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Hectic, action-packed gameplay abound. Just Cause is Eidos’ latest game and the latest entry in the open-world genre. Although most games are satisfied to throw in a city or two, Just Cause has actually packed an entire 25,000 acre island. On this island, you’ll be shooting up enemies, flying vehicles and generally having a chaotic time.
In Just Cause, you’ll play as Rico Rodriguez, a vigilante who wants to overthrow the dictator Salvador Mendoza in San Esperito, a fictional Caribbean island. Rodriguez isn’t alone in this just cause as he gets help from Kane, a sassy tough chick, and Sheldon, a carefree tough guy. Though Rodriguez’s allies aren’t extremely interesting, Rodriguez himself is quite a character in no small part due to the fact that Rodriguez seems an awful lot like Antonio Banderas’ character from Desperado. Aside from these two people, you’re also joined by the Rojas drug cartel and the revolutionary army of the island.
The actual single-player game in Just Cause should only run about five hours. This is partly due to the game’s checkpoints which are plentiful and allow you to get started from just about where you left off. Another reason is that the game doesn’t force you to get to your next location to start a mission. You can easily select to be automatically transported there at the touch of a button. The missions themselves are rather typical. You’ll have to get an item, kill a key party member or blow up some important building. Aside from the main story missions, you can complete additional side missions for the Rojas drug cartel and other guerillas. Completing tese missions will unlock additional weapons, vehicles and safe houses.
As I mentioned above, the island is enormous. Most of it isn’t developed but around the island you’ll find quite a few settlements, airports, seaports, military bases and even a business district. The gameplay is quite similar to the Grand Theft Auto series. You can take control of any vehicle you want including cars, trucks, boats, helicopters and planes. Each vehicle has a special position in which you can get on its roof to shoot nearby enemies. After a few missions, you get a grappling gun that lets you hook onto nearby cars or even overheard helicopters and planes. In addition, you have a parachute that you can use at any time to get yourself in the air if things are going wrong. If you’re above ground, you can also use your parachute to get back to the ground safely. The game plays fast and loose with the laws of physics and it is a more intense and satisfying game because of it.
The same type of attitude applies to the shooting mechanics as well. The console versions of the game all have a very generous autotargeting system that lets you shoot at enemies even if you’re just aiming in their general direction. The PC version of the game has a more standard mouse and keyboard aiming system. Controlling vehicles is just as easy. Nearly all of the vehicles are very easy to maneuver and even the most complicated ones are manageable.
The game is visually impressive. As I’ve already mentioned, the island of San Esperito is extremely impressive and beautiful. The trees and foliage are vast and lush and the water effects are top-notch. The game has an impressive draw distance to really let you take in the size of the island. The character models aren’t excellent but they all look pretty good. The same can be said about the vehicles. The framerate, overall, is fairly stable despite the busyness of the game.
Just Cause was released for the Xbox 360, Xbox, PC and PlayStation 2. The Xbox 360 version of the game is obviously the best looking with the most realistic lighting effects and good use of motion blur. It’s also the most technically impressive thanks to having the most stable framerate and sharpest textures. The Xbox and PC versions are about the same, although there is a notable drop in texture quality and fidelity when compared to the Xbox 360 version. This same drop is also found when comparing the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game. The framerate is more erratic, the draw distance is shorter and the texture quality is a bit blurrier. There isn’t any difference in between the consoles in content however.
The game’s audio is serviceable. The voice acting is inconsistent within your own party with Rico coming off as uninterested but Sheldon coming across perfectly. The voice acting of the civilians in the game is equally uneven. The sound effects are okay but nothing out of this world. Thankfully, the background music is splendid. It’s a weird yet awesome mix of Caribbean and Spanish guitars, electronic beats and some trumpets for good measure. It certainly fits the game’s Caribbean theme very well.
Just Cause is one of those amazingly fun, carefree games and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The action is hectic and breaks every law of physic and though the gameplay isn’t that varied, it’s still quite fun. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 15, 2006
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