N.B.: This review was written using a 360 version of the game and therefore cannot necessarily be applied to all other versions. As always reviews are subjective and the thoughts and feelings of the reviewer.
Just Cause 2 is the 2010 sequel to the 2006 Just Cause. With a whole new island to liberate there are literally thousands of explosions, enemies, and vehicles which will certainly keep you entertained and addicted for hours. Just Cause 2 blows its predecessor out the water.
What really hinders the characters of Just Cause 2 is the voice acting. On top of an awful script lies the awful voice acting. Designers may have been going for cheese but have just succeeded in being annoying and painful to listen to. Other then voices, the music and sound effects of Just Cause 2 are actually good. Explosions sound as impressive as they look and the island sports a soundtrack fitting with its locale.
The graphics of Just Cause 2 are impressive. Being a sandbox game the detail is all in the environment and the Island of Panau can be a breath taking sight; whether base-jumping from one of the highest mountains or flying a plane low over the cities and villages. The Island of Panau shows off four majorly different environments for you to play around with, each with their own military instalments, bases, and villages. There’s the snow topped mountains which you start in, the jungle which players of the original game will feel familiar with, a desert which was the focus of the pre-release demo and a large metropolis similar to something from a more traditional sandbox game. The variety here is certainly impressive and exploration is part of the whole fun.
While the variety might be impressive in terms of areas the variety in missions is lacking. That said, however, the activities that are there are fun, if a little easy at times. Missions are your way of making money and chaos. Chaos acts as its own currency, opening access to new missions, new weapons, and new vehicles, and you get chaos for practically everything, from blowing up a car to liberating a settlement. Money and Chaos are never a real issue and you wont often be struggling to make more, in fact they can sometimes go unnoticed in the background.
Most of your time with Just Cause 2 will probably be spent liberating the few hundred cities, villages, and military bases taking up most of the island. Liberating a city consists of destroying everything that needs to be destroyed and finding everything that needs to be found till its percentage is at the full 100. Some of the smaller villages can have you finding up to as little as just one item, while the largest city could take you a long time to actually complete.
The variety comes into play when a faction, or agency, mission is selected. Most missions will have making your way into a base only to make your way explosively out. Stronghold missions force you to escort a technician into a military base, protecting him at all costs. These missions wouldn’t be as bad if it wasn’t for the use of the, again, awful voice acting which mean you’d rather leave the technician and his band of men behind. Other missions have you stealing a car from military escorts and driving to a safe house which can feel a bit more fun but can be hampered by some dodgy car physics. The agency missions, which progress the actual story of the game, tend to be over the top and dramatic but this is not a negative point, they tend to be fun twists on the other missions and leave you feeling like the cast of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Apart from some previously mentioned dodgy car physics the rest of the gameplay stands up great. Vehicles generally do handle well, but off road can be a pain and some of the planes can be a bit too powerful. The interesting stunt position can place you on top of your vehicle only to swing around it, shooting enemies, or jumping over onto their vehicles. The focus here is on over the top action gameplay and that’s delivered by the ton. This is also seen in the gunplay which would rather you used its extremely accurate auto-aim over anything manual adding to the quick pace and arcade gameplay. Part of what helps deliver this is Just Causes’ iconic grapple. A complete overhaul from the awkward grapple in the first game this games hand-mounted version fits seamlessly into the gameplay and works to perfection; you’ll be manoeuvring fast between vehicles, buildings, land, air and sea only to cause more chaos in the islands.
Just Cause 2 only has a few technical flaws. Quite often the dialogue can jerk, causing a stutter in the speech, and sometimes it can skip completely. Sometimes cars and people can pop in a bit too late, or can disappear completely, and large amounts of chaos can cause a few frame rate issues. These kind of flaws are unsurprising and generally pass in a matter of milliseconds. All break up the overall experience though so it’s a blessing none happen too often.
On the plus side, however, Just Cause 2 features practically no noticeable load time. Once you’re in the massive sprawling landscape you will only load when going in and out of a mission, or getting extracted, making for maximum emersion. The game also gives you the occasional statistic, telling you how many people you’ve killed, how long you’ve played, how far you’ve travelled, etc . This will be appreciated by some as an interesting feature.
At the end of the day what Just Cause 2 lacks in depth it makes up for in playability. It aims to be a fun, action packed and explosive sandbox game and it really hits this mark, but if you’re interested in characters, story, and dialogue, then Just Cause 2 really isn’t the place to look. Just Cause 2 is just pure fun right from the start and you’ll have a hard time putting it down once you’ve started it.
Shaun Kellett
Authors Comments: My girlfriend bought me Just Cause 2 a week or so back and I think its some of the most fun I've had with a game for awhile. It's certainly clear that the game doesn't take itself seriously and I really like that. Its something I could pick up and play whenever I've got an hour to spare or I could sit and play it all night. Definitely worth picking up.
