Fun chaos but a fair weather effort
If there is one thing that is certain when it comes to Just Cause games, it is that you will have plenty of fun. But could Just Cause 4, released earlier this month, take the series on to a new level?
Rico Rodriguez is back, and this time he is taking on the fictional South American country of Solís and a new adversary... extreme weather.
Yes, you did read that correctly. JC4 uses a new version of Avalanche’s Apex game engine which allows the game to feature diverse and extreme weather effects, including blizzards, sandstorms, tornadoes and more. It is pretty epic stuff and actually ends up being JC4’s crowning achievement. Which is great. But it doesn’t say much about the depth of the game itself. Of course, there is an actual enemy to take on, too, in the shape of Black Hand, the world’s most powerful private army, run by Gabriela Morales, a new character in the franchise.
The story goes that Rico is shown evidence that his late father was working with The Black Hand and goes in search of answers.
In terms of looks, the game is fantastic as ever while improvements have been made to the AI from the last instalment.
Non-player characters are now a lot smarter and display more tactical nous, making them an increased threat. There is plenty that is good about JC4 and, as always, it is packed full of the joys of destruction. The kinetic traversal system is as brilliant as ever and satisfyingly logical to use.
And, as I have touched on, the tools at your disposal to cause carnage are simply awesome.
The excellent physics and new weather element are superb and marry together nicely with the tools and gadgets at your fingertips to cause destruction.
So, why has JC4 met with such a mixed response critically?
Well, unfortunately it is easy to see why.
The game feels a touch unfinished in many ways. You are thrust into this amazing open world environment, but the reality is there just isn’t a whole lot to do.
The mission format fails to capture the imagination, and from that perspective the story and end goal falls a little flat.
There are plenty of improvements here and hardcore Just Cause fans will get the usual thrills and spills. But are we wrong to expect a few major game-changing introductions from a new standalone title in the series? I don’t think it is asking too much.