Title: Just Cause 3: Bavarium Sea Heist
Version Tested: Xbox One
Available On: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Developer: Avalanche Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Third Person Action Shooter
Official Site: https://justcause.com/en-us
Release Date: August 11th (Season Pass Holders), August 18th, 2016
Where to Buy: Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Local Retailer
The final segment of the Air, Land and Sea expansion pack for Just Cause 3 has just released and… well… yeah. The “Bavarium Sea Heist” picks up where the Mechland Assault DLC ended. The Black Hand has taken over the mysterious Stingray research base which was once operated by the Eden Corporation. Powerful weather control experiments were being conducted at this base along with the creation of an “Eden Spark” lighting gun. Rico must take control of the Eden Spark and stop the Black Hand at all costs… again.
In terms of the DLC for Just Cause 3, I really think the Air, Land and Sea expansions should have been released as one instead of three. The Bavarium Sea Heist took me about two hours to complete in its entirety. All of the DLC has been very short thus far. Echoing what I said in my previous Just Cause 3 DLC reviews, if you’ve already beaten the regular game then the playtime is very short. Sure there’s fun stuff to do with the new weapons, vehicles, and equipment but again… it gets boring fast. If these weapons, vehicles, and equipment were available at the start of the DLC, it would have made it much more interesting. Sure I can go back and liberate all the areas in Just Cause 3 again but it’s just retreading familiar territory.
What really irked me in this expansion was the new weapon, the Eden Spark lightning gun. This weapon is one of the most powerful guns in the game and a lot of fun to use… but you get it at the end of the DLC. I barely got a chance to use it except for at the end of the main story and the challenge which followed. The Eden Spark is pretty sweet, though. It’s essentially like the Ion Cannon from Command & Conquer but a mobile version. Groups of enemies or large vehicles are easy to dispatch and stand no chance against the Eden Spark.
The new vehicle introduced in the Sea Heist is “The Loochador.” This armored speedboat is equipped with homing rockets and machine guns. Up until this DLC, I really didn’t bother with any of the sea vehicles. They all just felt very simple and I had a much easier time using a helicopter, plane or my wingsuit to get around. When I acquired the Loochador though, I will say it was fun going all “Thunder and Paradise” on the high seas. Kudos to anyone who reads this and actually remembers watching that show. The barrage of rockets you can send out in addition to the machine guns makes liberating the five bases at sea fairly easy. Therein lies the issue with this DLC, along with the others for Just Cause 3.
The exact same formula has repeated across all of the DLC for Just Cause 3: a mission where you acquire the new vehicle, liberate a bunch of areas by blowing stuff up and close out the story. Some challenges get thrown in but that’s all. In two hours you’re done. Sure, you can do cool things like tossing the new rocket boat off the Sky Fortress into the water… but how long does that last?
Upon completing the Bavarium Seas Heist, an ending cut scene shows but it really doesn’t close out anything. Tom Sheldon turns out to have hijacked all the of the Bavarium loot on agency orders. The cut scene is Rico telling Sheldon that if he ever double crosses him, then they’re done… Okay? I suppose that could be setting up a conflict in a new game where Rico goes against Sheldon, but who knows?
When it comes to the Just Cause 3 DLC, it really came up short from what I was expecting. As a whole however, I do think Just Cause 3 is a good game. If you are entirely new to the franchise then I would certainly recommend picking up the game and the DLC. For veteran players though, there’s not much meat on the bones in the DLC. The whole business here reminds me of one of my first girlfriends. You start getting into it, then it’s over and she’s asking that question, “Was that it?” It was the same deal here as with other installments of DLC. They introduce some cool new things but it’s over before you really even get to play with it.
The Bavarium Sea Heist for Just Cause 3 is out now for season pass holders, releasing to everyone else on August 18th.
Have you played the Bavarium Sea Heist DLC? If so, what did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Gameplay: The Loochador and Eden Spark are fun… but it goes fast
Graphics: Nothing new here
Sound: Eden Spark sounds devastating
Presentation: We’ve been through all of this before
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