Just Cause
Developer(s)	Avalanche Studios
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Engine	Avalanche Engine
Aspect Ratio	Multiple options. All about 4:3
Platforms	Microsoft Windows (XP and later) PlayStation 2 Xbox Xbox 360
Release Date(s)	EU September 22, 2006 NA September 27, 2006
Genre(s)	Action Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player
Ratings	ESRB: M PEGI: 16+
Media	DVD Steam download
Input Methods	PC: Keyboard and mouse Others: Gamepad

Just Cause is the first game in the Just Cause game series.

Technical info

Released on September 22, 2006 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 platforms in Europe. It arrived in North America on September 27, 2006. The game was developed by Avalanche Studios and was published by Eidos Interactive. It's a third-person "sandbox"-type game. The game area is about 250,000 acres (1024 km²) in size, with 21 story missions and about 20 different side missions to complete.

Setting

Just Cause is set on a fictional South American tropical island known as "San Esperito", where the player works as an Agency black ops agent Rico Rodriguez, supporting a Guerrilla war to overthrow San Esperito's dictator, who may be in possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Gameplay

Just Cause is structured similarly to the Pandemic Studios game, Mercenaries. The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, with a large, open environment to move around in. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, swimming and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand to hand combat. Players can take control of a variety of vehicles, including cars, boats, airplanes, helicopters and motorcycles. Players can also perform stunts with their cars in which they can stand on the roof and jump to another car, or choose to open their parachute whilst still in motion on the roof. Other key features of the game include parasailing/or hooking onto a car while moving in a parachute and also a very notable feature of the game is skydiving.

The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game, players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam and create havoc. However, doing so can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities - "Heat".

The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions, for example liberating a village or taking over a drug cartel plantation/villa. These are generally quite repetitive but are necessary to gain points with certain factions.

Game manual

The game manual is written in the form of an issue of a newspaper - "San Esperito Vanguardia" and, in addition to the usual technical info, contains interesting articles about life and recent events in San Esperito.

This newspaper costs "1.200 pesos". The game manual is the "thursday april 20 2006" edition and it's the "No. 68834"'th published issue. The game manual doesn't support Mendozas government and it contains info that wouldn't have been known, or published, so the newspaper form is only there to get the reader in the right mood.

For the in-game national newspaper, see: Gaceta Nacional del San Esperito.

Trivia

The game is largely a parody of the united states foreign policies from the late 1940's to the present, where the enemy of the enemy is always the friend.

• The game draws its premise (and name) from the real-life United States invasion of Panama, code-named "Operation Just Cause", which involved United States military action to overthrow military leader Manuel Noriega.
• The box art resembles a poster of Che Guevara, a famous guerrilla leader.
• The Agency finances the Rioja Cartel, who manufactures coca for the continental unites states market. This is done only because they're the rivals of the obviously identical Montano Cartel, who happen to be friends with Salvador Mendozas government.
• The mission Sink the Buccaneer is about destroying a ship because it's said to have Nuclear missiles, which it does not.
• The Agency supports the left wing guerrillas (ideological enemy of the capitalist west) and provides them with money for weapons (mission: Brothers in Arms).

Gallery

A Yamada 37-14 Vaquero making a Stunt-jump into a village.

A Montano Cartel version of the Chevalier Supernova.

A Montano Cartel version of the Fukuda Bluebolt.

Town Paradiso Bay.

Town Paradiso Bay.

Generic town street at night.

An average bridge, of which there are many in the countryside.

Swimming is an option in the game. There's even an Underwater Scooter.

Stunts are a major part of the gameplay.

Parachuting is a major part of the gameplay.

Aerial combat with multiple different kinds of aircraft is an optional part of gameplay.

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