Just Cause 4 trailer introduces Rico's rival amid many explosions

Apparently Just Cause 4 will have a story that goes beyond "and then a bridge blew up". The latest trailer introduces Gabriela Morales, "leader of the infamous Black Hand, and Rico's toughest adversary". It sounds as though Rico and Gabriela will lead rival armies against one another. In addition the story will see Rico Rodriguez land in the open world Solis zone "to hunt down the truth about his past, at any cost".

That's not to say that the game is going to be overloaded with plot. In this two minute trailer a jet plane, two helicopters and many cars explode and Rico pilots a speedboat off a dam in a lightning storm as a chopper blows up behind him. How many tall buildings and fuel tanks will have to die before Rico's rivalry is resolved?

We'll find out at release on December 4. For a longer look at some gameplay, check out the 19 minutes of Gamescom footage Square Enix put out last week. For an insight into how Avalanche make those beautiful splodes pop, check out Rick's piece on how great explosions are made—the Just Cause series has some of the very best.