Just Cause

"What you want but you didn't know you wanted it...."

Like many others stuck between the release of the PS3 and a lack of a powerful PC, I'm forced to look toward the remaining games being released for the now archaic PS2 to fulfill my nerdish tendencies. Of the maybe 5 non-soccer games I've ever owned for the PS2, every single one has been of the 3rd-person sandbox variety: GTA 3, VC, SA, Freedom Fighters and Mercenaries. Thus with the arrival of Just Cause, my interest was piked and I went out and rented it.

Graphics: 5/10
The graphics are relatively unimpressive most of the time. There are a few moments when you can really appreciate the 'Vice City' style, ie when sky-diving or jetting around in your super boat, but everything looks a little too dated. Other recent games of this ilk, 2005's Mercenaries and 2006's The Godfather, offered much greater levels of detail and design than Just Cause, despite their being released much earlier. The bar has been set relatively high by these two games, and Just Cause fails to sufficiently match them.

Sound: 6/10
Gunfire sounds tinned, voices tend to be louder than they should be, explosions are underwhelming, and there are times with engines make absolutely no sound at all. The good thing is that sounds occur when they're supposed to, and just as long as they are part of a large cacophany rather then on their own, you're unlikely to notice the aurial shortcomings. The music however is lively and suitable for the locale, also reminding you not to take the game any more seriously than you would an 'El Mariachi' film.

Gameplay: 7/10
Trying to do two things at once is never an easy task, but Just Cause manages to combine the grit of Mercenaries with the unrealism of the GTA universe with some success. Gun battles are rather easy and forgiving, but not at the expense of being fun. Driving, boating and flying all feel a little too sloppy, but not too sloppy to actually impede you as the smash through the thick jungle in your 1950's sedan, cut under a bridge in your helicopter, or go flying into a maximum security prison in a stolen speed boat. The game really excels with its hilarious approach to physics, with Rico, your character, blessed with the ability to ignore gravity and momentum to perform the most death defying stunts known to man. The only problem is that many of these 'stunts' are unnecessary to complete many of the missions. Most of the time you won't need to hop onto the roof of your car during a chase, fire a grappling hook into the other car and then parachute along behind him - its much easier (and safer) to simply smash the other car into a tree and be done with it. At least in GTA, you were forced into using ludicrous tactics to acheive your task; in Just Cause its merely optional, despite it being the game's best selling point.

Story/Plot/Characters: 7/10
I'm a firm believer that a good story and likeable characters can make or break an otherwise forgettable game. Fortunately for Just Cause, its cliched story and characters fit nicely together, providing you with the all important accessibility many games seem to miss completely. The cookie-cutter characters (ie the aptly named Jesus, the leader of the Revolution) along with the noir-clad anti-hero, Rico, fit perfectly into a game which never takes itself seriously. More diverse missions and a longer story line, alas, are badly needed... There are only so many 'A to B to A' missions one can endure before the onset of madness.

Overall: 6/10
Just Cause doesn't try to capture the feel of Mercnaries nor of GTA, but instead attempts to carve out its own unique and silly feel to an increasingly banal genre of video games. Hence the relative ease in which you can ignore the game's many shortcomings and accept it for what it is: a second tier, 3rd person sandbox shooter. Those of you expecting a return to the depth of GTA or the playability of Mercenaries will be disappointed - you'll just have to wait a few months longer. Those of you, like me, you are looking for a innocuous fall fling, will be happily satisfied. If the game has any impact on the genre, I hope to see more over the top action stunts from Rockstar and Pandemic in their future releases. To sum up: It's definitely not a purchase game, but worth a week's rental. Give it a try.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06