‘Just Cause 3’ Destruction Ramped Up, To Be Physics-Driven

Just Cause 3 protagonist Rico Rodriguez has a particular way of getting past obstacles. Locked door standing between you and your objective? Simply plant some explosives, get out of dodge (or, if you want to go the stylish route, grapple your way to a safe distance), and then blow the door (and most of the wall) away, leaving only tiny particles of dust.

Just another day for Rico in Just Cause 3.

After all, destruction has been the name of the game since Just Cause 2; if you can see it, chances are you can set explosives and watch it crumble into tiny pieces. But in Just Cause 3, things are going to be a little different — and for the better, if you like watching things explode.

In the latest addition of Official Xbox Magazine (via GamesRadar), Avalanche Studios, the development team behind the game, allowed senior technical designer at Andreas Bodbacka to spill the beans on what we can expect out of the latest installment in terms of level of destruction — and by the sound of it, Just Cause 3‘s level of destruction could far surpass previous entries.

“We wanted destruction to be more physics-driven and more like a fun toybox that can be used as part of the gameplay,” Bodbacka told OXM. “More than looking pretty and going boom, if you tether things correctly you can use them defensively or create cascading destruction – destroying an entire base just by pulling one tether. That wasn’t possible before, but improvements in technology let you do this stuff.”

Being able to zipline around objects and vehicles you’re detonating sounds fun enough on its own, but developer Avalanche is going for more than that — as later described by Bodbacka, the team is focusing on the more gratifying explosions to be a bit more skill intensive — or elaborate. As the developer puts it, your role is to be Michael Bay.

“Finding that sweet spot between cool and realistic is difficult. It’s really about creating drama in destruction,” Bodbacka added. “If you shoot one thing and it goes boom, you can do it a couple of times and know it’ll go boom – and soon it’s not so much fun. But if you attach it to a helicopter or shoot its supports and they crumble and it begins to roll away… well, you’re now directing all that destruction. You’re Michael Bay.”

Want to check it out for yourself? See the video below.

[Image credit: Avalance Studios/Square Enix]