Review: Just Cause 2

Just Cause 2 is a game that lets you tether together a chain of vehicles, attach them to an airliner, fly it high up into the sky and then jump off it to watch the whole thing come crashing to the ground in a big glorious explosion. It also lets you string a helpless enemy to an explosive canister, set if off and watch it drag him all over the place before exploding. Not to mention the routine activities like flying a helicopter, and landing on the tallest building and base-jumping off it.

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Did all that sound like fun to you? If the answer is yes, then go buy yourself a copy of Just Cause 2 and start playing already! If you’re looking for something deeper than that, then I suggest looking elsewhere. This is game that puts mindless action and wanton destruction above everything else. It’s the perfect guilty pleasure that’s best experienced after a long stressful day at work or college.

As a sequel, Just Cause 2 is a massive improvement over its predecessor, which, let’s face it, was a crappy game once you got past the visuals and the crazy stunts. You still play as super agent Rico Rodriguez. In case you haven’t played the first one, Rico is like El Mariachi meets James Bond with a penchant for jumping off high places. As far as the plot and characters go, Just Cause 2 isn’t too far from the first game. Yes, the story once again is about liberating an island paradise from the clutches of an evil government and filled with forgettable characters with extremely bad voice acting. But some new gameplay mechanics, a better structure and a much needed layer of polish make it a far better experience compared to the first game.

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This is a sandbox action game in the truest sense. Yes, you can do missions and follow the story, but once you start getting the hang of things, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to because there’s just so much more you can do. The game takes place on the fictional island of Panau, which is divided into many different zones, each with a distinctive look. Whether it’s the sandy beaches, dense forests, commercial districts with towering skyscrapers, or the snow-covered mountainous regions, the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Just flying around the island in a helicopter aimlessly is a satisfying experience in itself.

The size of the playable game area is quite impressive. Flying from one zone to another can take anything from 10 to 20 minutes, so I can’t even imagine flying from one end of the map to another. Unlike other sandbox games, where you’ll get familiar with the map in a few sessions, Just Cause 2 has something new for you to explore even after a good 12 to 15 hours into the game.

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Most of the entertainment in Just Cause 2 comes from the ridiculous amount of random stuff you can do. It’s a game that actually encourages messing around with the various gameplay mechanics rather than just progressing through the story and finishing it. Like the first game, there’s heavy emphasis on Rico’s grappling hook and parachute combo. At the touch of a button, Rico can attach and reel himself towards any object using the grappling hook. This applies to any object in the game – buildings, vehicles, enemies and even explosive gas canisters. This helps you zip around areas with ease during combat or exploration and makes hijacking vehicles a breeze.

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While airborne, Rico can also deploy a reusable parachute at any time. A new feature is the ability to tether together any two objects using the grappling hook. All of these can be combined and used to achieve some pretty interesting results. The amount of fun you can have here is limited only by your imagination, and the controls are very intuitive and work brilliantly.

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You can also use conventional means of transport in case you get bored with the grappling hook and ‘chute (which is unlikely). Much like any other sandbox game, there are tons of vehicles to drive and pilot – cars, bikes, motorboats, helicopters, airplanes; you name it. Unfortunately, driving isn’t much fun thanks to the finicky handling. Most vehicles can attain ridiculously high speeds, but are very difficult to maneuver and one small bump can send them flying. So apart from certain missions that force you to use vehicles, there really is no need for you to bother with them. On the upside however, the helicopters control rather well, and I personally found myself using them a lot or just using the fast travel option to get around the map quickly.

If you do find yourself getting bored with all the random messing around, you can take up missions or try to explore the entire island. Each area of the island houses many small settlements, military bases or large towns. Hidden among these are various upgrades and enemy installations. Collecting upgrades and blowing up enemy structures contributes towards your overall percentage completion. I personally found this aspect of the game very addictive. Collection tasks aren’t as frustrating as in other games as items are only found in and around settlements. It’s also a lot of fun to go on a rampage inside a military base taking it apart piece-by-piece using a minigun, a rocket launcher or a gunship.

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The environments aren’t fully destructible though and only certain objects and buildings can be destroyed. These types of missions have been done before in games like Mercenaries 2, Prototype, and more recently in The Saboteur, but they’re still fun here thanks to the huge number of options at your disposal. Even the main story missions are fun this time around, complete with a generous amount of mid-mission checkpoints. It’s also worth mentioning that new missions only get unlocked once you gather enough “chaos” points. But it hardly matters, as you’ll usually have enough if you keep blowing stuff up, which – you know – is pretty much the best part of the game.

The story itself is throwaway material and it’s just there to provide some reason for Rico’s actions. Well, at least most of them. It’s made worse by some of the most horrid voice acting that you’ll come across in a video game. Then again, you can simply skip cutscenes and keep the action moving, and trust me, you won’t be missing much. The enemy AI is also pretty basic, but what they lack in tactics, they usually make up for in numbers. At high alert levels, they will swarm from each and every direction – by land, sea or air. And while it’s possible to fight them and get away, sometimes it’s just best to die and respawn at the nearest safe-house, provided you’re not in the middle of a mission.

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As mentioned before, Just Cause 2 is a very good-looking game. Considering the sheer breadth and scope of the game, it could very well be the best looking sandbox game till date. The PC version, however, needs a beefy rig in order to experience it with all the graphical bells and whistles. However, those planning to run it on slightly older PCs should know that it still looks quite stunning with most of the heavy effects turned off. But it does take a while before you find the right balance between graphics and frame rate, so expect to spend some time fiddling with the options.

Conclusion

Just Cause 2 is pure gaming fun in its most unadulterated form. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else. There’s no epic story, quirky characters or carefully written dialog here. What it does offer, however, is fun in spades; something which you’ll keep coming back to. And sometimes that’s exactly what a gamer needs. Play it after a hard day. Trust me, its cathartic.

(+) Offers pure unadulterated fun
(+) Gorgeous visuals
(+) Huge island to explore with lots to do

(-) Vehicle handling is bad
(-) Lame story, horrible voice acting, forgettable characters.

How we score games

Title: Just Cause 2
Developer/Publisher: Avalance Studios/Square-Enix
Genre: Action
Rating: 18
Platforms: PC (Rs 699), PS3 (Rs 2,499), Xbox 360 (Rs 2,499)
Reviewed on: PC

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