one to shoot and no enemy assets to blow up. While the second add-on, titled Just Cause 3: Mech Land Assault, doesn't fix the framerate issue, it definitely gives players several reasons to start a new game from scratch!
This add-on comes in two forms. One is a standalone version that offers two giant mechs and several new missions on a gigantic new island that measures 19 square kilometers. The second version gives players everything that's included in the first version, but it also lets players take the mechs and any new weapons and abilities back into the original game and use them whenever they please. Not surprisingly, the second version requires players to have a digital or disc copy of the original game. I think this is a great idea because not everyone bought the original, so everyone still has the opportunity to enjoy this expansion.
Another cool feature of Mech Land Assault is that it also gives players the upgraded wingsuit from the first expansion called JC3: Sky Fortress. This upgraded version basically transforms the wingsuit into a jetpack that lets players fly around indefinitely via a new boost button. In addition to easier flight, the jetpack is armed with machine guns and guided missiles that turn players into a human jet fighter. This is both good and bad because while it can be fun to fly around without worrying about crashing, it's not challenging at all. I actually prefer using the tether and gravity, along with the wingsuit, to propel me through the air. Fortunately, the ability to switch between tether-propulsion and jet-propulsion is literally at the tip of my fingers.
As for JC3: Mech Land Assault, I had a lot of fun with the new mechs. These mighty beasts are over twenty feet tall, and both have the same basic features with the only difference being their main weapon. Both mechs have a powerful punch that smashes buildings and sends infantry and vehicles flying through the air. In addition, they're highly maneuverable and can leap in the air and perform an extremely deadly ground pound. I was also able to jump into the air and punch flying helicopters, ending their reign of destruction in one move. It was really fun to experiment with these two mechs, and finding one to use was easy because I can have one delivered by using the rebel-drop feature.
Each mech also has a unique main weapon that sets them apart from each other. One mech has a rail-gun type of weapon that causes explosions and rocks enemies to the core. However, I much prefer the other mech's gravity-gun as it offers more variety. This highly versatile weapon lets players pick up enemy soldiers and vehicles from a short distance and toss them through the air or slam them to the ground. It's even possible to grab low-flying jets with this weapon if players time it correctly. In addition, the devs saw numerous videos that players have made of themselves stacking large metal shipping containers, so they decided to offer the ability to gently place items on the ground or on top of other items. This will surely make stacking shipping containers much easier, and I'm sure many players will sink hours into this inventive player-created feature of the game.
I can't wait to take the mechs from Just Cause 3: Mech Land Assault, which releases on June 3, back into Medici and play a new game on hard difficulty. It will be tons of fun to smash through buildings and tear through towns in these lethal mechanical beasts. Just imagine picking up train cars and tossing them through the air or causing a fifty-car pile-up on the freeway! Hmm…I wonder if I could slingshot one of them into the air using detachable tethers, grapple to it, and then take control before it hits the ground. Oh, the possiblities…
