The sun, the paradisiacal landscapes, the big guns and the disproportionate balls of fire, here is basically the miracle recipe of the Just Cause series which offers us its fourth opus today. As always, we will therefore find Rico Rodriguez, the eternal hero destroyer of dictatorships and liberator of all the islands of Latin America, like a Simon Bolivar who would follow a script written by Michael Bay. This time, our man embarks on a more personal quest, as he learns that a terrible weapon developed by his father has fallen into the hands of the local tyrant, the hideous Oscar Espinoza. As in any good Z series, the weapon can create devastating tornadoes which can then be launched to destroy just about anything. Inevitably, before being able to tackle the research facilities and the (numerous) infrastructures that this weapon requires, you will have to be able to walk around the island quietly, and therefore win it back. Fortunately, Rico is a specialist, and in an introductory half-cutscene where we discover the pretty, but nevertheless wicked Gabriela Morales (whom we will see more of before the end of the game cutscene), the rebellion is on! Here, there are no recruitment problems, because the more Rico blows up elements with red decoration (tanks, antennas, radars, etc.), the more the gauge of recruits will fill up, which then makes it possible to conquer entire regions of the map with a simple mouse click. In fact, we have more the impression of carrying out a real estate operation than of freeing an entire region. After just a few missions, we understand that the scenario was written in a hurry on a corner of the tablecloth between noon and two, and that it is more of a starting argument for destruction, than of a real worked narrative framework. To put it simply, we are far from the adventures of Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 (to take the more recent example), and much closer to the script of the last Michael Bay as the scenario has no interest and does not introduce only characters whose charisma often borders on absolute nothingness.
BIG BADABOUM
As in the Michael Bay films, the whole point of Just Cause 4 lies in its non-stop action, and its very easy-to-learn gameplay. The veterans of the series will also not be out of place, because most of the trips have not changed one iota. Rico will therefore run slowly when he is on his feet, and rush like a madman thanks to his famous grappling hook! To orbit, we will either abuse the grappling hook in order to rush over very flat surfaces, or alternate the grappling hook and the parachute in order to gain altitude. Once in the skies, we can of course switch to the wingsuit in order to regain speed, even if this is done at the expense of altitude. By cleverly combining these three elements, Rico will be able to move faster than most vehicles, and thus avoid enemies. Of course, the grappling hook will also be used to seize enemy vehicles on the fly or for many other things thanks to its accessories. In Just Cause 4, we will indeed be able to customize 3 specific loadouts for the grapple, knowing that it will be possible to switch from one to the other on the fly, in full action. We can therefore combine the gadgets and effects that we prefer, in order to obtain the desired results. Cables that retract, balloons inflated with hydrogen or even mini rocket engines: each element can be adjusted to achieve quite comical things. By judiciously placing balloons and engines on a bus, we were able to create a very useful flying platform to dive on enemies. We were also able to create a real aerial net by connecting cows to balloons, which had a devastating effect on enemy helicopters. The wacky physics of the game, and the mind-blowing possibilities allowed by the grappling hook, are of course among the big strengths of the game which contribute to making it a sandbox of endless possibilities. Better, being able to switch from one loadout to another will really allow you to make unique creations, since you can have all the gadgets at the same time. In short, those who like to blow everything up with a personal touch will be able to feast.
I HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS
The freedom is also all the greater as the open-world of Solis is a clear success. With several biomes (desert, mountain, plains, seaside, islands), the island is full of charm, and you can quickly switch from one atmosphere to another via the fast-travel (a parachute drop in reality) or by using one of the innumerable vehicles in the game. Just Cause 4 is still a huge box of toys, with many cars, planes, boats and helicopters available to the player in order to be able to reduce transport times as much as possible, but also to allow Avalanche developers come up with a mind-blowing amount of challenges. These challenges also represent the majority of game time, as the main campaign is anecdotal. Besides, the other activity that will take time will be the destruction of the defenses of each region of the map. Unfortunately, the activities are very redundant, and we will have quickly gone through the missions offered by the game. Saving prisoners loses its charm when we experience the same cut-scene for the 15th time, or when we disarm for the 6th time still similar missile batteries. It is not the missions where we will have to help the new recruits that will break the monotony, since it will be a question here of saving the buttocks of a handful of rather weak AIs, and with disastrous pathfinding. We could thus see AIs, friends and enemies, confronting each other on both sides of a building, as if the structure were absent. After a few bullets in the wall, the throwing of grenades will have got the better of each camp, in a sort of pathetic collective suicide. Things are all the more complicated, because thanks to the game's advanced destruction system, the many debris that litter the ground after large explosions are all obstacles to the bots, which are then in great difficulty to offer credible fights.
Avalanche's APEX engine is struggling to display the details, and we find ourselves faced with a clipping of madness, trees, houses, enemies and shadows appearing under our noses at the last moment, even on a PC with a solid setup
But finally, the worst in Just Cause 4 is probably the overall technique of the game. Although the title is rather pretty when you observe its landscapes in the distance, everything is quickly ruined once in motion. Avalanche's APEX engine is struggling to display the details, and we find ourselves faced with a clipping of madness, trees, houses, enemies and shadows appearing under our noses at the last moment, even on a PC with a solid configuration (i7 8700K and RTX 2080Ti). Worse, the overall rendering is very average, with dated textures and cinematics that are even uglier than the game itself, proof that the investments have really not gone into the script and its extras. Other effects are relatively pitiful, like the famous tornadoes where only the first meters are lined with debris, while the entire upper part is completely empty. Moreover, if the least vehicle will explode in contact with the violent winds, Rico will have no difficulty in taming the elements with his parachute, his wingsuit or when he is in free fall. We will therefore have no ulterior motive to throw ourselves into the maelstrom with Rico, these weather effects being more big playgrounds for gliding enthusiasts than destructive natural disasters. Similarly, once certain missions of the campaign have passed, we can activate or deactivate these tornadoes at will, without however being able to direct them or manage the place of their appearance, which makes them particularly difficult to exploit. Too bad, we would have loved to be able to use these weapons of madness to restore democracy on the island. The problems continue during the scripted missions since after leading a mission in the heart of a sandstorm, the cut-scene that follows shows us the same place, but bathed in sunshine under a blue sky, while the elements were unleashed the second before. Finally, we will not forget to mention the collision bug dumpers, and the countless ragdoll problems.
