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Just Cause 3 PC graphics problems reported

Fans complain of visual bugs and glitches as developer cites issues with latest AMD graphics drivers.

GameSpot staff
CNET's sister site GameSpot is the world's leading site for video game news, reviews, features, and more. Visit us at www.gamespot.com.
GameSpot staff
2 min read

Numerous graphical problems have been discovered in the PC build of Just Cause 3, with customers complaining of frame-rate issues that appear to be related to video card drivers.

Posts across social media and message boards cite, in particular, a lower-than-desired frame rate. One reddit user claimed the "game is unplayable" despite apparently booting it on a PC with a high-end processor (Intel i7 5820k) and graphics card (Nvidia GTX 980Ti). "I get 10fps," reddit user mull54 alleged.

Another user on reddit said the symptom of the problem is that the PC version puts a significant strain on graphics cards (in this person's case, more than 95 percent of the GPU is constantly in use). Another user, meanwhile, has found that the frame-rate problems tend to ease if VSync options are switched off in the game's setting.

Jay Walker, a representative for publisher Square Enix, has acknowledged the problems. Writing on the Just Cause 3 Steam Community forum, he explained that "there are some known issues that occur with the most recent official release AMD/ATi graphics card drivers."

Players with PCs that use AMD graphics cards are urged to update to the latest beta driver while a long-term fix is developed. [The beta driver is dated November 30, Ver 15.11.1, and can be found here)

Just Cause 3 shipped on Tuesday on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Most critics have been somewhat positive about the game, and though GameSpot's Just Cause 3 review cited technical issues, it explained that "when Just Cause 3 is consistent, it's a stunning display of cause and effect, as watchtowers topple into fuel tanks, which blow up nearby helicopters, which sail into oncoming vehicles. I often spent hours setting up outlandish chain reactions, or trying new gear mods, knowing full well I wasn't making any progress in the traditional sense. I was content to just sit back and marvel as it all happened."

The game's minimum and recommended PC specs are listed below.

Minimum PC Specifications

  • Operating System: Vista SP2, Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz or AMD Phenom II X6 1075T 3 GHz
  • Memory: 6GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 with 2 GB of VRAM

Recommended PC Specifications

  • Operating System: Vista SP2, Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 with 3 GB of VRAM

A selection of key screenshots can be found below.