Playing: 

F.E.A.R, Half-Life 2 (Deathmatch), Condemned, Oblivion, Just Cause.

Looking Fowrad to:

Rainbow 6 Vegas, Assassins Creed, Bio Shock, Dark Messiah 

Just Cause

PS2, XBOX, 360, PC

Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Avalanche Studios

With every revolution there soon comes evolution. This is very true of Just Cause, a GTA inspired game by the Swedish based company known as Avalanche Studios. Take a moment to imagine every adrenaline pumping, surreal stunt you’ve always wished were possible out of your favorite movies; Just Cause delivers exactly that. Its high-octane action, fused with non-linear GTA style missions, guarantees a fun and fairly well polished gaming experience.

You play the slick mercenary style “hero” named Rico Rodriguez (who has an almost creepy resemblance to Antonio Banderas). The game starts by dropping you onto the Caribbean island known as San Esperito, to help overthrow a corrupt government lead by an elusive leader known and referred to only as “El Presidente.” You will receive your briefings from a man named Sheldon, a fruity-looking tourist who gives you mission specifics from a camper decked out in all kinds of techno gadgets and giant LCD screens. Although your missions are pretty much your standard “go blow this up, kill this guy, and hi-jack this vehicle,” they never seem to get really old because of the variety of stunts you can perform while carrying them out.

When I said “dropped,” I really mean it. The game begins by thrusting you from an airplane from about 20,000 feet and immediately introduces you to one of the most, if not the most important game mechanic of Just Cause—your parachute. You can deploy your chute just about anytime you wish either by lunging off cliffs or in this case jumping out of airplanes. Basically, if there is air flowing through your thick black hair, you can pull your chute. This ability coupled with your grappling gun make for a wonderfully deranged combination of insane possibilities. The gun fighting is very basic with your point-and-click type 3^rd person shooter and you can take a lot of bullets before your health becomes an issue.

Just like GTA, you can “barrow” any vehicle you would like by gently kicking the driver out of the passenger side or softly laying their face into the ground. Feel like jumping from a skyscraper onto an airplane? How about grappling your way onto a helicopter and then ejecting out onto a passing jet? You can in Just Cause. There are hours of fun waiting for you just doing ludicrous stunts around the beautiful island of San Esperito.

And beautiful it is. Filled to the brim with lush forests and beautifully flowing ocean water, this Caribbean based, fiction paradise is quite scenic. While many of the missions have you treasure hunting, most take place in run down villages and usually consist of running out the government soldiers and destroying blockades. To this extent, the main story can be completed in around five hours which in itself is not very satisfying. The rest of the optional missions will reward you with extra perks and “respect” boosts.

The sound design is very nice especially the Latin underscores and nuances within the music. The voice acting is acceptable but not superb and one minor annoyance is the roughness of the CG cut scenes. They seem to not be well composed and the camera can never decide what to put into focus and out of focus. The shots sometimes consist of weird depth of field attempts that will have you checking your contacts or glasses to make sure they are not fogging up.

From an entertainment standpoint Just Cause is very fun if you can look past the absurd stunts and glitches (the most laughable of these is when hijacking a helicopter you actually jump through the helicopter blades into the cockpit, unscathed I might add). But all in all this game wouldn’t be near as fun if taken seriously. While not a revolutionary step, it is certainly an evolutionary step that lends some fun additions to the traditional GTA knock-offs, which in my opinion, set it enough apart to be respected. With its addictive play style, jaw-dropping stunts and unique environment, any adrenaline junkie will drink this game up like a 6-pack of Red Bulls.

7 out of 10

By: Brock Smith