Rico can jack any vehicle he finds and wreck havoc. Rico’s wingsuit helps him glide around and his ever-useful parachute prevents deathly spills, but most of his time is likely to be spent GTA-style. Aside from letting Rico scale heights and zip around the world quickly, the grapple is great for hooking two objects together and then smashing them into each other.All those exploding barrels the General’s army conveniently leaves around are the perfect tools for destroying fuel tanks, vehicles, flimsy buildings, humans… whatever. The game is remarkably generous in how it lets you blow up the world around you, especially when it comes to Rico’s trademark grappling hook. While Far Cry offered various ways to do that-stealthy and otherwise-Rico isn’t into stealth. Just as in Far Cry 3 and 4, the great joy of the action is creatively taking down enemy posts.

Just Cause 3 takes the same general template of the past games and other open world games like Far Cry: you explore, kill bad guys and take over enemy-occupied territory to reduce the General’s influence and power. Rolling hills, beautiful beaches, pristine seas, gorgeous small towns and cities, and more await as Rico explores, destroys and inflicts his own special brand of freedom on everything in his path. Around 400 square miles worth of it, to be more exact. There’s a far bit of exposition in the first couple hours that slogs the pace for those just wanting to jump in, but once past that, Medici is completely up for grabs. So, Rico-with the help of a few plucky and surprisingly diverse friends-is hell bent on taking back the island and ending the rule of the vile generalissimo. In this case, that island is the Republic of Medici-Rico’s homeland, which is under the iron thumb of the evil military tyrant, General DiRavello. He’s a man who specializes in overthrowing dictators on small tropical island nations. The entire series revolves around the super secret agent Rico Rodriguez. These aren’t games that take themselves seriously and, as it turns out, that’s a good thing.

Compared with more serious fare like Grand Theft Auto, Far Cry, and the endless line of other open world games, Just Cause’s focus on insane grindhouse-style action is a breath of much-needed fresh air. There’s been a lot of excitement around the impending release of Just Cause 3, a series which has traditionally focused entirely on absurd amounts of explosions, destruction and vehicular mayhem.

Just cause 3 vehicles locations