Parents' Guide to

Just Cause 3

By Paul Semel, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Violent open-world shooter overthrows fake gov't for laughs.

Game PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One 2015
Just Cause 3 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Just Cause 3 Game: Screenshot #1
  • Just Cause 3 Game: Screenshot #2
  • Just Cause 3 Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 61 parent reviews

BlitzGuy20
BlitzGuy20 Parent of 8-year-old
July 4, 2021
age 11+

Excellent and colorful game is a blast to play!

Just Cause 3 is nowhere near the 18+ rating given on this page, for the violence in it is almost entirely optional, and the protagonist you play as has high honor, works for the good guys, helps civilians and takes down that evil dictatorship! VIOLENCE: Gameplay is almost entirely built off of frantic explosions and high destruction rather than shooting and violence. During the game you will be told to destroy objects like billboards, electrical equipment, electrical towers, water towers, turrets, drones and bridges. However during most action sequences you do have the OPTION to kill enemies with firearms, the violence never appears brutal, graphic or realistic, instead blood briefly puffs out and the enemy falls to the ground. On rare occasion, a small amount of blood stains the floor. Along with that, some liberations and story missions require you to take out enemies, but that happens quite infrequently. The player can shoot and kill innocent pedestrians, however that action is punished and you are never once told to do that in the game, and pedestrians are also marked with green so if the player accidentally fires on one they have the chance to walk away. Some other violence appears in cutscenes, or story missions almost all involving the evil dictator. This includes a scene where a man shoots himself in face after being handed a gun from the dictator (non-graphic) , people being found dead with blood underneath them, the dictator smashing a man in the face then repeatedly pounding him on the ground offscreen as we hear smushing and watery noises. The body or the direct impact is never shown onscreen, however the dictator orders another man to clean up the mess. LANGUAGE: Extremely mild and infrequent language for an M rated game. Infrequent use of “damnit” and “hell”. Some pedestrians may be heard saying “f*ck” during intense moments, but this is extremely rare, hard to hear and usually from a great distance. OVERALL: 11+
1 person found this helpful.
Discombobulate D.
Discombobulate D. Adult
October 1, 2021
age 11+

APROPPRIATE.(for11up

WHAT?!?!?! its okay! like, its a shooter. 11 and up!

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 61 parent reviews

What’s It About?

In JUST CAUSE 3, series star Rico Rodriguez returns to his homeland, the multi-island Mediterranean nation of Medici, to find that it's now under the thumb of a dictator named General Di Ravello. So, naturally, he does what he can to undermine Di Ravello's control over the country, which he does by taking out the militia and destroying such tools of propaganda as billboards and speaker systems. Naturally, the general does not just let this happen and instead sends more soldiers, tanks, and helicopters to take you out. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (61):
Kids say (149):

In a year that's already seen such fantastic and fantastical open-word games comes a real-world one that screams, "ME, TOO!" As with the Grand Theft Auto series, if it were more influenced by '80s action flicks rather than Scarface, or the Saints Row games, if they were a tad more serious, Just Cause 3 has you overthrowing a dictator by wiping out his loyal militia forces and destroying his stuff. All of which is accomplished by shooting up the place, commandeering vehicles, and using a grappling hook that can pull gas cans toward tanks, statues toward the ground, and players toward trucks and helicopters they can then take control of, even though someone's already in the driver's seat. It also has side missions where you challenge your skills as a driver, a flyer, and a demolitions expert. But though this game is mostly fun, it does have some irritating problems, such as how it takes forever to reload your game after you die or how you can't look down the barrel of your gun for increased accuracy. Even so, the frantic firefights and general mayhem are more than enough to make this a crazy good time.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in video games. Does the violence of a game affect you less when the action is a bit cartoony? What about when it's shown from the third-person perspective instead of the first?

  • Families also can discuss governments. Why would people put up with an evil dictator? Do you think it's easy for one person to take over a whole country? Who are some of the most notorious dictators in history, and what makes them so notorious?

Game Details

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