Edge 287: Just Cause 3 sparks a revolution for open-world action games

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That Avalanche Studios has managed to top Just Cause 2’s extravagant pyrotechnics – and in spectacular fashion, no less – is achievement enough on its own. But Just Cause 3 goes much further than a simple ‘bigger, louder’ refit, reshaping itself around the needs of players to such an extent that it makes many of its peers' approaches to gating and checkpointing feel unreasonable. For issue 287’s cover feature we spend two days with protagonist Rico, violently liberating the nation of Medici, and leave wanting more. In our ten-page feature we speak to the team creating this open-world utopia, find out how the game is pushing Havok’s tech to its limit and discover the repercussions of tethering cattle to helicopter rotors. Issue 287 of Edge is available now in print, on iPad, Google Play and Zinio.

Our Knowledge section opens with a trip to Paris Games Week, where we assess Sony's performance did in the absence of any competition. We also find out how The Town Of Light is tackling the complex issue of mental health, introduce the new Edge game conference Hype (which takes place on January 14) and salute Q-Games’ astonishing-looking The Tomorrow Children.

Our usual columnists offer their takes on the past month in the industry, and in My Favourite Game we chat to Danny Wallace about his haunted ZX81.

In Hype: Wild, Overwatch, Nier: Automata, Dreams, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Street Fighter V and more.

In Play: Halo 5: Guardians, Guitar Hero Live, Life Is Strange, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Yakuza 5, Tales From The Borderlands: S1, Need For Speed, Prison Architect, Broforce, Minecraft: Story Mode – The Order Of The Stone, Rodea The Sky Soldier.

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Edge Staff
Edge Staff

Edge magazine was launched in 1993 with a mission to dig deep into the inner workings of the international videogame industry, quickly building a reputation for next-level analysis, features, interviews and reviews that holds fast nearly 30 years on.