DLC Review: Just Cause 3: Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass – PS4

Just Cause 3 is nearing its first birthday. Would you believe it’s been almost a year since we dived headfirst out of an airplane into the Medici region? Time sure does fly when you’re having fun…
Square Enix has finally released all three parts of its Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass to all players and I’ve been lucky enough (or not so, as the case may be) to get my hands on all three expansions. I’ve spent far too much time blowing stuff up and I’ve laughed far too hard to not be considered mentally deranged.

So, first of all, what do you get? You get three expansions which cover seven story missions for Rico to blow stuff up in. You get an additional seven challenges to compete in with scores being posted to online leaderboards. You get three new regions to cause havoc in, and they include six new provinces and 21 settlements that need to be liberated by blowing stuff up. There’s a lot of blowing stuff up.
You also get five new vehicles, three weapons, the Bavarium Wingsuit (which is batshit crazy, by the way) and, if memory serves, 18 new collectible items. There’s a fair bit of content, then, but is it worth the money. It’s a bit of a yes-and-no answer to be honest.

The story missions aren’t perfect by any means, and the voice acting is still super-cheesy, but they’re a nice wrap-around for Rico’s bombastic nature. Wouldn’t make much sense to have the dude blowing stuff up for no reason now, would it? Actually, yeah, it kind of would. The missions vary in length with some being short and sweet with a few laughs in between, while others are a little more long and will require a good session to really power through. Not that it’s a bad thing, though if you just want to cause havoc with the new toys, you’ll probably find yourself longing for a little more freedom.
The great thing about the DLC items is that they do eventually carry over to the main campaign, providing you’ve progressed far enough through the main acts and that you’ve completed the DLC mission packs. The new weapons, mechs, and vehicles just make life a little easier in Medici. Hard-to-beast outposts become a piece of cake once you’ve stomped your way over the enemy in a big-arse mech, and travelling from one point to another is no longer a chore thanks to the Bavarium Wingsuit. I was always quite partial to the wingsuit in the main game, though I did find it more than a tad annoying when I’d be gliding from one island to another and suddenly find myself swimming with the fishes. Long swims aren’t fun in any game, so having the power to just fly around like an exotic Superman is a big plus.

Now to the bad. To be fair, there’s not really that much wrong. The DLC is fairly priced for the content you get and there’s plenty of fun to be had, not to mention the new options made available once you take your new stuff into the main game, but there could have been a little more going on with the story. Just saying. I know that most who play through Just Cause 3 couldn’t give two hoots about the narrative, but for me it’s something I like to get invested in.
My only other gripe is… the bloody performance of the game. It wasn’t perfect on release, as mentioned in my initial review, but it’s somehow gotten a little worse. The loading times aren’t amazing. I found myself starting into the abyss for far longer than I’d like. You’re looking at load times of between 30 second and a minute, but sometimes longer.
Then there’s the frame-rate. It wasn’t the smoothest ride on release, though a patch here and a patch there did seem to make it a touch better. Now, almost a year later, the frame-rate is just downright annoying. Causing mayhem of any sort that brings more than a few visual effects into play can make the game tank along close to the single-digits. Even driving and flying around can be a bit of a chore due to the frame-rate having a wobble. I’m not one to complain about frame-rates and what not, though it was enough for me to sigh more than a few times, so it’s worth mentioning.
All in all, Just Cause 3’s Air, Land & Sea content is probably a safe bet providing you’re able to look past the technical shortcomings. It’s a fun romp that’ll give your copy of Just Cause 3 a fresh pair of legs to keep it away from GameStop’s trade-in service (haha! service) a little while longer.

Just Cause 3: Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass PS4 Review

• 7.5/10
  Overall - Very Good - 7.5/10

7.5/10

Summary

If you’ve still got your copy of Just Cause 3 knocking around and you fancy getting back into it, the Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass is a great way to re-invigorate your game. It’s surprisingly well-done in terms of content and there’s definitely some value to be had.
Just be aware that the technical performance of the game is a pain in the arse. It’s playable, but it’ll test your patience at times.

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User Review

4 (2 votes)