Fantasy terrorism featuring Spiderman in denim
Okay, I never saw Just Cause 1 or 2, so perhaps I'm missing some crucial part of the back story that explains the bizarreties of this game.
I admit I did quickly get hooked on watching the progress of this game. It's such a vast and confusing game-scape that many questions are raised about what to do, how to do it, where to go etc and so I started looking up walk-throughs and maps of collectables.
Unfortunately it's really difficult to keep track of where the character is in the game, since the world is enormous and there's no map inset in the main screen, no compass direction and no other aids to orientation. I could look at any number of online maps and still not be able to provide much guidance without the player frequently checking their own full screen map. Fair enough, games aren't generally designed with backseat drivers in mind. But it's no fun to just watch a game if you can't have some hand in it, so I lost interest after a short time and it became relegated to the background noise of my living room.
The game is tolerable in the background as long as you can stomach the violence. This game is, as most are these days, chock full of mindless, IQ depleting, eye-averting violence. There is an infinite number of bad guys to shoot, blow up, run over and kill in other gruesomely entertaining ways. An oddly tolerant plethora of innocent bystanders are also on the receiving end depending on how homicidal the player wielding the controller is feeling today.
The main character, Rico - imagine an unwashed Gerard Butler in tight denim - is low on personality. Now and then he mutters wry one-liners, but generally he's a man of few words or opinions. From my observer's position he was a rather unprincipled tough guy with big guns and superhero gadgets who doesn't give a toss. What's odd is that although Rico wanders erratically around hijacking cars, destroying towns and running over nuns, strangely the locals persist in worshiping him as they mistake decimation for liberation.
He can do some cool things, I admit. He comes with a grappling hook that would Spiderman envious. He also keeps a magic parachute and wing suit tucked up somewhere in those tight jeans which pop in and out as needed. He seems to be impervious to injury and although he can die (for example if shot by a tank at close rank whilst being sliced by the rotor blades of an exploding helicopter) he shakes off near-death experiences in a matter of seconds. I can only assume that the myriad of actions he can perform are to blame for the wealth of hilarious accidents he has at the mercy of the player's clumsy fingertips.
(Whee!) Aside from that, As an observer of this game I also felt compelled to constant ponder Why? Why Rico here? Who is Rico? Certainly not a man of good moral standing. He ain't no William Wallace or Han Solo. Obviously because he's the toughest, most naturally bullet-proof gadget-man around, but why him? He's like Jason Bourne if he'd been drawn to the dark side of the force. But surely there is a reason he wants to fight for the freedom of these islanders? Is there a substantial pay packet? Is it personal? Does he want revenge on General Bad Guy? I find it hard to believe that anyone ever loved Rico for more than five seconds before he accidentally killed them and stole their car. Even though some of his history comes out in the latter stages of the game, it still doesn't really make anything make sense.
Also, what's so bad about General Bad Guy? Sure he's a jerk. The cut scenes show him acting like a cocky despot, but the country he rules appears to be lovely. It has neat and well-maintained towns, solid infrastructure, all kinds of industry, and happy middle-class free-speaking citizens. It's a clean paradise and even has tourists. There's not a spec of oppression in sight, aside from some kind gibberish propaganda burbling out of the odd loud-speaker. The General does nasty things to his country as a strategy for fighting Rico, but everything looked like it was fine up until Rico arrived on the scene.
(Bad guy or misunderstood opera singer?)
Alright alright, I realise that I'm missing the point - he's a bad guy because they say he is. It's probably all explained in those dictator tapes, that no one listens to. But it's just one of those things you notice when you watch a game that looks as good as movie and foolishly expect it to make as much sense as a movie. Still I can't help wondering if this is what wanna-be freedom-fighters imagine their life will be like once they join up with the rebels (aka terrorists, depending on whose side you're on).
In summary, it's not bad game watching. There's no irritating noises (unless constant shooting and explosions bother you). There were no ludicrously over-sexualised females. As long as the person playing the game doesn't have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality and isn't toting real guns then I'd say this game might make a good birthday present for your boyfriend/husband/flatmate, if you expect to be in the position of humble spectator / backseat player. Of course, I still didn't have the slightest compulsion to actually play it myself and I probably would have missed the point entirely if I did.
