10 Best Open-World Games Of 2018
8. Just Cause 4
To Avalanche's credit, it's keenly aware that no prospective Just Cause player joins Rico's fight for the riveting narrative beats; a sequel need not raise the stakes, only the frequency of flammable liquids, explosive fuel containers and a whole lot of rocket-propelled firepower.
In that regard, Just Cause 4 delivers exactly what it sets out to do, removing (like Far Cry 5) all of the arbitrary checkpoints to unlocking Rico's wingsuit, grappling hook etc, in order to allow ultimate mayhem from the get-go, but beyond that? Not much else has changed as far as Rico's repertoire goes. Even in Just Cause's iterative nature, adventure #4 oft-times feels light on new features, but the fictional country of Solis, along with upgraded A.I. and a nifty new weather system easily make its world the most absorbing yet.
Hurricanes, blizzards and sandstorms, each unique to their own biomes within the wider playspace stave off repetition a treat and, while sorely underutilized in a gameplay sense, at the very least tease the potential of such systems for the inevitable sequels to come.
Pure, dumb fun.