Just Cause 2 – REVIEW

Jumping out of an airplane to blow some stuff up then hooking an enemy to a plane to meet his flying death is always enjoyable, but does jumping out of an airplane hold the game together or is this a cause to miss?

Story

Just cause 2 story is based around a character called Rico Rodriguez. Rico Rodriguez is a field agent for an American Agency. It literally is called Agency…. If you haven’t already guessed it, your man Rico is assigned to travel to Asia to the beautiful big island of Panau. Reason? A friend of his and a mentor called  Tom Sheldon, went missing. It’s not clear if Sheldon is dead, alive, partying down in Asia somewhere. Obviously its down to Rico to go and investigate into this. On your way you will be able to enjoy causing chaos along the streets of Panau whilst taking some sky diving lessons and continuously blowing the crap out of well… everything. Your objectives to get to the main goal which means going to three of the criminal factions on the island to basically work for them to progress further in the game. Good thing is you get paid to cause chaos so the job is simple, cause chaos!

The story isn’t really the main reason you would want to pick up Just Cause 2. It’s not terrible but it is at the same time. The terrible script and voice acting does not do the story any favours. Then again with the game play elements like Just Cause 2 it is hard enough to take the story too serious anyway which really, to state the story, isn’t what gamers will be picking up for. Just Cause 2 game play is where it becomes the main focus of the game.

Gameplay

Just cause 2 may play and look like a typical 3rd person shooter but really its unique in many different ways. The vast open world that Just Cause 2 is set in really does make it hard to miss, being able to grapple your way on to jet planes, cars, tanks and enemies. The grappling hook alone is highly amusing and will never become tedious since you can pull off the most ridiculous stunts and basically screw over the physics of mankind and make it an enjoyable adventure to encounter.  There are moments in the game where you may be getting sniped by a sniper, so just yank him off his lovely camping spot and attach him to the ceiling whilst shooting the hell out of him. The possibilities are endless and no this isn’t a game by MasterCard… it simply is astonishing. The freedom that you have in the game is amazing as you literally can travel everywhere on multiple vehicles. Jumping out of planes will never get old! Just make sure you open your parachute or you could encounter a painful death. You can really pull off some amazing combos with the grappling hook and parachute. If you always wanted freedom in a game then this is the game for you. Throughout the game you will encounter the most unusual place of having checkpoints which does become an issue and do expect if you die to restart a far bit away from where you were on your objective.

Graphics

The beautiful open world of Panau does look stunning as it really has a nice use of colours and really does make it feel like your taking a holiday trip with the added chaos. The vehicles look alright but some of them do look a bit pixelated at times.  The weapons also have some nice detail and look realistic and the explosions are bigger than ever. As I always state, if there are explosions and barrels you can always have fun… unless you blow up. Some of the areas of Panau seem to lack the detail textures of the previous and some screen tearing does become an issue. The cut scenes also aren’t as good looking or fun as the game play itself.

Just cause 2 is a really fun and enjoyable 3rd person shooter that drops you straight into the open world of Panau with some enjoyable and unique elements to a game that has never been seen before really. This does make this open 3rd person shooter one to pick up. The open world alone is a great adventure and the stunts you can pull off are amazing. The story will never go down in history as a story to remember and the frequent audio glitches are a pain but I would have to say if you’re into thrills and love jumping out of planes then this a game you should pick up… just ignore the story.