Just Cause

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.

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.