Launching Yourself Into a Tornado, the ‘Just Cause 4’ Way

Joab Gilroy
Games Xbox
Games Xbox PlayStation PC Gaming

Around the northwest of Solís, a South American island nation under the rule of the Black Hand, a tornado is rampaging. It’s ripping up everything in its path — cars, buildings, boats — in a physics-based torrent.

A few kilometres away, Rico Rodriguez is running repeatedly into a motorbike. The bike is sitting on its top, handlebars splayed like a pair of bike stands, its flat seat creating a stable platform.

Just minutes ago this arrangement was a minor victory, but now it is a great inconvenience. After all, if the bike is upside down Rico can’t ride it. And if Rico can’t ride it, he can’t fling himself into the tornado, which is twirling its way towards the horizon as he watches.

What’s fantastic about an upside down motorbike is the access it grants you. Attaching things to the undercarriage is easy if you’re in a garage, but if this is a bike you just stole from an unfortunate local you need to improvise. And if you’re looking to rig up your bike with a series of helium-filled balloons and vertical thrusters, and structural integrity is at all important to you, then you’re gonna need to flip that bad boy to access the best possible anchor points.

Unfortunately, Rico isn’t super accustomed to working with balloons. Thrusters alone, and this Motorbike would already be twisting in the wind, both figuratively and literally. The balloons are creating a significant amount of ballast — a gyro hasn’t caused our hero this much trouble since the time his local ran out of lamb.

Rico’s typical experience with balloons is different.

The Real Fun of Just Cause

Outside of the blimps he’s accustomed to, inflatable devices for him have typically been relegated to mods. Modding Just Cause to experiment with the open world and the physics engine powering it has long been one of the most exciting things about the series for some people, and inflatables are a mainstay among modders.

In Just Cause 4, the balloon is a Grappler mod Rico acquires early in the game which he can use to make things float. Think of the Fulton Recovery Extraction system from Metal Gear Solid 5, except instead of stealing soldiers, you’re trying to create a hoverbike directly inspired by Lawnchair Larry.

There are three mods for the Grappler in Just Cause 4, and each of those can be modded further. The Retractor is the classic Just Cause two tether system. You anchor it in one spot, attach it to another and the two things are drawn inexorably together, like Rico is to banana republics. In Just Cause 4 you can alter the speed at which it retracts, cause the tethers to explode when fully pulled together and even create a “power yank,” which is just two letters off getting you arrested.

The booster was previously an explosives modification in Just Cause 3, creating jet propulsion when activated. The awesome thing about the physics engine in Just Cause 4 is that — when working correctly — the boosters can do everything from make a cow fly to turn a merry-go-round into a centrifuge of such terrifying speeds that anyone on board would surely be liquefied.

A helicopter gunship fires on a sportscar
They really don't like street racing on Solis.

It can be modified too — the boosters can burn out quickly, the thrust vector can be managed individually, their power output can be ramped up, and they can explode when finished with.

Finally we have the Air Lifter mod, which adds balloons to anything Rico tethers. The balloons can be indestructible, they can be fragile, they can be modded to follow Rico around, and they can, of course, explode when finished with.

Rico can create three presets with ease, switching between them with the push of a button. He can combine them, too — having a tether with a booster, balloon, and a retractor on it all at once if he can work out why he would want to.

Because this is new technology, Rico couldn’t be expected to know that attaching four balloons to an upside down motorbike would make the motorbike perfectly stable (and near impossible to flip).

Here he was though. It was better than some of the other places he’d been. Attaching 10 boosters to the back of a Blimp created a scene akin to the Hindenburg Disaster played in super fast forward.

Attaching air lifters to the wings of a jumbo jet so his passenger airliner could gain VTOL abilities worked beautifully — but trying to fly it sideways between the struts of a bridge did not.

Do Anything From the Start

Solís is massive, with four distinct biomes to explore, and Rico can tackle them in any order and manner he chooses, so our suave hero has a ton of options. The Breath of the Wild philosophy means he’s basically plonked down on the island — which hosts the most landmass in any of Avalanche Studios’ games to date — and unleashed.

Completing missions and playing through the story will help with Rico’s assault on the Black Hand — the sinister para-military corporation controlling Solís — but it’s not required if he just wants to get it over and done with quickly.

Cruising around, missions pop up for Rico when it seems like he’s starting one. If he flies his stolen helicopter over a nearby Black Hand base, details on how to render it useless spring up. If he floats by a “re-education centre” in a yacht, radio chatter will tell him to head in and rescue the citizens trapped within. Accomplishing these tasks will help Rico out — he’ll get supplies and support from the people he’s helped. It means there’s no real pressure on Rico to do anything in particular.

A Construction vehicle stands firm in the face of the storm
All that construction for nothing.

Which means if he wants to jury-rig a bike into a makeshift tornado testing device, he has all the time in the world. A thought occurs to him. He could retractor-tether the bike to a nearby tree by one of its wheels, and then detach the tether and let the bike fall to the ground.

Now About That Tornado

By the time Rico has managed to flip the bike over, the tornado has absconded just behind a nearby mountain. Luckily, the jet-powered hover-bike is more than up to the task of tracking it down. It’s actually quite easy to track the tornado itself — the telltale storm clouds above it mean it’s rarely hidden for too long, regardless of the size of the mountain.

Rico’s jet-powered hover-bike rips along the countryside. The Grappler’s mods can be customised to activate automatically, when holding the button or at a tap — which means Rico can inflate and deflate his balloons at will.

The interstate highway that winds its way through Solís is packed with traffic, most of it unperturbed by the giant funnel of windy death just a few kilometres along. Rico’s jet-powered hover-bike is unperturbed by the traffic, floating around 10 metres above it as he is.

When he’s just a few hundred metres out, Rico lets the bike fall back to the ground. The jets, and the lack of friction on the ground, mean he’s going roughly twice the top speed of the bike itself, around 300km/h. He’s not wearing a helmet.

With just 100m to go, he can see cars ahead being pulled up into the vortex. The dark funnel stretching up towards the sky is filled with the broken parts of cars, the remains of a fuel station, and a fighter jet.

A jet flies while a Tornado rages in the distance
This jet obviously escaped unharmed.

Have Faith in the Physics

Rico spots the perfect launching pad for his grand leap, a dirt ramp near the side of the road. He slows down as he turns to line up the jump, but he overshoots it anyway. He turns the bike back around and guns it, using a quick few taps on his booster to speed up the process before stopping 20 metres short of the ramp itself.

He has to go for it now, while he can. The Tornado is running away again. He accelerates hard, careening at the ramp, and just as he hits the bottom of the natural inclination he hits his boosters. The balloons take about two seconds to inflate, so he wants to engage them a little earlier than he needs them.

The boosters fizzle before the ramp runs out. They’ve burned out. 20 metres was barely enough room to get a run-up without the aid of boosters. The hover-bike rolls harmlessly over the edge of the ramp. The tornado will get away. He’s failed.

Then the balloons expand. The wind catches them. The physics engine kicks in, and the massive weather event sucks Rico in. He’s going home. Cars fling themselves around him as he holds onto the bike for dear life. The bike itself is starting to smoke, damaged as it is by the winds and debris. When it explodes, it takes the balloons with it.

But Rico’s already let go. His wingsuit pops, and he’s alive. Alive to experiment again. To fight the Black Hand. To move forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.

Joab Gilroy
Joab is a games critic from Australia with over 10 years of experience and a PUBG tragic.
Every Xbox Game Still Coming (We Think) After The Recent Layoffs
Layoffs at a number of Xbox teams has jeopardized many projects, so we summarized every game we think is still releasing.
Copied to clipboard
Astro Bot - All Cameo Bots And Secret Characters List (July 2025 Update)
Astro Bot hides over 300 secret bots, including 195 cameo bots from other games spanning PlayStation's long history. Check them all out here.
Copied to clipboard
Marvel Rivals Battle Pass Season 3 - All Skins, Emotes, And Other Rewards
Marvel Rivals Season 3 battle pass features symbiote and Phoenix costumes.
Copied to clipboard
Ghost Of Yotei Is Getting A Limited Edition PlayStation 5
You can celebrate the arrival of Ghost of Yotei with a special limited edition PS5 this fall.
Copied to clipboard
Ghost of Yotei: 35 New Things We Just Learned About The Game
From evolved combat to an emphasis on forging your own path forward, here's everything new we just learned about Ghost of Yotei.
Copied to clipboard
Subnautica 2 Fans Call For Boycott, Ex-Execs Accused Of Abandoning Duties
After reports about Unknown Worlds potentially losing a $250 million bonus over the delay of Subnautica 2, some fans are calling for a boycott.
Copied to clipboard
Superman Deserves Better Than Video Games Have Given Him
The Man of Steel is the quintessential superhero, but video games have struggled to capture what makes him special.
Copied to clipboard
GameStop Auctioning Off The Stapler That Damaged A Switch 2 On Launch Day
The gaming retail chain is making lemonade out of a lemon for Children's Miracle Network.
Copied to clipboard
Everything New In Delta Force Season 5: Break
Here is everything changing in Delta Force Season 5: Break.
Copied to clipboard
Exclusive Look At Three New Magic: The Gathering - Edge Of Eternities Cards
Interceptor Mechan and Inventors' Fair are sure to feel right at home in an artifact-based deck.
Copied to clipboard
The HBO Max Big Bang Theory Spinoff Has a Wild (and Fun!) Premise
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is the next new corner of the Big Bang TV-verse
Copied to clipboard
MobLand Season 2: Everything We Know So Far
Paramount+'s British gang drama killed a lot of people off in the Season 1 finale; here's what's next
Copied to clipboard
PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium Games For July 2025 Include Cyberpunk 2077
PS Plus subscribers are in for a treat this month with the new additions to the Game Catalog.
Copied to clipboard
e.l.f. Cosmetics and Honkai: Star Rail Give Anime Expo 2025 an Electric Makeover
Watch fans get the look of their favorite Honkai: Star Rail characters
Copied to clipboard
Magic: The Gathering - Edge Of Eternities First Look: Every Card Revealed So Far
Here's every card shown off during the first reveal of the next out-of-this-world MTG set.
Copied to clipboard
Mecha Break Review - Strike Fast
Mecha Break evokes classic mecha anime with its exciting multiplayer battles, but the game's free-to-play foibles, among other issues, sour things.
Copied to clipboard
Dune: Awakening Review - To Tame A Land
Funcom's survival MMO delivers on the fantasy of the Dune universe but stumbles in the endgame.
Copied to clipboard
The Most Ridiculous Mascots In College Football 26
Mascots are a major part of what makes college sports so fun to watch. Here are the top 10 most ridiculously fun mascots in College Football 26.
Copied to clipboard
X-Wing Ultimate Collector Series Lego Star Wars Set Gets Rare, Huge Discount
Walmart has a bunch of notable Lego discounts in its big sale running alongside Amazon Prime Day 2025.
Copied to clipboard
I Can't Wait To Reloot African Artifacts From Western Museums
In the heist-driven, action-platformer video game Relooted, of course.
Copied to clipboard
Sleuths Think Smash Bros., Donkey Kong 64, And More Are Headed To Switch Online
At least five more N64 additions may have been accidentally revealed (if you squint).
Copied to clipboard
Nintendo Addresses Concerns Over Switch 2's Price Keeping Kids From Getting It
The Switch 2 launched at a hefty $450, a price point that has some investors concerned over how that might affect younger players.
Copied to clipboard
Nintendo May Use "Shorter Development Periods" On Some Games To Offset Costs
The Mario maker is looking at numerous ways to deal with the continuous problem of higher development costs.
Copied to clipboard
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Review - You Win Some, Lose Some
Though it trips up a bit in its Career mode, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 still manages to deliver a marvelous game of skate.
Copied to clipboard
Final Fantasy 9 Anniversary Video Refuels Rumors Of A Remake
100 out of 100 noble FFIX fans are clamoring for the rumored remake.
Copied to clipboard
Best Weapon Loadouts For Black Ops 6 Multiplayer - Season 4 Reloaded Update
Here are some recommended weapon loadouts for Call of Duty's midseason update.
Copied to clipboard
The Best Games Of 2025 (So Far)
2025 is off to a great start, thanks to games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Old Skies.
Copied to clipboard
The Best Players In College Football 26, According To EA
EA has released the official ratings for the top players at each position in College Football 26, so let's take a look at who made the final cut.
Copied to clipboard
Let's Rank What Matters Most In Mario Kart World: The Food
Playing Mario Kart World builds up quite the appetite, but fortunately it also has tons of tasty snacks
Copied to clipboard
Call Of Duty Beavis And Butt-Head Event - All Weapons, Skins, And All Rewards
Here are all the new rewards you can unlock in Black Ops 6 And Warzone for the Beavis and Butt-Head crossover event.
Copied to clipboard
PlayStation's Helldivers 2 Is Coming To Xbox In August
More Helldivers will join the galactic conflict next month.
Copied to clipboard
Mr. Robot Is Now on Netflix and More Relevant Than Ever
The USA Network hacker thriller, which ran from 2015-2019, is still great and still timely. All four seasons are now streaming on Netflix.
Copied to clipboard
The Old Guard 2 Review: An Underwhelming Return for Netflix's Action Franchise
Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman face off in a sequel that feels oddly unfinished
Copied to clipboard
More Xbox Layoffs Announced, Phil Spencer Claims They Were Necessary
"Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger," Phil Spencer says.
Copied to clipboard
After A Decade, Rare's Everwild Canceled As Part Of Xbox Layoffs
As part of layoffs at the company, the plug has been pulled on this original IP from Rare.
Copied to clipboard
CoD Season 4 Reloaded Patch Notes Add Attachment Changes And Goofy Verdansk LTM
Here are the major changes included in the Black Ops 6 And Warzone Season 4 Reloaded update.
Copied to clipboard
Amazon Prime Members Get These 7 Free Games In July
From culinary adventures to the endless depths of space, here's what Prime subscribers can get for free this month.
Copied to clipboard
Game Pass Adds 9 More Games In July, Including Tony Hawk Pro Skater Remasters
Tony Hawk headlines the first wave of games headed to Game Pass in July.
Copied to clipboard
Donkey Kong Bananza Looks Like The Mario Odyssey Successor No One Expected
Sporting a goofy sense of humor and mechanics that reward curiosity and experimentation, this is the most ambitious DK has been in years.
Copied to clipboard
You Can't Spoil The Bear
The fervor around The Bear's fourth season took the concept of 'spoiler alerts' to an untenable place
Copied to clipboard
Switch 2's Zelda Notes Feature Misses The Point Of The Games
The new companion app for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom offers some helpful functions, but also diminishes the thrill of discovery.
Copied to clipboard
Honkai Star Rail x e.l.f Cosmetics Collab Kicks Off with Exclusive Sweepstakes
Enter to win an exclusive Honkai: Star Rail PS5 controller from e.l.f. Cosmetics!
Copied to clipboard
The Biggest Game Releases Of July 2025
From more Switch 2 exclusives to living your best life in Middle-earth, here’s a closer look at what July has in store.
Copied to clipboard
Blue Prince Doesn't Have A Satisfying Ending, But That's The Point
It increasingly seems like Blue Prince contains puzzles that will never be solved, an incredibly gutsy way to convey a powerful emotional impact.
Copied to clipboard
The Hidden Tech Making Assassin's Creed Shadows Feel More Alive And Not Need 2TB
An Assassin's Creed developer sheds some light on how new, often hidden technology, is making games better for developers and gamers alike.
Copied to clipboard
The Bear Season 4 Is on the Clock
The passing of time is the glue that holds this return to form together
Copied to clipboard
Squid Game's Evil VIPs Are Still the Show's Worst Characters
The Netflix hit spends too much of its final season with these hollow, wealthy voyeurs
Copied to clipboard
Fortnite Squid Game Map - All Map Changes In Fortnite Reload
Get ready to play Red Light, Green Light on Fortnite's Squid Grounds.
Copied to clipboard
CoD Season 4 Reloaded Adds Beavis and Butt-Head, Cel-Shaded Maps
Cartoon-themed content is coming to Season 4 Reloaded in BO6 and Warzone.
Copied to clipboard
20 Things You Need To Know Before You Play Death Stranding 2
Survive every harrowing ordeal as Sam Porter Bridges with these Death Stranding 2: On the Beach tips.
Copied to clipboard
Best Games Under $10 In The 2025 Steam Summer Sale
Do you like video games? Do you have ten bucks? Good news.
Copied to clipboard
Best Steam Summer Sale 2025 Game Deals
The Steam Summer Sale is now live, and there are some great bargains to find here.
Copied to clipboard
Sinners Leads HBO Max's New Releases in July
You can finally watch Sinners at home
Copied to clipboard
PlayStation Plus Free Games For July 2025 Revealed
Here's what PS Plus subscribers can look forward to in July.
Copied to clipboard
Destiny 2 Edge Of Fate Livestream - All New Exotics, Weapons, And Artifact Mods
Bungie's next Destiny 2 expansion will rework its build system, kick off Armor 3.0, and add a bunch of new gear.
Copied to clipboard
Here's Why Your Nintendo Switch 2 Display Looks So Blurry
Testing on the Nintendo Switch 2 display has determined why you might be seeing some incredibly blurry gameplay.
Copied to clipboard
Death Stranding Timeline: Full Story Recap To Prepare You For On The Beach
From the Big Bang to the end of all things, here's the entire story of Death Stranding.
Copied to clipboard
Netflix Will Remove All Of These Games In July 2025
Your last chance to play these games will be July 14.
Copied to clipboard
Rematch Review - Unbelievable Tekkers
Rematch takes a refreshing, skill-based approach to football games that can be just as frustrating as it is thrilling
Copied to clipboard
How One Deus Ex Designer Created The Game's Best Level
Steve Powers' version of Hong Kong feels as generous and extravagant as it did 25 years ago.
Copied to clipboard
10 Years Ago, Batman: Arkham Knight Solved The Video Game Trilogy Problem
Rocksteady pushed its Dark Knight threequel to the extreme to create the definitive Batman video game.
Copied to clipboard
Death Stranding 2 Review - Tied Up
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is fixated on revisiting past ideas, which limits its impact to being a good but not great sequel
Copied to clipboard
Death Stranding 2 Release Times For All Regions
While Sony hasn't provided an official map of the Death Stranding 2 launch times, we've got them all here for you.
Copied to clipboard
Cyberpunk 2077's Big New 2.3 Update Delayed
The highly anticipated 2.3 update needs more time to cook.
Copied to clipboard
Here's When Netflix's Sakamoto Days Returns for More Action and Comedy
The Netflix action-comedy anime following a retired assassin is a hit
Copied to clipboard
There's an Actual, Legitimate Chance Mindhunter Will Come Back
Star Holt McCallany has been talking to David Fincher about it
Copied to clipboard
Here's What Book You Should Read Based On Your Favorite Game
Looking to shave down your screentime? Here are some books that pack the same punch as your favorite games.
Copied to clipboard
Mario Kart World's Vibes-Based Free Roam Is Perfect
Mario Kart World isn't an open-world racing game and I love that it isn't.
Copied to clipboard
Here's Why HDR Might Look Worse On Your Switch 2
There are a few issues with the way Nintendo has implemented HDR on the Switch 2.
Copied to clipboard
Donkey Kong: Bananza - Everything We Just Learned About The Switch 2 Exclusive
From the surprise appearance of a fan-favorite Super Mario character to powerful transformations, here's everything we just learned about Bananza.
Copied to clipboard
Donkey Kong Bananza Raises The Possibility Of A DK Multiverse
Hear me out: Cranky Kong and young Pauline should not coexist.
Copied to clipboard
Borderlands 4 Adds Long Requested Features, Like Mission Replay, Seamless World
Being able to heal whenever you want is a game-changer for longer boss battles.
Copied to clipboard
Here's What Book Reacher Season 4 Will Be Based On
Star Alan Ritchson confirmed where we're headed next
Copied to clipboard
NCIS: Tony & Ziva Has a Premiere Date!
The spin-off featuring the franchise's most famous couple is coming to Paramount+
Copied to clipboard
Here's Why The Witcher 4 Is Being Developed With A Console-First Approach
CD Projekt Red has explained why it is focusing on developing The Witcher 4 for consoles first instead of PC.
Copied to clipboard
Red Dead Redemption's John Marston Actor Teases "Exciting News" Coming Soon
Rob Wiethoff is teasing news amid reports of RDR 2 coming to Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Copied to clipboard
Mario Kart World Tips And Tricks To Help You Cross The Finish Line
The first brand-new Mario Kart game in over a decade changes up the formula in exciting ways.
Copied to clipboard
MindsEye Review - Not Like This
MindsEye is a stringent and relentlessly dull video game, wasting its impressive world on formulaic mission design that's both archaic and uninspired.
Copied to clipboard
Nintendo Switch 2 Review - It's A Switch, Too
The successor to one of Nintendo's most popular pieces of hardware is a refined, premium version of what lots of gamers already loved.
Copied to clipboard
Dandadan Season 2: Release Date, Movie, How to Watch, and More
Momo and Okarun are back for more adventures with the occult
Copied to clipboard
FX's Alien: Earth Gets Its First Extended Trailer
'We don't lock them down, it will be too late'
Copied to clipboard