Just Cause 2 Review

23 Mar 2010 at 13:20:38 by Staff Writers
Systems used to review this title: (PS3)

I don't want to write about this game. I'd rather just go back and play it some more. I've completed it already, twice, but I still have the urge to go back and blow seven shades of shadows out of the gaming world.

You see, this game is massive, and anyone worried that Avalanche Studios wouldn't populate the world with enough to do shouldn't be worried at all. If anything, sometimes there's far too much to do or get distracted by.

Let's start from the top. You control the CIA's go-to-guy Rico Rodriguez, again, and this time you've got your grappling hook mapped to your left bumper, or L1 button, depending what platform you're playing on. This is great because you don't have to select it from an inventory, and because you can do pretty much anything with your grapple-hook, it gives you a flow of freedom. There's never a break or pause in the action.

The grapple hook can launch you across locations, pull down enemies from lookout points (such as snipers), pull down objects onto enemies and can also be used in conjunction with your infinite parachute, which will aid you in many more ways than youcan imagine. The parachute is certainly one of my favourite things of the game, and I've spent literally hours floating hundreds of feet over Panau just admiring the different environments and the bustling ground and airspace. Another great achievement is the seamless environment changes. One minute you're over beaches, the next it's desert then you're approaching snow-capped mountains. Not only will your parachute afford you some incredible viewing, but it's also a great way to get inside enemy camps silently. And there are many camps kicking around for you to explore in this vast world.

One of the original game's biggest problems was the lack of things to do in the environment, something which wasn't restricted to Just Cause. Crackdown also had a similar problem, and the job here was to make sure there were enough varied activities for you to do in the world. Cleverly, Avalanche Studios introduced the Chaos system, which rewards you for the damage you do to government property. This Chaos unlocks more faction missions (we'll come to those in a minute), strongholds, Agency missions and more items from the black-market dealer, which include weapons and vehicles. Completing faction missions will award you with a set amount of Chaos, as well as cash, weapon and vehicle parts; collectible items that allow you to upgrade your weapons and vehicles. The aim of the game is to create as much Chaos in Panau as possible so as to undermine the leader, Baby Panay, causing civil unrest amongst his population. By completing these missions and getting more Chaos, Agency missions will open up to you. These Agency missions are what drives the story forward, and you must build Chaos to unlock these missions.

And it's this Chaos which is the driving factor in the game. You don't need to be on a mission to deal out Chaos. Earlier I mentioned the vast gaming environment and, if anything, this is an understatement. The game world is massive and you'll come across military bases, communication points, docks, harbours, cities, villages and much, much more. Each location can be "completed" by destroying everything government owned and picking up all the collectibles. Sounds easy at first, but with over 400 locations on the map to explore, as well as the varying size of each location, it could take the best part of 60 hours just to find and complete all these location objectives. And because each location is different, it never becomes boring. In fact, some locations have government officials, or generals, to kill too, so not only are you undermining the leader's rule, but you're taking out his top military officials.

Another issue which has been resolved from the first game is that of random enemy spawning. Now, I have to say that this DOES still happen, but it's not as noticeable as in the first game. There is a logical progression to where and how the enemies come from, but sometimes you'll find that you've cleared the area only to have some crazy arse-bandit firing an uber-powerful shotgun at your head. It's times like that you grapple, deploy the parachute to get some distance between you and him, and shoot his face off from above. It's a great feeling.

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