Every now and again I have an urge to undermine a foreign government. I have yet to act upon this impulse mainly because I lack the know how, equipment, manpower, financing, and well, the physical and mental prowess to accomplish such a thing, much less the fact that Allison wouldn't let me.

Thank goodenss for video games. In "Just Cause", a new action-adventure game from Eidos, you play as Rico Rodriguez; undercover operative sent to take down the government of a small banana republic with eyes on developing a WMD. The early scoop on the game is that it takes this genre over-the-top, in a good way, giving you access to 89 different vehicles in which to travel around the 250,000 square miles of San Esperito.

For a taste of the game, you can download the demo either on Xbox Live or, for the PC, at justcausegame.com. My download is currently in progress. Foreign governments, beware!