Summary
- Just Cause games stand out for their unique gameplay and expansive maps, allowing players to cause chaos and navigate in various ways, such as parasailing and skydiving.
- The series has evolved and embraced a whacky action-movie style, introducing new tools and weapons to make the game even more chaotic and increasing the scale of the maps.
- While each Just Cause game has its strengths, there are also areas where they fall short, such as bland plots and repetitive gameplay. However, causing chaos has never looked better in Just Cause 4.
When the first Just Cause game was released in 2006, it immediately stood out from other third-person shooters for its unique gameplay, not only in regard to the amount of chaos that players could cause but also for the many ways they could navigate the map. While players were still free to use cars and jeeps to make their way around the beautiful island of San Esperito, they could also go parasailing across mountains to really admire the jaw-dropping views while gliding to the next mission, or they could simply go skydiving to take a break from the main questline.
As more games in the series were released, Avalanche Studios decided to lean into the whacky action-movie style of the series, introducing a wide array of new tools that Rico could use to make his way between areas and an entire arsenal of unique weapons that only added to the amount of carnage that could take place. The series would also become synonymous with gigantic maps, which are among some of the biggest in video game history, and its stunning graphics, which are truly a sight to behold. Still, though, not every Just Cause has been perfect, with each of them having areas where they shine, alongside a few drawbacks.
4 Just Cause
The very first Just Cause game was a breath of fresh air for the time it was released, providing gamers with a nice break from the traditional gritty cover-based shooters that were saturating the market at the time. Even today, the arcade-shooter-style gameplay is incredibly fun to play around with, and driving vehicles at blistering speeds across the lush Caribbean island of San Esperito is still as enjoyable as it was upon release.
Still, before the series really took off and gained mainstream attention, the first game was a low-budget title that development studio Avalanche clearly didn't expect to be as successful as it ended up being. Therefore, the game feels like a template of what it could have been. The plot is fairly bland and doesn't really throw any surprises or plot twists at the player, and the graphics felt outdated even for the time when titles like Gears of War were already shocking audiences with how rich their visuals were. The map is also a little too big for its own good since much of it is empty, leaving little to do outside the main and side missions, which are still a ton of fun to blast through, but some more variety would have been greatly appreciated.
3 Just Cause 4
The latest game in the series does a lot of things right and expands on much of what made the previous games great, but there's also a severe lack of introductions or switch-ups to the regular formula to make the game feel very new or unique. Starting with the good things, though, the graphics in the game are absolutely top-notch, and considering Rico can fly over the entire map with a wingsuit or grappling hook, it's a joy to take in all the sights that the island of Solis has to offer.
While Rico does borrow the majority of his tools from Just Cause 3, a few of them have been given some additional uses, such as the grappling hook, which he can now use to attach items like canisters or balloons to other objects, which adds a nice level of creativity to the game. As mentioned previously though, Just Cause 4 really doesn't try to change up the formula, with the plot this time around being incredibly predictable and lacking a lot of the charm that the games are known for. With a flat story, bland characters, and repetitive gameplay, Just Cause 4 feels like it could have been so much more, but with that being said, causing chaos has never looked quite as good as it does in this game.
2 Just Cause 2
Just Cause 2 was really the first game that brought the series into the spotlight, being a huge commercial success and receiving a tremendous amount of praise from critics and fans alike, but what exactly made this game so special? A lot of it has to do with the amount of freedom granted to the player, alongside the sheer amount of destruction that can be caused. Many of the side missions require Rico to blow a certain building or vehicle up, and while this might seem fairly uninteresting, players will gain a Chaos score depending on how creatively they complete the mission, which rewards them for experimenting and using all weapons and tools at their disposal.
This gameplay loop doesn't dictate the entire game, though, as the main missions provide a lot more variety, as Rico will be required to perform a variety of different tasks, such as defending a car from attackers or taking control over a specific vehicle. The map, which was the biggest video game map at the time, can also be navigated easily thanks to the quick and precise grappling hook, which has been drastically improved from the first game. With a map full of activities, incredible destruction physics, and a great cast of characters, Just Cause 2 deserves all the praise it has received since it launched.
1 Just Cause 3
Considering Just Cause 2's tremendous amount of success, many fans understandably presumed that this would be the peak of the series and that sequels wouldn't be able to replicate the hyper-action gameplay and huge open world quite as well, but then came along Just Cause 3. This game took everything that made Just Cause 2 good and simply improved on it in every way while also offering a story that was a little more interesting than previous entries. The game takes place in Rico's homeland of Medici, something that gives fans a glimpse into his backstory while also opening up new interactions with other characters.
Speaking of characters, the dialogue this time around has been improved greatly from Just Cause 2, which lets all of Rico's allies, especially the endlessly charismatic Mario, feel much more engaging and so much fun to be around. In terms of gameplay, Just Cause 3 still stands as one of the best open-world action-adventure games to this day, featuring over 20 main missions, over 50 side missions, and a ton of areas to liberate.
This game also introduced the wingsuit, a tool that revolutionized the series by ensuring Rico could always be on the move without ever having to walk between areas. Just Cause 3 truly lets players feel like they're the main star in a Hollywood action movie, being one of the most chaotic and exhilarating action games ever released.