One of the best features on Xbox Live – for Xbox 360 at least –
is the ability to play demos of games soon to be released. I first heard of
Just Cause through Xbox Live Marketplace, I downloaded the demo, and was
instantly hooked. Just Cause’s demo was an invigorating mix of espionage,
government overthrow, and a complete oversight of the laws of physics. I was
concerned that with all the extra features to spice up the
gameplay, the main story and mechanics of the
whole game could be shallow. After experiencing what the retail version has
to offer, I have found Just Cause to be a uniquely action-packed videogame
despite its faults and shortcomings.
You take on the role of Rico Rodriguez, an undercover agent of
the CIA sent to the island nation of San Esperito.
The game starts out halfway through skydiving to the location of an enemy
target. Before you know it, you are neck deep in combat with enemy gunfire
and a multiple vehicle chase as you try to escape to your safe house. Once
there, you rendezvous with your contacts, Tom Sheldon and Maria Kane.
Forgoing much small talk, you are assigned a new mission to take out the evil
President Mendoza. This is no simple task; the completion of multiple
objective-based missions and formation of rebel alliances is mandatory to make
your takeover a successful one. The game carries a vibe similar to that of
the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico starring Johnny
Depp and Antonio Banderas.
San Esperito is a vast island
completely open to explore. Unfortunately, the GTA-style map size comes with
little substance. The game touts 25,000 acres and besides constantly flowing
traffic and the occasional pedestrian, there is little need for such a sizable
island. At times, I was stuck climbing the mountains and exploring the
jungles looking for any sign of civilization. Luckily, you can carjack any
vehicle that you come across including motorcycles, cars, boats, helicopters,
and airplanes. The handling doesn’t take long to get a hold of and you will
quickly learn that the less conventional transports are the best way to travel
(you haven’t seen San Esperito until catching air
in a speed boat or flying above the clouds in a chopper).
Besides the main story, Just Cause offers a few side missions
to vary the gameplay and extend playtime. You
must locate Guerilla rebels who assign the different tasks in hopes of gaining
their trust for the eventual takeover of the government. None of the side
missions, which include starting up attacks on military facilities and
driving-based competitions are particularly interesting and don’t mix well
with the main game. Completing the side missions do give you access to more
weapons, vehicles, and more safe houses. But they just seem rather bland and
nonessential. The enemy AI isn’t great, but the military and police forces
always seem to know where you are. There were times in the game a quiet drive
would turn into a high-speed shoot ‘n chase for no apparent reason. Killing
baddies is too simple mainly due to the aiming system that automatically
targets people. Simply shoot your gun when the reticule is locked to anyone
and you’ll take them out including higher military officials carrying heavy
firepower. If things get too out of control, you can call for backup or
transportation to any particular place in the menu interface. You can also
ask for a vehicle drop incase you get stranded and need some wheels.
The main missions in Just Cause are much better because they
integrate all the features the game has to offer. The stunts in Just Cause
are unlike anything you have ever seen before. Early in the game, you are
given a grappling hook that can attach itself to any vehicle. Once the
vehicle is in motion, the parachute will deploy and you will be floating in
close proximity for surveillance. The grappling hook even works on aircraft
which looks awesome when it’s used properly. Sadly, the developers did not
incorporate the device to attach itself to other things like walls and
mountains. When driving vehicles, you can also execute a command called Stunt
Position which will make Rico get out and stand on the rooftop. Depending on
the car’s speed, you can jump and use your parachute to glide to your desired
location. This works exceptionally well when evading police. If this didn’t
make Isaac Newton roll over in his grave, Stunt Position also lets you jump
out of aircraft and grab a hold of the tail in mid-flight. Even more
unrealistic, you can freefall and deploy the parachute, then freefall again
and redeploy the very same parachute seconds later. The laws of physics have
nothing on Rico!
However, when he failed to release his parachute until 10 feet
from the ground and then landed unscathed, I knew this a technical bug. You
will notice several mechanical flaws throughout the game which points to the
lack of quality assurance. Sometimes these bugs can add to the
gameplay experience (however inadvertent). For
example, an enemy threw a grenade while I was driving fast; the grenade got
stuck in the windshield and I was forced to jump out of the moving car before
it exploded.
Graphically, Just Cause looks good. The animation, especially
the way Rico moves, is pretty choppy and feels incomplete. But the lush
environments, the special effects, the cut scenes and the character models
look pretty solid. The sound fits the game perfectly. The Latin-rock
sounding music composition adds to the adrenaline pumping main mission
ambiance and the voice-over work is slightly tacky but always entertaining.
Just Cause will take you roughly six hours to finish depending
on whether or not you play the side missions. I value this game for its
originality in stunt work and the wide assortment of vehicles, but the brevity
of the main game, the shortcomings of the side missions, and lack of polish
makes Just Cause solely rentable. It’s a lot of fun but lacks the necessary
substance to make it a success.
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Gameplay:
7
Just Cause
is a unique, action-packed adventure, although it has its shortcomings.
Graphics: 8.0
Despite
choppy animation, the island of San Esperito, the
explosions, the cut scenes, and the models come out nice.
Sound:
8.5
The
sound accompanies the games ambiance extremely well with the vibrant
Latin-based rock soundtrack and VO work.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Concept: 8.0
There
aren’t too many games that encourage government overthrow, and Just Cause does
the job nicely.
Overall: 7.5
A
generally fun experience that I encourage you to rent. You will finish it
quickly and will no doubt notice its faults, but you just might like the
features Just Cause has to offer.
