Ultimately, if massive destruction and daredevil escapades are your bag, you’ll probably love Just Cause. It’s fair to say that Avalanche seems to have struggled to fill its gorgeous, living island with engrossing content beyond the main missions, but that doesn’t mean you won’t still have a monumental amount of fun exploring it – that fact in itself justifies its sheer size. If you’re still undecided whether Just Cause is for you, understand that the game proper will probably last you fifteen to twenty hours, factoring in story objectives and general messing round. If that doesn’t seem like much to you, we can’t stress enough that those are fifteen hours of some of the most spellbinding moments of giddy, adrenaline-soaked euphoria we’ve had from a game in a long time. At the end of the day, Just Cause is a game that practically demands you use your imagination to make the most of its potential – and if you’ve got it, you’re in for an absolute rollercoaster ride.
Just Cause will evoke strong love-it-or-hate-it reactions from people for a lot of reasons. The game's amoral stance on the complicated issues surrounding US-sponsored regime changes in third-world countries will rub some people the wrong way, while others will be annoyed by its fast-and-loose approach to basic physics. Even though it doesn't get some of the particulars right, Just Cause can still be engaging simply because of the risks it's willing to take.
Newly formed Avalanche Studios out of Sweden should be given credit for a good attempt at its first game. It seems that if they had a little more time to iron out the bugs and add some polish, then they would have produced a great title. The graphics are, for the most part, quite good looking and there is a lot of fun to be had while playing through the storyline, performing crazy aerial stunts, and trying your hand at a few of the side quests. The lack of depth really comes through once you get more than about 10 hours into the game and the monotony of doing the same side quests over and over takes its toll. After that, it comes down to how much fun you can create by yourself. Just Cause works well as a rental on Xbox and Xbox 360 or as a game to pick up and play for a short while, but if you want something to keep you entertained for a long time then you should look elsewhere.
You can flip that coin whichever way you want really, they're both the same, 360 controls much better though.
On another note, I really like this game and have been playing it every day since it's release in Euroland, around 24 hours in total now, and am about done with it, just finishing off the last liberation achievements for a full 1000 pts. But it's been a really fun ride, a bit repetitive, but over the top fun.
LOLZ. 5 posts in a day and a half. GAF has Just Cause fever!!
Anyway, just played for an hour and it's.... interesting. Kind of like a retarded Mercenaries meets a retarded GTA.
Here's what I did.
I parachuted onto the island, stole a van and went riding. Then I came back, finished the mission and did the next mission where I have to protect the jeep using the machine gun on it's back. After passing that now I can free roam. I took the dirt bike, went riding over hills and shit until I came upon a poor fishing village next to the water. I ****ed around with those people, then ran out to the dock. At the dock I tried to open a box with my machine gun, which scared the fishing people into jumping off the dock (lolz). Then I saw a snorkeling chick, swam out to **** around with her. A boat came by so I stole that and went crusing. I drove that on shore, stole a car and got into a gun fight with the cops while day turned into night.
While that sounds awesome, there are problems. Shoot someone and they disapear not long after hitting the ground. Vehicle control is weird. And this ****ing assisted aim... there's gotta be a way to turn it off, I hope.
So it's flawed for sure, but it looks like it's gonna be a pretty fun game to **** around with for awhile.
Thanks for the impressions, I'm really debating whether to pick this up, I liked the demo but's it's pretty rough in spots, I'd like to hear more impressions. As for aiming, I thought in the demo you could click the right stick or something to zoom in a little and manually aim or something.
I'm loving this game, played it for almost 5 hours last night just driving/flying around and exploring mostly and up to the
brothel in the volcano mission:lol
. If you dont like the demo you wont like this, the combat, simple missions, controls (eg aiming and weapon swapping), animations and slightly wonky physics are not changed from the demo. The game reminds me of Mercenaries but fully next gen.
Had fun just admiring the scenery and in particular flying the vehicles (helicopter and prop plane only so far). Some beautiful graphics in this game, the draw distance is just amazing with all the landscape below looking stunning. Looks awesome at 1080i w/s.Has the same vibrant colors of Far Cry and I enjoyed just stopping and admiring the scenery from time to time. At night, the way the city lights up looks great too. Even the sky is beautiful eg as the sun comes up. The music suits the game wonderfully too, especially that haunting background music.
The best aspect of the game for me is the flying, the controls and high framerate combined with the incredible level of detail and long draw distance being most impressive to me. When I first took up a plane, it was the same feeling as the first time I did so in GTA Vice City. Other vehicles are fun too thanks the the really fast sensation of speed.
Some highlights for the game. Flying the helicopter for the first time. Flying the prop plane for the first time and seeing how crazy high you can go. Parachuting onto a skyscraper and then base jumping below. Seeing how far I can get a boat onto land (one time ended up on the road and couldnt move but opened fire on any passing traffic). Getting the jeep 'drop' unlocked (the lights are so bright at night and some great weapons).
Best moment was flying the prop plane and experimented with throttle, stalled and plummetted into the sea underwater (10-20 ft below the surface), the getting the plane back above water and flying in the air again :lol Then I tried landing in the street which worked but traffic hit the plane and it blew up.
Great game, the reviewers are way off with this one, I haven't had this much fun in the first 5 or so hours in a game since Dead Rising. It's not perfect but it's fun. Fun fun fun!
8/10
While I did enjoy the demo immensly and will certainly give this one a rent, I do have to agree that the game has some ugly art design aethestics in some places.
I finished the main missions the other day and I must say I really enjoyed Just Cause, even if it does have its faults. It's one of those games I think that'll split people so I can see why people aren't enjoying it as much as I did but some people just aren't giving the thing a fair chance. The controls/combat took a bit of getting used to, especially jumping between vehicles, but they don't take long to get the hang of. The grappling hook deserves heaps of praise as it has made for some amazing moments, the last mission especially had me swapping between about 3 helicopters just to survive.
I love the sheer size of it, I love the fact you can just retry a mission when you fail and I love how you can get vehicles dropped off via helicopter if you happen to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. The lock-on aiming system is perhaps a little too accurate for its own good but when you get to the later stages of the game you'll be thankful it's not as clumsy as GTA's.
It's over the top, but it makes no apoligies and is the game equivalent of a B-Movie. Looks stunning too, absolutley full of colour and I haven't seen such beautiful sunsets since Ocarina of Time and only the character models and building textures show it up as being essentially a PS2 port. The side missions aren't exactly thrilling for the most part, but the Liberation missions do get rather intense the further you progress but that's about it as the rest of them are basically 'go get/kill something and bring it back.' With that in mind, and the fact that there's only 21 main missions I think in retrospect I would go to a 7/7.5 kinda score, but the main missions and just messing around in general is too much fun for me to go any lower.
I finished the main missions the other day and I must say I really enjoyed Just Cause, even if it does have its faults. It's one of those games I think that'll split people so I can see why people aren't enjoying it as much as I did but some people just aren't giving the thing a fair chance. The controls/combat took a bit of getting used to, especially jumping between vehicles, but they don't take long to get the hang of. The grappling hook deserves heaps of praise as it has made for some amazing moments, the last mission especially had me swapping between about 3 helicopters just to survive.
I love the sheer size of it, I love the fact you can just retry a mission when you fail and I love how you can get vehicles dropped off via helicopter if you happen to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. The lock-on aiming system is perhaps a little too accurate for its own good but when you get to the later stages of the game you'll be thankful it's not as clumsy as GTA's.
It's over the top, but it makes no apoligies and is the game equivalent of a B-Movie. Looks stunning too, absolutley full of colour and I haven't seen such beautiful sunsets since Ocarina of Time and only the character models and building textures show it up as being essentially a PS2 port. The side missions aren't exactly thrilling for the most part, but the Liberation missions do get rather intense the further you progress but that's about it as the rest of them are basically 'go get/kill something and bring it back.' With that in mind, and the fact that there's only 21 main missions I think in retrospect I would go to a 7/7.5 kinda score, but the main missions and just messing around in general is too much fun for me to go any lower.
I finished the main missions the other day and I must say I really enjoyed Just Cause, even if it does have its faults. It's one of those games I think that'll split people so I can see why people aren't enjoying it as much as I did but some people just aren't giving the thing a fair chance. The controls/combat took a bit of getting used to, especially jumping between vehicles, but they don't take long to get the hang of. The grappling hook deserves heaps of praise as it has made for some amazing moments, the last mission especially had me swapping between about 3 helicopters just to survive.
I love the sheer size of it, I love the fact you can just retry a mission when you fail and I love how you can get vehicles dropped off via helicopter if you happen to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. The lock-on aiming system is perhaps a little too accurate for its own good but when you get to the later stages of the game you'll be thankful it's not as clumsy as GTA's.
It's over the top, but it makes no apoligies and is the game equivalent of a B-Movie. Looks stunning too, absolutley full of colour and I haven't seen such beautiful sunsets since Ocarina of Time and only the character models and building textures show it up as being essentially a PS2 port. The side missions aren't exactly thrilling for the most part, but the Liberation missions do get rather intense the further you progress but that's about it as the rest of them are basically 'go get/kill something and bring it back.' With that in mind, and the fact that there's only 21 main missions I think in retrospect I would go to a 7/7.5 kinda score, but the main missions and just messing around in general is too much fun for me to go any lower.
I think its worth pointing out that the different types of vehicles have completely different handling. my first car I used was an SUV and I though - man this sucks, its hard just to keep the thing in a straight line. But other vehicles like sports cars really grip the road and handle nicely.
also as to this being a port of a ps2 or xbox game, well try taking a plane up high - the visuals are just stunning, the draw distance is 32km miles vs 8km on the xbox/ps2 gen and its breathtaking. really, nothing compares. dont just play the demo for a couple minutes and think wow the graphics sucks vs Saints Row. Get up in the air. In the real game, you can fly as long as you want.
the game has a lot of areas of improvements but a sequel with the driving/handling/shooting mechanics & cool pedestrians of Saints Row, with the mission designs, building interiors and story/humor of GTA would make an awesome sequel.
300+ side missions (eg races, delivery missions etc) which dont have cut scenes. they are like the side missions of GTA or Saints Row (delivery, ambulance, robbery etc)
the story missions IMO are the weakest element of the game, I've done half of them and their are pretty simplistic so far.
what creatures have people seen in this game? I've seen a large variety of different types of birds, including some beautiful rainbow colored birds of paradise looking ones, fish and I think I saw a dog or cat but I was driving at like 100 mph at the time. I tend to be moving around a lot in this game. using the grapple hook is just awesome. I noticed that there's a bunch of hidden stuff everywhere, some high up and need to be accessed from the air.
The giant statue for example near city with the giant skyscapers has a collectable on the outstretched hand. I had a helicopter at the time, and hovered above and then hit 'Y' to exit vehicle ready to walk up to it. Well I landed OK, but the helicopter immediately landed on me :lol doh.
Can anybody tell me EXACTLY what ALL the differences between the PC and the xbox 360 version are? Graphics, gameplay, content ... Thanks.
Anyway, finished the story missions. Took me about 10 hours. It was fun while it lasted. I just love free falling in videogames. There should be more games like this. I still remember the awesomenes that was the first MDK. Remember?
Can anybody tell me EXACTLY what ALL the differences between the PC and the xbox 360 version are? Graphics, gameplay, content ... Thanks.
Anyway, finished the story mission. It was fun while it lasted. I just love free falling in videogames. There should be more games like this. I still remember the awesomenes that was the first MDK. Remember?
Can a person who owns Saint's Row also tell me which is the better buy? I want a sandbox game and I've been debating between this and SR. I like the setting of JC but I've heard SR has a lot more to do in it and has better overall mechanics.
Can a person who owns Saint's Row also tell me which is the better buy? I want a sandbox game and I've been debating between this and SR. I like the setting of JC but I've heard SR has a lot more to do in it and has better overall mechanics.
...only because JC is kinda lifeless as far as its NPCs and activities go. In SR, there is just sooo much to do and the pedestrians add ALOT to the game.
SR >>>> JC
but still play JC at some point and support some great ideas that will hopefully get built on even more if a sequel gets made
Can a person who owns Saint's Row also tell me which is the better buy? I want a sandbox game and I've been debating between this and SR. I like the setting of JC but I've heard SR has a lot more to do in it and has better overall mechanics.
personally I prefer Just Cause, but I think most people would prefer Saints Row.
Saints Row I think is a more impressive 'game' in terms of presenting a highly detailed city, great amount of life (eg all the pedestrians say crazy things, chaos ensues everywhere with crashes etc) and really cool and easy to use controls (especially with guns). Cars handle better and you can customise them. There's more varied and interesting missions, and some cool interiors to go (stores you can rob, strip club, bars etc). Some great physics (better than JC) and explosions for carnage fun. If you want shooting and driving action, Saints Row is best. The biggest weakness for me is lack of vehicle variety, eg bikes and flying.
Just Cause I think appeals to me more because of the beautiful colorful tropical world (like Far Cry) and the variety of vehicles (not just cars but bikes, boats, helicopters and planes). I love just flying around and messing around with the different vehicles, most of which can go crazy fast. There arent any interiors (that I have seen) and the missions are simplistic and told with weak cutscenes. Animation isnt great, and the people arent as interesting or varied as Saints Row. Combat and guns arent as satisfying either.
I finished up the last of the 1000 points of achievements today, had two lingering army bases to liberate with their rapid shooting #¤%# tanks. :lol But anyway, I did it and now I sadly feel there's nothing at all left to do in the game other than to go about aimlessly. I've reached the top of the reputations for both the guerilla and the cartel, collected everything, been everywhere.. basejumped for over 1000 meters..
4 days it took all in all.
Go with Saints Row if you want longetivity. JC was really fun by all means, it just sadly doesn't have the legs.
I finished up the last of the 1000 points of achievements today, had two lingering army bases to liberate with their rapid shooting #¤%# tanks. :lol But anyway, I did it and now I sadly feel there's nothing at all left to do in the game other than to go about aimlessly. I've reached the top of the reputations for both the guerilla and the cartel, collected everything, been everywhere.. basejumped for over 1000 meters..
4 days it took all in all.
Go with Saints Row if you want longetivity. JC was really fun by all means, it just sadly doesn't have the legs.
I don't know what exactly is wrong with this game. The stunt-poses are cool, but you can't too easily jump to another car. The flying is also kind of cool, but you can't do anything up in the air but fly around and jump out.
The missions I did were both 'take-over' missions, where you need to take over a government village. Was kind of boring -- Put down C4/throw grenades at a barricade three times and change the flag.
It's not a bad game, but I didn't really like it. Too much space where nothing happened. And the controls on PC were alright, but GTA controlled a lot better.
Anyway, for a game that has its fair share of flaws, I'm playing it a lot. You just can't beat shooting a grapple hook at a passing car or boat and parasailing off the back of it.
+ Game world is immense. Oblivion-esque.
+ Cool latin funk soundtrack.
+ Despite being a Mercenaries + GTA clone, there's lots of originality, too. I've done things in this game I've never done in any other game.
+ Lots of wild terrain to explore. Many times I've been speeding away from the cops only to send my car off a 500 foot cliff, jump out, hit the parachute and breeze gently down while my car explodes into a fiery wreck below.
- Gunplay sucks
- Enemy AI sucks
- Too easy (at least so far)
Nitpicky gamers will probably hate this as it's not a polished AAA-type production. For those who really like Mercenaries and open world sandbox style game play, you'll very likely get a kick out of it. I think it's a $50 well spent. 8.0 range.
Nitpicky gamers will probably hate this as it's not a polished AAA-type production. For those who really like Mercenaries and open world sandbox style game play, you'll very likely get a kick out of it. I think it's a $50 well spent. 8.0 range.
Agreed. I did enjoy the demo and despite luke warm reviews, picked it up tonight. After playing for a mere couple hours I have to say I am having more fun with this game than I had with all of Saints Row. It definitely has flaws and if given a few more months development, could have turned into a top notch title. I haven't played enough to know if it gets annoyingly repetitious but as for now, I am loving it, warts and all.
I don't like Just Cause very much at all. It's like a game centered around the Latin super-spy from that Eddie Murphy movie I Spy.
The game is literally lifeless and everything outside of your character looks terrible. The buildings, people, ugh. Some of the NPCs look like N64 characters.
