Action-packed game short on story, high on adrenaline
A third-person shooter with more explosions than a Hollywood summer blockbuster, “Just Cause 2” promised to burst into the open-world game play with guns blazing. Although the original “Just Cause” has its fair share of problems, I was hoping Avalanche Software, the developers of the game, could iron these out for the sequel. And they do get most of the problems. If you have seen the commercials of a game with a guy parachuting off a truck heading toward gas tanks while shooting in midair to make them explode, this is that game. It plays the way it is advertised. Although the game has a few annoying problems, this stunt-fueled affair is one of the best open-world games I’ve played in a long time. The action is fantastic, the game world is expansive and enemies can be taken down in multiple ways. This is a game that is bound to get your blood pumping.
In “Just Cause 2,” you’re back with Rico Rodriguez, a field agent that works for an American agency called – wait for it – The Agency. Creative I know. Rico is assigned to travel to the island of Panau in southeast Asia because his friend Tom Sheldon went missing. Whether Sheldon is in danger, dead or working for the enemy is not clear, so it’s up to Rico to find out. In the process, Rico must attempt to cause as much mayhem as possible on the island in order to overthrow the government in control. To do this, Rico must assist three criminal organizations on the island and take on certain tasks and missions that cause chaos and gets you paid handsomely for doing so. The game’s storyline is clearly lacking, but it does its job well enough. You can never accuse “Just Cause 2” and its creators of taking its storyline too serious, especially when in the game Rico is attacked by Uzi-wielding ninjas.
“Just Cause 2” might seem like your typical open-world action shooter game, but there are a few things that make it stand out. The first is Rico’s grappling hook, which can be used at any time. Not only can this grappling hook allow you to zip around walls and hang from buildings, but it can also be used to shoot at objects and pull them toward you. You can even shoot it at enemies to injure or kill them, saving you some ammo. The hook can also be used to tie two objects together. These objects can be living enemies, or you can attach a car to a helicopter and take it for a lift. The possibilities are astounding. The second gameplay mechanic is Rico’s parachute, which can be opened practically at anytime. This parachute gives Rico the freedom to explore without the worry of falling off something and dying. You can even use the hook and parachute together, making the two items into a improvised form of transportation.
With the hook and parachute, “Just Cause 2” is a total blast to play. You are free to move around and fight in whatever way you like. With all the weapons available to Rico (including pistols, machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers, etc.), you get a great variety of ways to roast the evil-doers. The developers also made it so you can drive around 100 different vehicles to get to your destination. There were times when I didn’t know how to get from Point A to Point B because there were so many options at my fingertips. Do I parachute, motorcycle, car, truck, helicopter or just walk? The freedom in the gameplay is definitely a positive in the game, but it is not the game’s main focus. It is the extremely enthralling action scenes that you are tossed into.
I don’t think the developers could have made more things explode or adrenalin pump unless they used a nuke. The fight scenes are like a scene out of the “Die Hard” movie series. You will be asked to jump off cliffs and bridges to catch convoys and escape enemy fire. Not all the missions are as intense as these, but some of them are quite fantastic.
But “Just Cause 2” isn’t all fun and games … and explosions. The controls system has an awkward feeling that takes some getting use to, and the in-mission checkpoints can be extremely frustrating. This is the type of game where you die often, and if you are a long way through a particular mission and you die, well you are out of luck. This means you’ll be starting over a lot on missions that can become time-consuming and rather irritating. “Just Cause 2” also lacks cleanliness in certain areas. There are a number of audio glitches that occur, including stuttering of background chatter and characters not finishing their sentences during cut scenes. These cosmetic things can be looked over when you see how splendid a job the developers did on the graphics. The up-close graphics are great but don’t take your breath away, like the graphics of the islands environment.
If you like playing games that are jammed full of action with little dialogue, then “Just Cause 2” is your type of game. I would recommend buying this game because it is going to take you 50-plus hours to even get close to completing all the missions. The game was released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, not on the Wii, because it’s not a powerful enough system and you are not a gamer if you own a Wii.
Positive – Graphics, freedom in gameplay, variety in guns and vehicles, and crazy fight scenes.
Negatives – Not a lot of save points and lacking dialogue.
Overall – 8.5 out of 10
– billy.harlow@aggiemail.usu.edu