Just Cause 4 Goes Behind-the-Scenes With New Dev Diary

Ever since its official unveiling at E3 last month, Square Enix's Just Cause 4 has gotten us all kinds of excited. The amount of wanton mayhem you can command is ridiculous, from driving a tornado towards specific objects to using various gadgets to throw and rocket things everywhere. (Including enemies!)

But if you really want to get a good look at what Avalanche Studios' latest adventure is all about, the video above should give you a good idea. It's the first developer diary that provides a look at the Apex Engine the team is using, as well as a better idea of just what all you can do with Rico Rodriguez this time around.

The video, which runs under four minutes, features a number of Avalanche staffers, along with Nerdist's Jessica Chobot, talking about the scope of the game engine. "It can handle pretty much anything that you want to throw at it," Chobot explains. "Crazy physics, dynamic weather patterns, brand new terrain, you name it, it covers it, it handles it all at the same time. It will literally blow your mind."

The video then goes into detail about the Apex Engine. This includes glimpses of the game in action including highly detailed explosions and "extreme weather simulation," a first for the series. (That's where that awesome tornado comes into play.)

They then discuss unlocking creativity within the engine for Just Cause 4, putting together a list of features that players are looking to take advantage of. And that means even going a level above the wild action that Just Cause 3 gave us years ago. (Yep, that includes car surfing in mid-air, which we loved.)

The rendering system is also "best in class" when it comes to creating absolutely dazzling environments, as well as those eye-popping explosions. No, really, stuff blows up real good here. "Enhanced destruction" is clearly the magic words of the day.

We'll see even more of Just Cause 4 in the months ahead, including a possible look at Rico's special abilities as well as the enemies he's going up against.

Just Cause 4 arrives on December 4 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.