| Just Cause | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Avalanche Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Eidos Interactive |
| Director(s) | Christofer Sundberg |
| Producer(s) | Fredrik Sjöö |
| Designer(s) | Magnus Nedfors |
| Programmer(s) | Sara Roos Fredrik Lönn |
| Writer(s) | Odd Ahlgren Matthew J. Costello Neil Richards |
| Composer(s) | Rob Lord |
| Engine | Avalanche Engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 |
| Release date(s) | EU September 22, 2006 NA September 27, 2006 AU September 29, 2006 JP November 8, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Open world, action-adventure, third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Optical disc, download |
| System requirements | |
Just Cause is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 on September 22, 2006 in Europe, September 27, 2006 in North America, September 29, 2006 in Australia and November 8, 2007 in Japan. The fictional area explored during the game is described as being over 250,000 acres (1,012 km2; 391 sq mi) in size, with 21 story missions and over 300 side missions to complete.[1] As of April 23, 2009, it has sold more than 1 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 on March 23, 2010.
Contents |
Just Cause begins with Rico Rodriguez, an operative for an organization known as the Agency, being dropped into a Caribbean tropical island called San Esperito, after being called there by his commanding officer (CO), Tom Sheldon, to help overthrow San Esperito's dictator; Salvador Mendoza, whom the Agency believes to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).[2] After his arrival, Rico rendezvouses with Sheldon, as well as their partner and fellow agent Maria Kane, and they ally themselves with a faction of guerrilla freedom fighters. Rico assists them in their civil war against Mendoza's corrupt officials, and also assists in the liberation of various territories to further destabalize the government's rule over the island.
Eventually, Sheldon discovers that Mendoza does, indeed, have control of WMDs, and with San Esperito so politically unstable, the president is forced to retreat to his private presidential island just off the mainland. Sheldon and Kane fly Rico to the island to kill Mendoza, but he attempts to escape via jet. However, Rico boards the jet and kills Mendoza and his remaining bodyguards, ending his reign over the island.
The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, with a large, open world 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, fixed wing 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 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 necessary to gain points with certain factions.
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.[3]
Just Cause has received generally mixed reviews from critics.
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.[4] 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".[5] The Official Playstation Magazine UK gave it 8 out of 10, criticising its repetitive side missions and short story (saying it could be completed in less than five hours), but praising some of the gameplay mechanics.
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.[6] 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 it is reset. 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,[7] while GameBrite gave it 51%.[8]
PC Gamer UK rated the game an 85%.[9] PC Gamer US rated it 93%[10]
The Xbox 360 version was well received, scoring 9/10 in Play (US) and 360 Gamer UK. The 360 version also stayed on top of the Xbox 360 sales chart in the UK for three weeks in a row.[11]
The minimum requirements of Just Cause (PC version):
The recommended requirements of Just Cause:
IGN reports that comic book writer Bryan Edward Hill will pen the film titled Just Cause: Scorpion Rising. [12]