1980S MACHO FLICKS LIVE ON IN THIS GAME.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

`Just Cause'' feels a lot like an 1980s action movie -- you know, the kind where one guy with special training and limitless ammo wipes out an entire army of bad guys in some Third World setting. Stuff explodes, people die and the hero says something macho once in a while.

However, there are reasons you don't see too many of those movies now -- and they're the same reasons this game doesn't quite work.

Toss in some gameplay issues, and you have a rather unrighteous experience.

The hero is Rico Rodriguez, a cross between Vin Diesel in ``XXX'' and the dude you see in the El Pollo Loco commercials. He's a one-man regime-change expert, sent to dispatch the crooked president of the fictional country of San Esperito.

There is a map of San Esperito that is marked up with various missions built around the crumbling presidente's grip on the country while increasing your standing with rebels and other groups.

Omnipotent

Like any uber-action hero, Rico can do anything -- he can drive or fly all kinds of vehicles, defy death with a variety of stunts and shoot down packs of armed enemies in droves.

Conceptually, this is a bright spot. Jumping on cars, diving out of a chopper as it's about to be shot down and whipping out the parachute at the last moment provide a genuine rush. A fun weapon is the grappling hook, which Rico can use to latch onto any vehicle -- land, sea or air.

You can also jump onto the roofs of cars, either from another car or via parachute.

However, the world where Rico does a lot of this magic is visually limited. Some have already derided the visuals as mere touch-ups of the PS2 and Xbox versions. I didn't think they were quite that bad - San Esperito bounces with some color and life, with backgrounds ranging from shanty towns to small metro areas.

This scenery pales in comparison to the stuff you would see in ``GRAW,'' ``FarCry,'' or even ``Tomb Raider: Legend,'' another Eidos title. The standards have been raised, and they're not quite met here.

Bad trip

But it was the gameplay that took my thinking into the '80s-action era -- and it wasn't a fun journey.

First off, like in '80s flicks, it is WAY too easy for the hero to kill the enemy. You auto-lock onto a target the moment your cross hairs get remotely near someone, so all you have to do is point in a general direction and fire. This gets especially bad when you have an assault rifle pointed at a group of armed men, as you can mow them down with the greatest of ease.

It also doesn't help that the corrupt cops and soldiers of San Esperito behave like they received their weapons training from first-graders.

``Just Cause'' is chock full of unrealized potential. There's not enough space to recount it all, but those who want to play it can see for themselves. Then they can watch ``Rambo.''

JUST CAUSE - One and one half stars

Platform: Xbox 360.

Rated: M for mature.

In a nutshell: Feels like a rerun.

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Photo:

no caption (``Just Cause'')