Just Cause 2 Review (PS3)

CHAOS!!!

When I finally get my hands on Just Cause 2, I get thrown into a world of over the top non-stop action, creating mountains of chaos on an island? Sounds like fun!

Just Cause 2´s predecessor was a brilliant start to a franchise, giving us total freedom to do what we wanted and go where we liked, completing missions and performing huge stunts along the way. I remember the first game had some beautiful environmental graphics, and the island looked absolutely amazing. With all this in mind, does the second game in the franchise make improvements? Just Cause 2 uses the same formula as the first game, but with new features (luckily these do not detract from the fun!).

You start by being launched straight into the action with a brilliantly executed introduction; I won´t spoil it, but let´s say you will be high! Soon, after a few set training missions, you get given the freedom that you enjoyed in Just Cause 1. Factions will become available for you to work for, challenge missions such as races will become plentiful, and more opens up the more missions you play. Completing missions earns you money, which you can spend upgrading or buying new equipment, and money at the start of the game has to be managed well to stopyou going crazy.

You also get given a new feature called the Chaos meter: this measures the amount of insanity you are causing to the island, and the more Chaos you cause, the more missions and new equipment you can unlock. It’s a welcome feature to the franchise, and I hope to see it again in the next installment. Much like the first game, you are given the grappling hook right away, and this results in instant fun. You will be grappling all over the show to scale buildings, shoot across the land at high speed, or even use it as a weapon. One hilarious idea I managed to conjure up was to attach an enemy to a gas canister using the grappler, shoot the canister and watch the comical act I had just created. That was just awesome!

The island in Just Cause 2 is just as amazing as the previous game, but even better, the entire island is bombarded with lush green forests, snowy mountains and sandy desert-like areas. As soon as you see the vast mountains from a distance, it´s clear that the island is the main star of the game. Once again the land mass is enormous, and will take you a long time to get across no matter what form of travel you choose. Along with the huge island there is a massive amount of settlements and cities to visit (when I say visit, I mean destroy). Just Cause 2 will keep you busy for hours on end if you wish to achieve full completion of the whole game; this means you will have to finish all manner of missions, destroy all settlements and cities and collect all the upgradeable packages. It will take you forever to complete.

Attach an enemy to a gas canister using the grappler, shoot the canister and watch the comical act

Travelling on the island can get tiring fast, but I found all cars have their own attributes of control, speed and weight which is good and adds some realism to the game. However, I couldn’t help but feel that driving in this game is just not that much fun, therefore the use of helicopters and jets come into play. I can fly around in these for hours, creating all kinds of stunts, base jumping from insane heights, jumping onto other travelling jets from your own. Hilarious to watch, amazing to pull off.

 With so much to do in this game I only have one question. Will this game have downloadable content released? It´s definitely worthy of even more content for gamers to play with, especially since Just Cause 2 has no multiplayer features, which I was disappointed to find. Surely something could have been done so I could play along with my friends. I´ll just have to hope for multiplayer features in the inevitable sequel.

The game runs smoothly when playing throughout most of the experience, though there are some frame rate issues when multiple explosions pound your screen and speakers. It´s forgivable, but can get annoying at the worst of times.

In the end Just Cause 2 turns out to be a fantastic game full of over-the-top action, beautiful visuals and a gigantic world for you to wreak havoc over, and is a definite improvement from it´s predecessor. What really sticks out in this game is the island, it´s stunning, and numbs you when viewed from a distance. Structure of the missions may get repetitive to some gamers, but I came to realise that Just Cause 2 is a game made to be fun. I hope to see another installment that continues to impress. Good work developers!