Just Cause (video game)

2006 action adventure game

Just Cause is a 2006 third person action adventure game set in an open world environment. It is developed by Swedish developer Avalanche Studios and published by Eidos Interactive, and is the first game in the Just Cause series. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. The area explored during the game is described as being over in size, with 21 story missions and over 300 side missions to complete. As of 23 April 2009, it has sold more than one million copies. A sequel to the game developed by Avalanche Studios, published by Eidos Interactive and distributed by Square Enix, titled Just Cause 2, was released in March 2010. Just Cause 3 was revealed in November 2014 and released in December 2015. Just Cause 4 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in December 2018. It has been confirmed by the CEO of Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda that a 5th is in development but should not be expected to be out any time soon.

The core gameplay consists of elements of a third person shooter and a driving game, with a large, open world environment in which to move. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, swimming, and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand to hand combat. Players can take control of a variety of vehicles, including cars, boats, aircraft, helicopters, and motorcycles. Players can also perform stunts with their cars in which they can stand on the roof and jump to another car, or choose to open their parachute while still in motion on the roof. Other key features of the game include skydiving, base jumping, and parasailing (by latching onto a moving car or boat while one's parachute is deployed). The open, non linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game, players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can roam freely. However, doing so can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. The player can partake in a variety of optional side missions, for example, liberating a village or taking over a drug cartel hideout. These are necessary to gain points with certain factions.

Just Cause begins in 2006 with Rico Rodriguez, an operative for an organization known only as the "Agency", being dropped into a Caribbean island nation called San Esperito to link up with his mentor and Agency superior, Tom Sheldon, and help him overthrow San Esperito's dictator, President Salvador Mendoza, whom the Agency believes to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction. After his arrival, Rico meets up with Sheldon and fellow agent Maria Kane, and they ally themselves with a guerrilla group and the Rioja drug cartel staging a rebellion against both Mendoza and the Montano drug cartel, which has exploited the corruption of the regime to expand its operations throughout San Esperito. Most of the game focuses on Rico's efforts to dismantle Mendoza's regime, eliminate the Black Hand mercenaries hired to oppress the people of San Esperito, and fight back against the cartels. Rico can also assist in the liberation of various territories to further destabilize the government's rule over the island. Eventually, Sheldon discovers that Mendoza does, indeed, have control of WMDs, and with San Esperito lost to his control, the president is forced to retreat to his private island just off the mainland. To stop him from using the weapons, Sheldon and Kane fly Rico to the island, causing Mendoza to attempt an escape by jet. However, Rico boards the jet and kills Mendoza and his remaining bodyguards, ending his reign over the islands and allowing the Agency to secure the WMDs.

The game was in development for 3 years.

The PC version of Just Cause received "generally favourable reviews", while the rest of the console versions received "mixed or average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. However, 411Mania gave the same console version 6.5 out of 10 and called it "a fun game but only a must own by a wide stretch of the imagination." The Sydney Morning Herald gave the game three stars out of five and said, "Sloppy vehicle handling, some bugs in the design of the missions and the endless travel means it doesn't hit the same high notes as Grand Theft Auto and others, but the mindless action is still good dumb fun."