Articles
By Spud Gun
Published: Mar. 18, 2007 2:37 PM
Any game that boasts a non-linear or sandbox environment will always get the preverbial juices flowing, but such claims will need to meet high expectations due to some stunning sandbox titles released to date. Eidos’, with the help of developers Avalanche Software have undertaken a new venture into the sandbox world with the release of Just Cause. It has certainly drawn attention, but does it live up to the standards set by the GTA series?
In Just Cause you play the role of Rico Rodriguez, a suave Latin American James Bond type CIA agent whose mission is to implement a regime change in the fictitious island world of San Esperito. Overthrowing the government is achieved by causing as much chaos and destruction as possible, and by completing the various missions assigned to you. Completing missions unlocks vehicles and rewards Rico with respect from the guerrillas that you are aiding to overthrow the regime. The country of San Esperito consists largely of jungle, and you have the ability to explore every bit of it on foot, by car or by motorbike. You can even travel by parachute which you can use at any time which makes driving off cliffs a whole lot of fun. You can even take to the water in a variety of boats. The island is vast and takes up to 45 minutes to drive from one end to the other. Doing a point to point run across jungle can be thrilling and you are introduced to it quite early in the game. Moments like this hark back to Smuggles Run with you hooning through jungle, across roads and over hill and dale to get to where you need to be. The terrain is very much three dimensional with gorges, mountains and bridges to navigate around and over in order to get to where you need to go, which makes driving around the island entertaining as you frequently catch some serious air. Driving off cliffs or rolling your car causes the camera to switch to a slow motion view from the front so that you can enjoy your handiwork. Checkpoints are clearly marked on your HUD map, and also in the real world with a column of arrows that you simply drive toward. Being spoon fed in such a way somewhat removes the desire to explore your environment as it becomes a means by which you blast to your next goal as opposed to interacting with it and navigating to where you want to go.
More or less from the outset you become known to the police, and from then they will pursue you as soon as they see you which adds an additional layer of fun to getting to a checkpoint. The police use motorbikes, cars, four wheel drives, armoured cars and helicopters, with the latter only being used when your notoriety reaches a certain point which usually occurs within a specific mission to make completion of your task all the more difficult. You will notice that the vehicles change depending on the area you are on. Rural villages will have old trucks and scooters as opposed to the more urban areas which have more modern looking cars. Control of your vehicle does depend on what you are driving. Motorbikes handle quite well and you are able to get a good lean into turns. Some cars however handle quite badly. This isn’t a huge issue as there are plenty of vehicles that are relatively easy to handle. You can also assume control of some aircraft, and laying down some heavy fire from the air is always great fun.
There are lots of cool features in Just Cause, some of which are brought up by your PDA. Press the back button and you can call a heavy drop. When this is selected, Rico will set off a blue smoke grenade and a helicopter appears dropping a large crate containing whatever vehicle you requested. The more missions you do, the more vehicles you unlock in your heavy drop vehicle list. The range of vehicles is quite impressive as well, for example, there is quite a range of motorbikes and scooters to choose from. There is even a postie looking bike which is good fun to hoon about on. There are also ute’s with guns mounted in the back which can be manned and used to pepper your foes. Another fun gadget is the grappling hook. This is fired at a passing vehicle and then you can paraglide behind that car using your parachute. You can turn in the air and extend or retract the cable to gain of lose altitude. This is great fun even if it is quite tricky to control. Just Cause has lots of such features and treats for you to explore, and the more you play the more you find.
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