Just Cause 3:DLC: Sky Fortress PS4 Review

Just Cause 3:DLC: Sky Fortress PS4 Review

Released by Square Enix
Platform: PS4

The first DLC pack for Rico Rodriguez is the aptly titled Air expansion pack, the Sky Fortress.

It's fitting because the rebel spends pretty much most of his time zipping through the air, taking on drones and generally wreaking mayhem.

There's a very loose plot; called in by Sheldon (either mid or post game, it's your choice) Rodriguez is gifted a Bavarium powered jet pack boost to his wing suit following a drone attack. Chasing the drone, he discovers it is part of a wider fleet powered by the eDen corporation which is intent on mining Medici's plentiful Bavarium supplies for its own nefarious ends.

Things are further complicated when a massive airship shows, forcing Rodriguez to the skies to bring them down.

The air expansion pack is a reasonable add on but it lacks a degree of the fluidity of the main game.

The wing suit now becomes slightly defunct as the jet propulsion replaces the element of skill - and even packs in a rocket and shoulder mounted machine gun. It's somewhat tricky to fly properly too and a lot of the sky bound activity saw me grappling for spatial awareness rather than a smooth flight.

Drones line the skies and with drone factories being part of the Sky Fortress it's sensible to try and take them out. Equally, stronger Extractor Drones lurk around, and need despatching with a few well placed shots here and there.

The Fortress is there to be liberated and each section comes with its own challenges once freed, giving you a chance to upgrade the tech you have; and smartly the game's hidden away a few of its chaos objects, so it's not as easy to simply come in, shoot the breeze and head out as it all explodes behind you.

That said it is thrilling to swoop up and down in any degree of situation - if the game hasn't already been completed, one could imagine the edge it would bring.

It's good that this, an unlocked personal drone and a Bavarium tipped gun all carry through to the main game - though even with these advantages, combat on the airship was still a lot trickier than dealing with the general's ground idiots thanks to increased fire power.

Cut scenes are static, echoing the Just Cause comic but removing some of the charm and free wheeling lunacy of the main game. There's a sense of repetition in the tasks on the missions too - essentially clear two halves of the ship of baddies - but there are moments of lunacy too such as when you kick enemies from the sky and tack up impressive distance falls as they plummet to below.

Overall, the first DLC for Just Cause 3 is solid rather than spectacular. Niggly control issues blight the jet pack and make the game's fluidity suffer from sluggishness. There's no denying its fun, but by stripping out some of the more chaotic elements of the main game, the air expansion feels a little tied to the ground ironically rather than something that lives up to its title and soars through the air.