During Square-Enix’s E3 2015 press conference, its US CEO Phil Rogers said he considered Just Cause a major franchise that can stand “side by side” with other “iconic” Square-Enix franchises.
The very fact he said this immediately suggests it isn’t, especially to anyone who played Just Cause 4, and it certainly wasn’t at launch. The first Just Cause, which landed back in 2006, is a clunky mash-up of open-world shooting, scenery-chewing performances from the days before mo-cap, and the sort of low-poly vehicles Elon Musk will probably be trying to sell you soon. But that doesn’t mean it’s not wonderful.