Pure unadulterated fun – and lots of oomph!
I t ’s f un t o enter t ai n t he f antasy t hat Avalanche Studios’ boardr oom i s c hock- f ul l of ambitious young de vel opers whose i deas f or dazzling gameplay mechanics and engaging s t or yl i nes f al l on t he deaf ears of t he moustachioed c i gar- t oti ng authority f i gure who pushes back each and e ver y proposition with t he s ame f our words: “we need more oomph”.
And oomph i ndeed. Just Cause 4 c arri es on i n much t he s ame way as i t s e xplosive predecessor. Guns, grapples, r ocke t boosters, wingsuits, t ornadoes – Just Cause 4 f eel s l i ke i t was cr eated by a Michael Bay unhindered by whatever t eam of people i s employed t o l end r est r ai nt t o his heavy- handed t hrasing about i n t he world of c i nema.
Ever yt hing e xcept t he r at her i mpressive game and physics engines i n Just Cause 4 f eel s l i ke an af t er t hought. The main antagonist? Oh j ust another Latin ag gressor of questionable ori gi ns. The environment? Well ‘ vaguely South American t r opics’ worked well t he l ast t i me s o l e t ’s j ust go with t hat again.
The s i milariti es are endless and would al most l aughable i f i t were not f or one ke y f ac t or – Just Cause games were never about anything other t han bl owing s t uff up i n a mass i ve s andbox. The de vel oper ’s know t his well. Ever yt hing s uper f l uous t o t his one ke y r equirement has been t apered t o an al most i nconsequential point. Who needs anything but a bare- bones s t or y when al l t he pl ayers are going t o r emember i s t he t i me t hey grappled t hemselves t o a c r uise missile and s hot off t owards t he s unse t ?
One of t he most c ommendable t hings about Just Cause 4 i s how much of t he ‘ busy work’ has been s horn away. Each s e tt l ement now has a r otati on of missions t hat must be c ompleted i n order t o c apture t he l ocation f or t he r ebel f orces. Just Cause 3’s endless c ycl e of t eari ng down objec t s of propaganda was s o r epe t i t i ve t hat i t s eri ously de t r ac t ed f r om t he f un of t he game.
Better ye t , t he enemy will not t r y t o r ecapture t erri t or i es t hat you have t aken, r emoving t hat e ver- present el ement of t edious busy work t hat pl agues many other wise passable t i t l es s uch as Fall out 4 and t he FarCr y s eri es. What’s not t o l i ke? Just Cause 4 i s not novel i n any way but i t c er t ai nly c aptures t he s pi r i t of vi deo- gaming . Pure, unadulterated f un i n t he name of nothing at al l .