Over-the-top nature and narrative in Just Cause 4

‘Deracine’ a PSVR adventure

In one of the trailers for the upcoming “Just Cause 4” developed by Avalanche Studios, longtime series protagonist Rico Rodriguez steps behind the wheel of a roaring American muscle car, dipping through trenches, mud splattering all over the classic vehicle. Just as he crests the top of a hill, he spies the immense pillar of a tornado towering over the grasslands, a corona of debris twirling around it. Rico guns the engine and heads for the heart of the storm, the car taking flight towards the heavens just as the game’s logo slams dramatically into view.

As the image fades, I ask the producer running the demo why exactly Rico would decide to drive his muscle car headlong into a tornado. He just laughs. “Why not? Isn’t that what you would do?”

Such a response reflects the deeply compelling core of the “Just Cause” experience: pure, unadulterated chaos,. Over its decade-plus run, the series that gave us a plethora of grappling hook GIFs has pushed the creative boundaries of the open-world genre over three entries, each lessgrounded than the last — often literally, given the game’s penchant for wingsuit-based shenanigans. Now, for the fourth nears release, the series is doubling down on its more fantastical elements, all for the sake of pure fun. But, at the same time, Avalanche hopes to bring a new level of storytelling and character to the franchise, rather than just leaning on a a wellworn pile of action-movie cliches like so many games of its scale and scope.

“When you compare ‘Just Cause 3’ to ‘Just Cause 2’ and ‘1’, it’s pretty obvious that we’re trying to be more plausible, rather than just campy,” says game director Franchesco Antolini. “With ‘Just Cause 4’, we want to take everything that makes the game fun, like the sandbox, and we want to lean into our strengths in terms of toys, because that’s what people want. But at the same time, we want to make a narrative and story that has some depth to it. If you’re interested in it, we want you to learn something more about Rico, about the Black Hand, something other than the classic structure we had before. That’s why we built a proper narrative team to make that design come true.”

Keeping the player invested in the ceaseless explosions and carnage might seem a bit difficult — especially now that the pyrotechnics are careering into future-weapons territory, like handheld railguns and wind cannons — but Antolini and his team are determined to square that circle. That’s why they’re upping the ante by adding extreme effects that dramatically affect the four biomes of Solis, the fictional South American country where the game is set, including the devastating tornado that cost Rico his beloved ride. Unlike most open-world games, these dangerous weather systems aren’t just a nifty graphical effect, or a scripted setpiece designed for a particular mission. Instead, blustery blizzards and terrible tornados will occur naturally on their own, through organic play, sometimes throwing a wrench in the player’s plans. But, in true “Just Cause” fashion, players are encouraged to use these forces of nature to creative ends.

“It’s a fine line to walk,” says Antolini. “We want to be best-in-class when it comes to sandbox gameplay. There aren’t other games that have such a wide design vocabulary, such a wealth of toys.

Antolini describes Solis as a country essentially ruled by a recurring antagonistic group known The Black Hand, a mercenary outfit depicted as somewhat reminiscent of real-life PMCs like the infamous Blackwater. And though Rico builds his own group to fight against his foes — known as the Army of Chaos, ostensibly because they’re so inspired by Rico’s wanton acts of destruction — Antolini describes “Just Cause 4” for as a totally apolitical game, saying that it has “absolutely zero” in the way of political message or aspirations and calling it “a complete work of fiction.” When asked about the fundamental differences in belief that caused the conflict between Rico and The Black Hand, Antolini’s answer was simple.

Konami’s not done dabbling with dubious Switch games.

In an unexpected move, the Japanese game publisher announced an offbeat sports title for Nintendo’s hybrid system Tuesday: “Hyper Sports R.”

“Hyper Sports” was an old arcade game first published by Konami in 1984. The Japanese publisher is bringing back the brand as a compilation game where up to four players can face off against each other in a number of sporting events.

The name isn’t the only thing that Konami is resurrecting. The gameplay style of the new Switch game basically mirrors the old button-mashing techniques. The old arcade game cabinets had two movement buttons and an action button. Players rapidly hit the movement buttons before an action prompt, and voila — sports. This style of play has been replicated for the Switch, and it didn’t age too well.

In my E3 demo, Konami showed off three events in playable form and beach volleyball as a computer simulation. I played the 100m dash, the javelin throw, and the long jump.

All of them were played the exact same way. On one Joy-Con, you alternated the left and right buttons on the D pad to get running. For the javelin throw and the long jump, after running, it prompts you to hit the up button once and then you have to reflexively hit it again in sync with a moving a target. It’s exactly what it sounds like. I remember playing many games of this kind in my childhood, including Nintendo’s “Track and Field” with the mat and everything. It seems like games should have evolved out of such simple, and ultimately unsatisfying, modes of play. There’s nothing really enjoyable about madly bashing at buttons, unless it’s to tire your kids out. I’ll accept it every once in a while during a “Mario Party” mini game or something, but to base an entire game around those mechanics seems like something from 1985.

Again, beach volleyball was only a computer simulation and the controls for that were not explained.

And it wouldn’t be a game for a Nintendo console aiming for a more casual audience if it didn’t include motion controllers. For my demo, motion controllers could be used in the 100m dash. Instead of rapidly tapping two buttons, the two Joy-Cons are gripped in either hand and you simulate running with your arms. Simply shaking the Joy-Cons won’t do the trick, you really need to give it your all.

I really enjoyed the cartoon-y style that Konami has adopted for “Hyper Sports R.” Characters are colorful and fun, adding a lot of friendliness to the game. Performance, on the other hand, left plenty to be desired. Stuttery animations and sluggishly timed action prompts were reminiscent of a budget game. Since Konami PR said that a price has yet to be set, it very well could be a budget game.

From Software is having one heck of an E3. The studio announced its first partnership with Activision, “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice”, and Devolver Digital is bringing cult classic “Metal Wolf Chaos” to the West for the first time.

Unfortunately for “Bloodborne” fans, a sequel still hasn’t been announced. Instead, From Software’s partnership with Sony is going in a different direction.

“Deracine” is a PlayStation VR title that features no scary monsters or giant bosses. Rather, it’s a delightfully sweet adventure in which players are a fairy that inhabits a rustic boarding school.

The title is a French word meaning “uprooted.” A Sony representative told Variety that it symbolizes displacement from their natural environment. This could refer to the children at the boarding school or the fairy in the real world.

“The fairy doesn’t have a name,” says the Sony representative demoing the game. “You are the fairy.” (RTRS)