Is Just Cause Like GTA?
Just Cause is a franchise of open world video games, often set in remote islands and locations, in which players control special agent Rico Rodriguez. In Just Cause video games, players are able to free roam in open game worlds, use different vehicles, and complete main story missions and side missions. Considering that Just Cause video games are open world, new players who have not yet played either Just Cause or Grand Theft Auto (GTA) wonder if there are similarities between these series of video games, and whether if Just Cause is like GTA.
Just Cause is like GTA in the sense that they are both open world games with sandbox gameplay. However, there are also differences between these games regarding gameplay and story.
The Similarities Between Just Cause and GTA
GTA video games are known for their open game worlds, in which players can adventure, free roam, complete main story missions and side missions and find collectibles. Just Cause video games also feature open game worlds, in which players can adventure, free roam, and complete main story missions and side missions, and find collectibles.
Regarding the open world aspect, GTA video games are typically set in urban environments, depicting metropolitan locations. Cities in GTA are often quite large, feature several districts, and often in GTA video games there is more than one city present in the video game. In the case of Just Cause video games, the open world generally depicts a remote island or archipelago, in some cases depicting tropical locations. In this sense, while Just Cause video games also feature cities, a large portion of the landscape is best described as forests, mountains and wilderness in general. In terms of size of the game world, both GTA video games and Just Cause video games feature expansive game worlds. Both GTA video games and Just Cause video games feature a gameplay system in which police, law-enforcement forces or military organizations will pursue the main game character if the main game character breaks the law or disturbs the peace of the environment in the open game world of these video games.
In the aspect of free roaming, both GTA video games and Just Cause video games allow the player to free roam with the game character, when not on a mission. As soon as free roaming becomes available, which in both series of video games is usually after some initial main story missions, the player character is able to freely adventure in game worlds of these video games, discovering new locations, and finding collectibles. Considering that both series of video games feature immersive elements such as day and night cycle, diverse environments and many NPCs, free roaming in both series of video games can be an immersive open world video game experience.
Regarding main story missions, Just Cause and GTA video games have similarities in the sense that there is a main story that can be completed by the player throughout the game, and in the sense that by progressing in the main story of the video game the player is able to unlock new gameplay aspects. In the case of GTA, by progressing in the main story players are able to access new locations in the video games, in some cases new cities. In the case of Just Cause, by progressing in the main story, the player is able to unlock new gameplay features, such as new types of side missions that can be started. Both series of video games feature action-focused main story missions.
The Differences Between Just Cause and GTA
While Just Cause video games and GTA video games feature many similarities, there are also important differences between these two series of video games.
In the open world aspect, while the GTA video games are generally set in urban environments, with large cities, Just Cause video games are generally set in tropical environments, with large wilderness areas, such as forests and mountains, although there are cities in Just Cause video games as well. In this sense, GTA video games are in general a more urban open world video game experience, while Just Cause video games are in general a more tropical open world video game experience.
While it is possible for the main game character to use a variety of vehicles in both Just Cause video games and in GTA video games, in Just Cause video games the main game character is generally able to perform more acrobactic maneuvers, such as jumping from an airplane and using the grappling hook to land in a helicopter in mid-flight. These acrobactic maneuvers would generally not be seen in GTA video games, unless the games were modded. This is particularly due to the fact that the main game character of Just Cause video games is special agent Rico Rodriguez, which is a specially-trained agent capable of such maneuvers, while in GTA video games the main game characters usually make use of different vehicles and weapons rather than acrobactical maneuvers.
There are also differences in the main stories of Just Cause and GTA video games. In Just Cause video games, often the player character is engaged in special operations related to fighting and sabotaging a variety of factions. In Just Cause video games, there is often a backstory that involves the dispute of different policital factions and groups fighting for power. In GTA video games, the main game character is often involved with crime families and crime organizations, and is often engaged in operations related to the dispute for power of these different crime organizations.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects in the differences between Just Cause video games and GTA video games is the grappling hook that the main game character of Just Cause video games is able to use. The grappling hook allows the main game character to jump to vehicles, including aircraft, as well as move much faster than most NPCs. This feature is not seen in GTA video games, unless they were modded, and is perhaps one of the most crystalline differences between Just Cause video games and GTA video games.
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