Just Cause
Avalanche's GTA-in-the-jungle attempt is solid, just not on the PS2.
Published: October 9, 2006
Thought it wasn't necessarily the first, DMA's Grand Theft Auto III was the easily the most important game to push things into the realm of the so-called "sandbox" game, where developers gave you a basic set of goals but the end result was ultimately up to the player -- they could essentially "make" the game based on the things they did and how the game reacted rather than the other way around.
It was a watershed moment in freedom of gameplay, allowing gamers to do as they pleased while still experiencing a world and narrative that helped shaped the experience into something that was utterly unique. For a good five games now (if you count the PSP releases), Rockstar has had a stranglehold on not only the concept, but the proper execution of a game for quite a while now, and while many have tried to duplicate the execution, none have thus far managed to pull off the concept as a whole.
Without going into the sandbox failures (and there have been near-countless attempts), we have Just Cause, a game that thankfully transplants the concept from the concrete jungle to the actual jungles of a non-specific Caribbean island to, in effect, incite a revolution and overthrow the handful of tyrants that are guiding the direction of San Esperito.
Because you're given free run of a whole island (Eidos and developer Avalanche eagerly tout the 250,000 acres number), you're welcome to finish the game as quickly as you like. If you're expecting a storyline or a world as densely packed as the GTA games that Just Cause is at least inspired by, you're going to be found wanting rather quickly; I managed to complete the main storyline in a little under six hours. That's not a typo; you can blow through the game if you concentrate on the main storyline missions, but of course the developers were hoping the siren's song of a full island to explore would make poking around paradise a little too tempting. Had I not succumbed to my curiosity a bit into the game, it's not unreasonable to think I could have beaten the story proper a good hour or two faster.
Luckily, Avalanche has built itself the kind of world that rewards just goofing around. In sort of an homage to Mercinaries (or perhaps more accurately, the PS3 sequel) you're able to harpoon just about any vehicle in the game and then leap into a stunt position atop it, poised to quickly eject the unwilling driver or pilot toward the terra firma of the island. Once you're in a vehicle, you can jump in and out of this stunt position, sacrificing total control of the vehicles in exchange for the ability to pull off some MDK-style parachute stunts.
It will require a massive suspension of disbelief, but once you're get used to the idea that Rico Rodriguez, the game's guerilla-friendly, machismo-filled lead character, can leap from cockpit to tail of flying vehicles -- even choppers and their rotors -- in preparation for some absolutely insane mid-air snatch-and-grabs, you're that much closer to seeing the game for the controllable action movie that it is. Many an hour can be lost just trying to chain together the perfect combo of drawing chopper fire, jacking a truck to get to one of the tallest points in the island, then jumping out as it races off a cliff to explode below, parachute deployed, then 'pooning a passing truck to get some momentum and a little air under your 'chute, then attaching to that chopper, stealing it, taking it up high enough to skydive out, catch a passing jet and then working your way up from the tail to take over the cockpit and fly around blowing stuff up.
It was a watershed moment in freedom of gameplay, allowing gamers to do as they pleased while still experiencing a world and narrative that helped shaped the experience into something that was utterly unique. For a good five games now (if you count the PSP releases), Rockstar has had a stranglehold on not only the concept, but the proper execution of a game for quite a while now, and while many have tried to duplicate the execution, none have thus far managed to pull off the concept as a whole.
Without going into the sandbox failures (and there have been near-countless attempts), we have Just Cause, a game that thankfully transplants the concept from the concrete jungle to the actual jungles of a non-specific Caribbean island to, in effect, incite a revolution and overthrow the handful of tyrants that are guiding the direction of San Esperito.
Because you're given free run of a whole island (Eidos and developer Avalanche eagerly tout the 250,000 acres number), you're welcome to finish the game as quickly as you like. If you're expecting a storyline or a world as densely packed as the GTA games that Just Cause is at least inspired by, you're going to be found wanting rather quickly; I managed to complete the main storyline in a little under six hours. That's not a typo; you can blow through the game if you concentrate on the main storyline missions, but of course the developers were hoping the siren's song of a full island to explore would make poking around paradise a little too tempting. Had I not succumbed to my curiosity a bit into the game, it's not unreasonable to think I could have beaten the story proper a good hour or two faster.
Luckily, Avalanche has built itself the kind of world that rewards just goofing around. In sort of an homage to Mercinaries (or perhaps more accurately, the PS3 sequel) you're able to harpoon just about any vehicle in the game and then leap into a stunt position atop it, poised to quickly eject the unwilling driver or pilot toward the terra firma of the island. Once you're in a vehicle, you can jump in and out of this stunt position, sacrificing total control of the vehicles in exchange for the ability to pull off some MDK-style parachute stunts.
It will require a massive suspension of disbelief, but once you're get used to the idea that Rico Rodriguez, the game's guerilla-friendly, machismo-filled lead character, can leap from cockpit to tail of flying vehicles -- even choppers and their rotors -- in preparation for some absolutely insane mid-air snatch-and-grabs, you're that much closer to seeing the game for the controllable action movie that it is. Many an hour can be lost just trying to chain together the perfect combo of drawing chopper fire, jacking a truck to get to one of the tallest points in the island, then jumping out as it races off a cliff to explode below, parachute deployed, then 'pooning a passing truck to get some momentum and a little air under your 'chute, then attaching to that chopper, stealing it, taking it up high enough to skydive out, catch a passing jet and then working your way up from the tail to take over the cockpit and fly around blowing stuff up.
