I typically buy Eidos games for their originality.  Unlike all the other GTA clones where you play a thug looking to make money and street cred, the goal of the story in Just Cause is to topple a corrupt President's regime.  And like most Eidos games, this one is full of bugs that can ruin the fun for meticulous players.

Positives: The environment is huge, and there is plenty of help from the agency to help you get around.  Parachuting and hijacking helicopters is very satisfying. Although side missions are pretty worthless, liberating settlements and cities is challenging and rewarding.  The main story missions contain enough variety to keep you coming back.  Graphically, the tropical setting looks very convincing and eye-pleasing.

Negatives: The environment is huge, but very empty.  Besides the capital, the cities and settlements are disappointingly small and all look the same.  On top of that, the main story only contains about 15 missions (possibly due to budget constraints).  Almost the whole western half of the nation is not used as part of the story.  It seems kind of strange that you can finish the story while only a fourth of the country supports you.

Now the bugs deserve a separate paragraph.  Eidos never released a patch or update, so even with newer hardware, the game will stutter and lag after playing for a while.  Graphical artifacts are very noticeable when you are not busy.  Object rendering is okay, but when you are flying, the game easily gets confused over whether to render certain things or not.  The most frustrating bugs in this game are with the AI.  After completing a mission and the police stop chasing you, helicopters may still fire at you and continue to follow you.  On many occasions I would get run over and killed by an ally at the worst possible moment.  As you progress through the story the police and military go insanely aggressive with explosives.  If the AI decides to starts firing rockets (which is often), you're screwed and have to reload the previous checkpoint.

Despite all these flaws, I really enjoyed Just Cause.  The heart of this game is in the main missions and liberations, which are fun and varied.  Although the game has every bug known in entomology, it deserves recognition for its novelty.
I typically buy Eidos games for their originality. Unlike all the other GTA clones where you play a thug looking to make money and street cred, the goal of the story in Just Cause is to topple a corrupt President's regime. And like most Eidos games, this one is full of bugs that can ruin the fun for meticulous players. Positives: The environment is huge, and there is plenty of help from the agency to help you get around. Parachuting and hijacking helicopters is very satisfying. Although side missions are pretty worthless, liberating settlements and cities is challenging and rewarding. The main story missions contain enough variety to keep you coming back. Graphically, the tropical setting looks very convincing and eye-pleasing. Negatives: The environment is huge, but very empty. Besides the capital, the cities and settlements are disappointingly small and all look the same. On top of that, the main story only contains about 15 missions (possibly due to budget constraints). Almost the whole western half of the nation is not used as part of the story. It seems kind of strange that you can finish the story while only a fourth of the country supports you. Now the bugs deserve a separate paragraph. Eidos never released a patch or update, so even with newer hardware, the game will stutter and lag after playing for a while. Graphical artifacts are very noticeable when you are not busy. Object rendering is okay, but when you are flying, the game easily gets confused over whether to render certain things or not. The most frustrating bugs in this game are with the AI. After completing a mission and the police stop chasing you, helicopters may still fire at you and continue to follow you. On many occasions I would get run over and killed by an ally at the worst possible moment. As you progress through the story the police and military go insanely aggressive with explosives. If the AI decides to starts firing rockets (which is often), you're screwed and have to reload the previous checkpoint. Despite all these flaws, I really enjoyed Just Cause. The heart of this game is in the main missions and liberations, which are fun and varied. Although the game has every bug known in entomology, it deserves recognition for its novelty.