Grand Theft Auto has been hailed as the first true next-gen game. Its freeform roaming environment became the fertile breeding ground of many imitators. Some just tried to copy the game, like True Crime, and some tried to twist the concept for itself, like the underappreciated Total Overdose. Some took the concept and just tried to improve all the aspects that made it great. This was Saint's Row. Finally, we have the last type: the one that tried to take the concept, run with it, and fail to capture even the tiniest bit of the greatest that is GTA. This is Just Cause.

To be fair, this game is great looking. If you want to put a game up against the best the PS3 has to offer, it should be this one. It looks great; whether you're in the air or under the water, the game is full of pure eye candy. Pedestrian models look great, and everything is filled with the little touches that give the game a movie-like quality. Animations are smooth, and there is no slowdown no matter how many explosions are going off. Avalanche studios should be proud of what they accomplished here. But the graphics aren't perfect. Clipping issues are everywhere, and not comical ones like GTA or Saint's Row. While playing, I've been shot through buildings, implanted in the ground, and stepped through cars.

Rico Rodriguez, the serviceable lead character of this game, is the typical action hero. He comes off with cheesy one liners, takes tons of damage, and is essentually a one-man army by himself. His signature guns, twin .50 calibers, are cool and his style is awesome. HE, however, has problems. For one, he only runs at one speed. There is no sprint function, no way to get Rico to hurry up and go somewhere. He can't duck, he can't sneak, he can't climb, and he can't jump very high. More to the point, despite his being able to soak massive amounts of damage, he has no dodging or rolling capabilites at all. Rico does have the cool ability, in almost any vehicle, to do some wild stunts. The sheer impossibility of some of these would make Tom Cruise look bad. My favorite is the stunt of leaping through the whirling blades of a helicopter. But even this has problems. You see, Rico jumps to what the game determines is the nearest car... And sometimes, you have to wonder about the choice. Case in point: When assigned to tail a bad guy, I was latched unto his car no more than three feet away. When my objective beame to eliminate him, I tried to leap to the car to dispatch the bad guy post haste. The game had the option up, and it was only logical that's the car I would jump onto, right? No. Rico did a death-defying super cool, leap unto a parked car twelve feet away. By the time I got in and got the car up to speed, the mission was over. And despite all the other games in this genre giving the lead character this ability, he can't shoot while driving... not even on a motorcycle.

Speaking of which, the game gives you tons of vehicles to play around with. From boats to helicopters to airplanes to cars, Rico has a ton of options at his disposal. What's great is that each of them has a unique feel. What's bad is none of those feels are good. The steering is slow to respond and the max speed of some vehicles are far too fast. Take the first motorcycle you are issued. Despite the fact it's a dirt bike, it has trouble going up hills. It goes far too fast to use on most roads, making travelling down the road a dangerous proposition. Cars tend not to react logically or with any sense of real impact when you smash into stuff. Airplanes and helicopters control rather badly and illogically, with no real sense of moving forward or backward. It's easier to fly airplaces on GTA on the original Xbox controller pad.

To be fair, the game has lots of great action thrills. Piloting a tank or APC against military targets is a joy. A great set piece in the game is chasing a train down on a bike. One mission has you leaping from sky down to a speedboat, leaping in, and chasing after three other boats similarly armed. The beautiful water effects only add to the great chase across the sunswept sea.

Still, the flaws tend to kill the overall experience. It's a good rental, but if you're looking for a good GTA style game set in a Robert Rodrugiuez-esq setting, stick with Total Overdose. It's more fun.