Just Cause (video game)

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Just Cause
Just Cause cover (Windows)
Developer(s) Avalanche Studios
Publisher(s) Eidos Interactive
Engine Avalanche Engine
Platform(s) Xbox 360, Xbox, Playstation 2, Windows
Release date September 22, 2006 (EU)
September 27, 2006 (NA)
October 6, 2006 (PL)
Genre(s) Third-person shooter/Action
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: Mature (M)
PEGI: 16+
Media DVD-DL, DVD
Steam

Just Cause is a third-person "sandbox" video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released on September 22, 2006 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2 platforms in Europe. It arrived in North America on September 27, 2006. The fictional area explored during the game is described as being over 250,000 acres (1,012 km²) in size, with 21 story missions and over 300 side missions to complete.[1]

Contents

[edit] Story

Just Cause is set on a fictional Caribbean tropical island called "San Esperito", where the player works as CIA black ops agent Rico Rodriguez in a guerrilla war to overthrow San Esperito's dictator, who may be in possession of weapons of mass destruction.[2] The game draws its premise (and name) from the real-life United States invasion of Panama, code-named "Operation Just Cause", which involved United States military action to overthrow military leader Manuel Noriega.

Rodriguez has been described by developers as being "the child of one thousand comic books and action movies. He is James Bond, Mad Max, Jason Bourne, El Mariachi, Wolverine, Punisher, Rambo, Tony Montana, Han Solo and Vincent Vega all rolled into one. With a touch of Enrique Iglesias to top it all off!".[3]

[edit] Gameplay

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Just Cause is structured similarly to the Pandemic Studios game, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, with a large, open environment to move around in. 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, airplanes, 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 and parasailing (by latching onto a moving car 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 free-roam. However, doing so can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities.

The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions , for example liberating a village or taking over a drug cartel hideout. These are generally (as indicated by most critics) quite repetitive but are necessary to gain points with certain factions.

[edit] Demo

A demo of the Xbox 360 game was released on August 24, 2006 on Xbox Live Marketplace. The PC demo followed in a premiere release at GameSpot. [4]

[edit] Critical reception

The title has been given a variety of different review scores from different media outlets, with the average score varying by platform, from around 68% (PlayStation 2 version) to 76% (PC version). [5].

In an online review, IGN gave Just Cause a score of 6.8 out of 10. They noted that the gameplay lacked depth and that the side quests are boring and repetitive.[6]. However, IGN UK awarded the game a score of 8.8, and the Official Xbox Magazine UK gave Just Cause a score of 9 out of 10, praising it for "varied, consistent, imaginative gameplay". [7]

The game suffers from its share of bug-related issues though, as noted by many reviewers, who feel the game may have been "rushed" to market without sufficient time to fix certain problems. [8] The PlayStation 2 version in particular, suffers from a number of 'game-killing' bugs that render certain missions impossible to complete, or the entire game unplayable until the game is reset. As of February 16, 2008, more than a year after the game's release, Eidos has not released a patch for the PC or Xbox 360 versions of the game.

GamerNode rated the game 6.7 out of 10, [9] while GameBrite gave it 51%. [10]

PC Gamer (UK) rated the game an 85% must buy (PCG 167). PC Gamer US rated it 93% in their December 2006 issue.

The Xbox 360 version was well received, scoring 9/10 in Play Magazine (US) and 360 Gamer Magazine UK. The 360 version also stayed on top of the Xbox 360 sales chart in the UK for three weeks in a row. [11]

[edit] Sequel

In a January 2008 financial report, Eidos Interactive confirmed that Just Cause 2 is in development.[12]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • On several posters President Mendoza wears a white uniform which is very similar to the Venezuelan Gala-Uniform Nr.1 worn by former dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez and current President Hugo Chávez.
  • On the back of the game's booklet is a picture of President Mendoza defaced with graffiti. One of the lines in the top left corner reads "All in all you're just another brick in the wall" referencing Pink Floyd's The Wall.
  • The names of several characters in the game are based on real life individuals involved in Latin America; according to the Prima Games guide for Just Cause the former President of San Esperito was named Hernan Augusto, while Mendoza's first name is Salvador, this is a play on the names of Chilean President Salvador Allende, and Augusto Pinochet, the man who overthrew him with CIA assistance, only in the game the names are reversed. The main character of Rico Rodriguez is also based on CIA agent Félix Rodríguez, the man responsible for Che Guevara's capture in Bolivia.
  • The name of the Riojas rival drug regime the "Montanos" is a reference to Tony Montana, an infamous drug lord from the movie Scarface.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Douglass C. Perry, Just Cause Hands-on, IGN, August 22, 2006
  2. ^ Ricardo Torres,E3 06: Just Cause First Look, GameSpot, 4/26/2006
  3. ^ Odd Ahlgren, Just Cause Interview, Pro-G, 03/08/2006
  4. ^ Just Cause demo, GameSpot, 8/24/2006
  5. ^ Metacritic, [1], Metacritic
  6. ^ Erik Brudvig, Just Cause Review, IGN, September 18, 2006
  7. ^ [2], Official Xbox Magazine UK, October 2006, p.64
  8. ^ Kristan Reed, Just Cause Review, Eurogamer, 09/25/06
  9. ^ Chris Pereira, Just Cause Review, GamerNode, October 2006
  10. ^ Chad Abshire, Just Cause (Xbox 360) Review, GameBrite, October 2006
  11. ^ Chart Track, Just Cause Sales w.39 2006
  12. ^ [3], SCI Financial Report 24 Jan 2007, 4/17/2007

[edit] External links

Official Links
Articles
Media