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key allies and enemies all appear to have been
modelled out of plasticine and prayers. Hair looks
laughably waxy, while certain characters seem to
be held together by skin grafts. Just Cause 4 may
wear its Double-A status proudly on its lapels,
but such in-your-face fugliness is hard to forgive.
In the game’s defence, at least it runs much
more smoothly than its predecessor did when
it launched back in 2015. Playing on a PS4 Pro,
I can’t remember a single incident of prolonged
framerate dips. Even when a dozen explosive
canisters are catapulting into the sky as Rico
mows down an army of on-screen soldiers in a
whirlybird, the action sticks closely to its 30fps
target the vast majority of the time. Considering
how often Just Cause 3 used to dip into low
20fps territory (and worse), its sequel’s much
improved performance shouldn’t be sniffed at.
With most of the last game’s jittery hitches
ironed out, Just Cause 4’s core mechanics can
sing like never before. Zipping around Solís’
many islands with Rico’s wingsuit, grappling
hook, and parachute is as empowering as ever.Combining this trio of killer
tools to effortlessly glide
above mountains or pirouette
through the clouds still offers
an unbridled, infectious sense
of fun. Although, that said, in
a post-Marvel’s-Spider-Man
PS4 landscape, Rodriguez’
acrobatic antics aren’t quite
as impressive if you’ve spent
dozens of hours swinging
around the web-slinger’s NYC.CHAOS THEORY
When it comes to knockabout,
brainless open-world thrills,
Just Cause 4 is easily a match
for the likes of Watch Dogs 2.
Still, for a game that so
naturally provides lovably low-
brow action, it’s a bit odd to
see this sequel overcomplicate
its campaign. Take the new
progression system. To unlock
key story missions, you must
first liberate sections of the
map by blowing up Black Hand
property, capturing enemy
bases, and completing various
tutorial and stunt objectives.Doing these activities fuels
your Chaos level, which in
turn affects the rank of Rico’s
army. The higher the rank of
your troops, the more you can
push your frontlines forward in
order to conquer new regions.
Confused? Me too.
After a couple of hours it
begins to make sense. Break
all the poorly explained
components down, and you’re
more or less dealing with a
glorified numbers game that
ties character rank to map
progression. The flimsy tutorial
does a bad job of explaining
these basics, though, and it’s
only when I’m a third into the
game that I begin to feel fully
comfortable with the system.
When the core chaos is so easy
to fall for, it’s baffling Avalanche
would over-complicate
progression at every turn.
The overall campaign is
also too samey. After a while,
ticking off region strikes
becomes exhausting. There are
over 30 of these glorified bases,“POST-SPIDER-MAN, RICO’S
ACROBATIC ANTICS AREN’T
QUITE AS IMPRESSIVE.”
Right The
Thunderbarge
quest ends on
an electrifying
high note.
Literally. Watch
out, Rico!Left Some of
the character
modelling leaves
a lot to be
desired, though
star Rico’s
mostly fine.