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"Though it pushes the Xbox to its limits, Just Cause won't be breaking any other barriers anytime soon."

Writing a review for a game of the sandbox action/adventure genre is tough, because one never knows when they've seen enough to form a real, objective opinion. This goes especially for Just Cause, one of the latest from publisher Eidos. Just Cause is a game much in the same vein as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise or Lucasart's Mercenaries. The basic concept is the same as the aforementioned games: roam across a massive map with beautiful environments and bustling cities, taking missions from various factions who are competing for power. Sound familiar? Well, yes and no. Just Cause does some things differently than its predecessors and competitors, but in the end, it is quite the same game as those you've played before.

The story of Just Cause is simple. You are Rico Rodriguez, a hotshot CIA operative with a suave Latin American accent. After freefalling down to earth and fighting off a bunch of bad guys, you learn your purpose on the Latin American island nation of San Esperito: to overthrow the corrupt dictatorship of President Salvador Mendoza, who happens to be in the pocket of the nasty Montano drug cartel and backed by a strong military and police force. To do this, you're going to need the help of fellow operatives Sheldon and Kane, as well as guns, vehicles, and other fun stuff from the Riojas drug cartel and a guerilla movement opposing the president's rule. It sounds like an interesting vehicle to get the game moving. And for a while, it really is. However, the plot wears thin easily. Using cutscenes as its primary mode of propulsion, the plot isn't anything new and there is virtually no substance to any of the characters. It is a bit of a disappointment, as the plot could have gone a lot farther.

Unfortunately, the gameplay also seems to be a slight disappointment. In a sandbox game, especially an action one, there needs to be plenty of gameplay variety to keep players hooked. For instance, in GTA, the player has many varieties of missions available, as well as side jobs for extra cash or flavor. In Just Cause, however, the mission variety just isn't there, for both main plot missions and side jobs.

Most plot missions revolve around driving somewhere, then blowing something up, killing someone, or stealing something. Doing this for the first few times is alright, and the early game unlockables for the major factions will keep players busy in the beginning. However, after a while, these missions get very stale. Occasionally, the addition of a new vehicle in the missions breaks the repetition, but unfortunately not by much. Yes, flying in a plane or using a speedboat with machine guns is quite fun, but the novelty soon wears off and the game exposes its true weaknesses. First, at its core, the basic gunplay of which much of the game revolves, is very weak. It is an auto-target system, and shooting quickly becomes boring. Enemies are about as dumb as a stick, standing in the open just waiting to get shot down.

Second, the map is probably just too big. Roughly 23 times the size of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Just Cause has a simply massive map. Yet, most of it is fairly uninteresting. Deep forests are easy to get stuck in, although they do look fantastic. Besides what is in the settlements or on the road, there isn't much in the game, despite its size. One also must wonder that if the map was cut down in half, then perhaps the AI could have been worked on or the repetitive mission structure given some variety.

The side missions, which revolve around doing oddjobs for the Riojas drug cartel or the guerillas, are very repetitive. In fact, through the course of a few hours, I have done the same jobs for the same faction at least three times now. The lack of variety is quite disturbing for a game which offers such a big playground. The liberation missions, which involve killing all enemy faction members in a town and then either taking a flag or killing a leader to take the town for the faction you are working for, is no better. There is only a slight variation between the Riojas' and guerillas' version of the mission. Doing them at least a dozen times over the map gets kind of boring, again making one wish that the developers had added some variety.

Still, despite these weaknesses, Just Cause is absolutely beautiful. The environments, especially from the air, look fantastic, and are easily close to the level of early next generation games. The character models, while fairly generic all around, still get the job done. There is virtually no clipping and the draw distances are fantastic. Textures are smooth but could use some more work. Water looks great, but water interacting with the character is still pretty basic. While far from being a graphical masterpiece, the work that went into making Just Cause as atmospheric and beautiful as it is was surely monumental, and for this, Eidos' development team deserves full marks.

The sound is great and atmospheric too. Villagers and many characters speak in heavy Latino accents, which is fitting for the setting. The voice acting is also pretty good, though not on par with GTA. In the forests and jungles, birds chirp and squeak and the air is filled with the sounds of bugs and rustling foliage. It is certainly better than what most games have for atmoshperic sound. Guns sound okay, although they sound a bit muted. The music is Latin American horns and guitar work that fits the game beautifully, although there are only a couple of tracks.

Just Cause really doesn't have the replayibility one expects from a sandbox game. The game doesn't have much for Easter Eggs and unlockables. However, San Esperito is one of the most atmospheric and beautiful places to be on the Xbox nowadays, and an occasional rampage or flight over the landscape is worth it.

Just Cause was a good idea, putting together the elements of a number of its predecessors. However, it just doesn't reach the sum of its parts, hampered by poor and repetitive mission structure, bad gunplay, and just being too big for its own good. Despite this, it features one of the most beautiful game worlds I've ever seen and decent sound. Pick this one up for a rental and give it a spin. If you see it in a bargain bin, pick it up, but don't go the whole $50.


Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/06