Pixel Sundays: Just Cause – Chaos, Hooks & Revolutions in the Most Explosive Open-World Series

In this week’s Pixel Sundays article, we take a look at an action-packed franchise — the Just Cause series. Since 2006, the franchise has been known for its spectacular action, over-the-top stunts, and open-world chaos. The games were developed by the Swedish studio Avalanche Studios and originally published by Eidos Interactive.

Summary

At the center of the Just Cause games is the charismatic protagonist Rico Rodríguez. He is a former agent of the mysterious organization known as “The Agency.” His most iconic tools are his grappling hook, parachute, and, in later games, the wingsuit. With these tools, Rico dives into daring missions to topple corrupt regimes and wreak havoc.

The series is especially known for its massive, freely explorable worlds, ranging from tropical islands to fictional Mediterranean states. You can tackle missions in many ways — through brute force, tactical approaches, or creative use of the environment.

The Beginning: Just Cause (2006)

The first Just Cause game was released on September 22, 2006. Swedish developer Avalanche Studios set out to create a large open-world action game. This title marked the beginning of a spectacular action series. It was released for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and later Xbox 360.

The story is set on the fictional Caribbean island of San Esperito, a tropical paradise plagued by political unrest and an authoritarian regime. You play as Rico Rodríguez, an agent of the mysterious “Agency,” sent to overthrow dictator Salvador Mendoza, who is suspected of possessing weapons of mass destruction.

Just Cause stood out with many innovative gameplay elements. Even back then, it offered a huge open world with more than 1,000 km² of space — one of the largest game worlds at the time, which could be fully explored.

The game gave you access to a grappling hook and parachute, tools that allowed for fast traversal. They also enabled you to hijack vehicles and perform spectacular stunts. The gameplay centered around political uprisings and guerrilla warfare. You could liberate villages, fight drug cartels, and destabilize the regime, adding dynamic and political depth to the game.

You could travel the world using a wide range of vehicles, including cars, boats, planes, and helicopters, providing high mobility and fun gameplay.

The game was developed using the first version of the Avalanche Engine, designed specifically to create large open-world environments. This technology laid the foundation for future titles in the series, enabling a seamless and impressive game world.

Despite some technical issues and repetitive missions, Just Cause was praised by players for its ambitious world and gameplay freedom. By April 2009, over one million copies had been sold, paving the way for multiple sequels.

The Breakthrough: Just Cause 2 (2010)

After a decent debut with Just Cause in 2006, Avalanche Studios achieved a major breakthrough in the open-world genre with Just Cause 2. The game was released on March 23, 2010 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 and set new standards in world size, creative destruction, and player freedom.

The story in Just Cause 2 takes place on the fictional Southeast Asian island of Panau, ruled by the dictatorial leader Pandak “Baby” Panay. Panau offers a stunning variety of landscapes, including tropical jungles, arid deserts, snowy mountains, and urban centers. The world spans over 1,000 km² and was one of the largest of its time, but with far more diversity than its predecessor.

The game also introduced several gameplay improvements, most notably an enhanced grappling hook that could now connect two objects. This added tons of creative potential, such as tethering enemies to vehicles or pulling objects together.

In addition, a chaos system was introduced. This awards you so-called Chaos Points when you destroy government property or complete missions. With these points, you can unlock new missions, weapons, and vehicles. These then contributed to the progression in the campaign.

Just Cause 2 and the game world of Panau impress with their geographic diversity. You can walk through the dense jungle, climb snowy mountains, cross vast deserts, and explore modern cities. This variety significantly contributed to immersion and the desire to explore.

The game also offered a wide range of vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, and helicopters. You could drive them and even hijack them mid-flight. You also had an extensive arsenal of weapons that you could expand and upgrade throughout the game.

Just Cause 2 received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics. It was especially praised for its open world and the freedom in solving missions. On Metacritic, the game achieved average scores between 81 and 85 out of 100 points, depending on the platform. By September 2010, the game had sold approximately 1.48 million copies. Later, Avalanche Studios announced that over 6 million players had played the game.

Higher, faster, more explosive: Just Cause 3 (2015)

With Just Cause 3, the series reached a new high point in December 2015. The game offers even more explosive action and player freedom. It was developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. The title was released on December 1, 2015, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

The story takes the protagonist Rico Rodríguez back to his homeland in the fictional country Medici. This is a Mediterranean island nation under the tyrannical rule of General Sebastiano Di Ravello. Rico joins the rebels to overthrow the regime and restore freedom to his people.

The game introduces many new features and improvements. The most important new feature is the introduction of the wingsuit. In addition to the grappling hook and parachute, Rico now gets a wingsuit, allowing him to glide through the air at high speed. Rico can also seamlessly switch between traversal methods.

The game also has enhanced destruction mechanics and physics. Almost every object in the world is destructible, and most can even explode. You can expect plenty of spectacular destruction in the game, rendered realistically through the improved physics engine.

If you complete challenges, you can unlock so-called “Gear Mods”. These mods allow Rico to upgrade his equipment and abilities. The range of vehicles and weapons has also been greatly expanded and can be used for creative destruction.

Players and critics liked the innovative gameplay elements of Just Cause 3, but unfortunately, there were also technical shortcomings that were criticized. Especially on consoles, there were long loading times, framerate drops, and crashes. These issues impacted the gameplay experience and led to mixed reviews.

Unleashed natural forces: Just Cause 4 (2018)

Just Cause 4 is the latest game in the franchise. It was released on December 4, 2018. It was developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. The game was released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

The story takes place in the fictional South American country Solís. This country is controlled by the powerful private military organization “The Black Hand”. Rico Rodríguez returns to uncover the truth behind the weather control project “Illapa”. His late father was also involved in this project.

Like all the games, Solís offers diverse landscapes. You’ll encounter tropical rainforests, deserts, grasslands, and snow-covered mountains. This variety is part of the game’s aesthetics, but also relevant for gameplay, as each biome presents unique challenges and weather conditions.

Let’s talk a bit about the gameplay. In Just Cause 4, weather plays a major role. That’s why the game includes weather phenomena such as tornadoes, sandstorms, thunderstorms, and blizzards. These are not just visual but also affect gameplay.

Rico’s grappling hook has also been further improved. It now includes new functions such as boosters, air lifters, and retractors. You can customize and combine these features to solve challenges creatively.

Once again, you can liberate entire areas in the form of the new frontline system. If you complete missions and collect Chaos Points, you can liberate entire regions from the Black Hand. Chaos Points are earned by destroying enemy facilities and completing side missions.

While the game was praised by some for its technical innovations, the feedback from fans and critics was very mixed. Critics cited the weak storyline, repetitive mission design, and enemy AI. There were also frequent technical problems such as graphical glitches and performance issues.

Gameplay Mechanics Overview

Let’s quickly summarize the gameplay of the Just Cause series. Over time, more innovative gameplay mechanics have been introduced to the Just Cause franchise, offering even more freedom and creative possibilities.

First up, there’s the grappling hook, one of Rico Rodríguez’s trademarks. It serves as a tool for movement, combat, and environmental manipulation. In Just Cause 3, the grappling hook was enhanced with the tether function, allowing you to connect two objects and create creative destruction. In Just Cause 4, the grappling hook got even more features like boosters, air lifters, and retractors.

Rico has always been very agile. By combining the parachute, wingsuit, and grappling hook, he could move smoothly through the world in the newer games. The wingsuit was introduced in the third game and was instantly popular among fans, as it allowed fast aerial traversal. In Just Cause 4, the wingsuit was improved for better control and speed.

If you prefer a more classic approach instead of Rico’s gadgets, the game offers plenty of vehicles. You can drive cars, motorcycles, boats, planes, and helicopters. While flying, you can jump out, switch to your parachute, and hijack another vehicle mid-air – and much more. This allows for spectacular stunts. In Just Cause 3, over 80 different vehicles are available to find and use.

The world of Just Cause is built around pure destruction. There are numerous chaos objects that can be blown up in a spectacular explosion. Whether military facilities or propaganda statues, you can blow everything up. The world reacts dynamically to player actions — for example, civilians run away. This destructibility is a core element of the game and greatly contributes to the fun.

The Future: Just Cause 5 and Beyond

Although Just Cause 5 has not been officially announced yet, there are indications that the series might continue. After Square Enix sold several Western studios and IPs in recent years, the publisher retained the rights to the Just Cause series in 2022. This clearly signals continued interest in the franchise.

Avalanche Studios, the developers of the series, are currently working on Contraband, a cooperative open-world game being developed in collaboration with Xbox Game Studios. The game was announced in 2021 and is currently in development. It’s said to be the studio’s most ambitious project so far and demands significant resources from Avalanche Studios. Reports state that over 150 people are working on the game, meaning there are no resources left for a new Just Cause game.

In June 2024, Avalanche Studios, like many other developers, had to close offices. In total, 9% of employees were laid off. These measures were deemed necessary to ensure the company’s stability and sustainability.

So unfortunately, there are still some challenges in the way of a potential Just Cause 5. But there’s certainly hope that Rico Rodríguez might return once more. The franchise has a large and loyal fan base eagerly awaiting a new adventure. Whether and when Just Cause 5 will be officially announced remains to be seen.

Conclusion – A Franchise Full of Possibilities

The Just Cause franchise has established itself since its 2006 debut as one of the most explosive open-world action series. With each new game, the series became bigger, more expansive, and more creative. At the center was always our action hero, Rico Rodríguez. Whether with parachute, wingsuit, or grappling hook, he can move freely through the massive game world.

Even though later entries faced technical issues, Just Cause remains a prime example of physics-based fun, blending creativity and destruction like no other. The series’ strength doesn’t lie in its story, but in its sandbox nature — where you can destroy everything.

Though things have been quiet around Just Cause in recent years and Avalanche Studios has undergone major restructuring, there is still hope for a Just Cause 5. The fans are here and eagerly await a new announcement, and open-world action games remain as popular as ever. Rico’s story isn’t over — maybe he’ll be back soon.

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