Just Cause

Just Cause

The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, with a large, open world environment to move around in. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, swimming, and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand to hand combat. Players can take control of a variety of vehicles, including cars, boats, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, and motorcycles. Players can also perform stunts with their cars in which they can stand on the roof and jump to another car, or choose to open their parachute while still in motion on the roof. Other key features of the game include skydiving, base jumping, and parasailing (by latching onto a moving car or boat while one's parachute is deployed). The game bears striking similarity to the Grand Theft Auto games released around the same time.

The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game, players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam. However, doing so can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities.

The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions, for example, liberating a village or taking over a drug cartel hideout. These are necessary to gain points with certain factions.
 

Just Cause is an army game which begins with ismaeel San Esperito, after being called there by his commanding officer, Tom Sheldon, to help overthrow San Esperito's dictator; Salvador Mendoza, whom the Agency believes to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction. After his arrival, Rico rendezvouses with Sheldon, as well as their partner and fellow agent Maria Kane, and they ally themselves with a group staging a rebellion against the regime. Rico assists them in their civil war against Mendoza's corrupt officials, and assists in the liberation of various territories to further destabilize the government's rule over the island.

Eventually, Sheldon discovers that Mendoza does, indeed, have control of WMDs, and with San Esperito so politically unstable, the president is forced to retreat to his private presidential island just off the mainland. Sheldon and Kane fly Rico to the island to kill Mendoza, but he attempts to escape via jet. However, Rico boards the jet and kills Mendoza and his remaining bodyguards, stopping his reign on the islands