Screenshots :.
Just Cause
360
Jay
30-03-2007
"Broody look - check. Sunset - check. A veritable amount of chest hair exposed - check."
"NavSat said the next left! Lying son of a.... "
There are some game clones out there that should never have been made. I’m glad to say, however, that GTA-alike Just Cause jumps out of the frying pan, opens its parachute and machinegun’s its way out of the kitchen. Why? Well, who doesn’t want to run their car off a cliff while being chased down by the local law enforcement, watching in slow-motion as you and the pursuers seemingly fall to your deaths only to then hop out the car and paraglide to safety screaming at your T.V. “Have that you fascist basta***!” in an Antonio Banderas-style Spanish accent?
No? Okay, this game’s definitely not for you. However, if that does tickle you in places you’d rather not publicly discuss, read on!
In Just Cause you play black ops CIA agent Rico Rodriguez, assigned to a massive 1,225 square mile island called San Esperito amidst a raging guerrilla war. The dictator of the island may be in possession of weapons of mass destruction, which gives you ‘just cause’ to call upon 88 vehicles and amass a pretty collection of weapons to take on him and anyone else that rubs you up the wrong way. The entire setting is based upon the real-life United States invasion of Panama, codenamed ‘Operation Just Cause’ which involved the US getting their mitts on and overthrowing the military leader Manuel Noriega.
You’re offered a ‘free-roaming’ approach to how you complete each mission, and the island is filled with a variety of sub-missions for you to complete at your leisure. Most of those sub-missions are very much a case of walking up to someone who says “Hey you! Go there. Get this. Come back. Make me happy”, which you can rinse-and-repeat until your hearts content. Whilst the majority of these are rather plain, there are a few gems on offer, such as liberating towns dotted all over the island. Furthermore, the more you help the people, the more the people help you; completing these side missions boosts your standing with the two factions on the island, which in turn unlocks new bases with new weapons, items and vehicles for you to abuse.
One of the most used items is your grapple, which allows you to hook onto nearby vehicles, open your parachute and fly high above to give you a nice view of the island. It also helps you hijack helicopters when you see them, although how you accomplish this somewhat defies the laws of physics and common sense by sending Rico through the rotating blades. Yeah, you have to see it.
With all the vehicles scattered about you’d think you’d be spoilt for choice. Flying is fulfilling and piloting a bi-plane is fun, although it’s a bit too much of a pain to go and find one. The little helicopter you can call down is adequate enough to fly over the island, and the jeep is awesome for taking on… well just about anything with its missile launcher and machine-gun. The game also provides you with a ‘Heavy-Drop’ that allows you to call upon the CIA to provide you with a vehicle of choice.
While all of this sounds great, it does come at a price and the storyline’s one of the main casualties. If you want to play Just Cause for a quick hour and hijack a plane to fly into a cop car then you’ll probably end up having a great time with the game. However, players who tend to sit down for some serious playtime will be disappointed that the storyline’s over in a mere 21 main missions. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of the time you won’t want to bother with the generic crop of side-missions.
The island you play on is huge and rather beautiful, although unfortunately environmental bugs crop up all over the place, allowing you to find new and interesting ways of falling out of the level or to get stuck on a tricky pebble or two. Additionally, due to the game having a ‘gung-ho’ nature it seems that enemy AI isn’t required and men often wonder around for you to pop in a variety of ways with not too much thought needing to be employed.
With all that said, I had a good time with Just Cause at it and would probably still give it some attention if someone hadn’t stolen my copy. Whilst not offering a particularly long storyline or a tricky, thought-invoking method of play, the game provides a slice of entertainment that will leave you feeling like a true action hero.
No? Okay, this game’s definitely not for you. However, if that does tickle you in places you’d rather not publicly discuss, read on!
In Just Cause you play black ops CIA agent Rico Rodriguez, assigned to a massive 1,225 square mile island called San Esperito amidst a raging guerrilla war. The dictator of the island may be in possession of weapons of mass destruction, which gives you ‘just cause’ to call upon 88 vehicles and amass a pretty collection of weapons to take on him and anyone else that rubs you up the wrong way. The entire setting is based upon the real-life United States invasion of Panama, codenamed ‘Operation Just Cause’ which involved the US getting their mitts on and overthrowing the military leader Manuel Noriega.
You’re offered a ‘free-roaming’ approach to how you complete each mission, and the island is filled with a variety of sub-missions for you to complete at your leisure. Most of those sub-missions are very much a case of walking up to someone who says “Hey you! Go there. Get this. Come back. Make me happy”, which you can rinse-and-repeat until your hearts content. Whilst the majority of these are rather plain, there are a few gems on offer, such as liberating towns dotted all over the island. Furthermore, the more you help the people, the more the people help you; completing these side missions boosts your standing with the two factions on the island, which in turn unlocks new bases with new weapons, items and vehicles for you to abuse.
One of the most used items is your grapple, which allows you to hook onto nearby vehicles, open your parachute and fly high above to give you a nice view of the island. It also helps you hijack helicopters when you see them, although how you accomplish this somewhat defies the laws of physics and common sense by sending Rico through the rotating blades. Yeah, you have to see it.
With all the vehicles scattered about you’d think you’d be spoilt for choice. Flying is fulfilling and piloting a bi-plane is fun, although it’s a bit too much of a pain to go and find one. The little helicopter you can call down is adequate enough to fly over the island, and the jeep is awesome for taking on… well just about anything with its missile launcher and machine-gun. The game also provides you with a ‘Heavy-Drop’ that allows you to call upon the CIA to provide you with a vehicle of choice.
While all of this sounds great, it does come at a price and the storyline’s one of the main casualties. If you want to play Just Cause for a quick hour and hijack a plane to fly into a cop car then you’ll probably end up having a great time with the game. However, players who tend to sit down for some serious playtime will be disappointed that the storyline’s over in a mere 21 main missions. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of the time you won’t want to bother with the generic crop of side-missions.
The island you play on is huge and rather beautiful, although unfortunately environmental bugs crop up all over the place, allowing you to find new and interesting ways of falling out of the level or to get stuck on a tricky pebble or two. Additionally, due to the game having a ‘gung-ho’ nature it seems that enemy AI isn’t required and men often wonder around for you to pop in a variety of ways with not too much thought needing to be employed.
With all that said, I had a good time with Just Cause at it and would probably still give it some attention if someone hadn’t stolen my copy. Whilst not offering a particularly long storyline or a tricky, thought-invoking method of play, the game provides a slice of entertainment that will leave you feeling like a true action hero.
7/10
