Just Cause 2
Score: 87% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Eidos Interactive Developer: Avalanche Software Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Free-Roaming
Graphics & Sound: Just Cause was criticized for offering a lot of space with not a lot to do in it. For any developer, the logical (and more common) solution would have been to cut the size of the playable map down. Avalanche did the exact opposite. The island of Panau is absolutely massive. I never took the time to look up how big, but let's say it takes a good while to fly from one end to the other. Even more impressive is the lack of long load times or massive slowdown while traveling across the map. There's usually a good 20 - 30 second load before starting a mission or reloading after death, but during play, it's a pretty seamless experience. It looks great too - especially once you set to blowing up bases with explosives, vehicles and just about any weapon you can find. The destruction isn't on the same level as Bad Company 2, but there's enough mayhem that taking out bases is a satisfying (and great looking) experience. One slight hiccup is the lack of variety. Soldiers look the same, even the ones on your side. I couldn't tell you the number of times I opened fire on allies. They didn't seem to care much, but it really threw me off. Gunfire and explosions sound great and react to their surroundings. If you're in an enclosed area, you'll get a little echo. Music is playing in the background, though most of the time it's drowned out by weapon fire, explosions and military radio calling for backup. The only problem is the voiceacting, which really isn't a problem when you consider story isn't a major focus here. Like gameplay, voiceacting is overdone, to the point that every sentence can become groan-inducing.
Gameplay: If you haven't played Just Cause, don't worry -- story isn't a major focus. All you really need to know is you're Rico Rodriguez and you're hunting down the guy who was your boss in the first game. In the 30+ hours of gameplay found in Just Cause 2, there are only 6 short story-based missions. The rest consists of random mayhem or completing tasks for the island's three factions. Your main goal is to cause as much Chaos as possible in order to disrupt Panau's military dictatorship and smoke out your former boss. There's a lot to do in Just Cause 2 and you'll need to do it all if you want to get anywhere. Well, most of it anyway. Everything in the game is based on unlocking everything from new missions to weapons. These means lots of guerilla missions across Panau where you basically just blow up anything with a big white star on it. I can't tell you the number of hours I've lost simply jumping between random military bases. It's crazy how much game Just Cause 2 provides. Ideally, you'll want to take factional missions to unlock strongholds and give you some safe areas, but getting too deep into one faction will only serve to piss off the other two, tripling the number of groups gunning for you. The downside to missions - and really Just Cause 2 in general - is the number of unique missions. There are a lot of missions, but most are carbon copies of each other. There are only so many times I can storm a stronghold, protect a group or kidnap someone. Most of the time you'll do all three at once. Missions never feel dull, but there's definite room for creativity. It's great Avalanche decided to give so much game, but when every mission feels the same, some of the shine goes away. Then again, you have a grappling hook, so you can create your own fun. In fact, that's really all I did most of the time. One of the coolest things about the game is how much freedom you have to explore. Central to this are the grappling hook and Rico's endless supply of parachutes. You can grapple on to anything and even use the momentum to catapault yourself into the air and then use the parachute to glide through the air. This combo may eventually become your preferred choice to travel since most vehicles are horrible to drive.
Difficulty: This is not a game for easily distracted players. Like The Saboteur, looking at the map can be pretty intimidating. The large island is covered in white dots marking the location of villages, military bases and other points of interest. It gets even more daunting once you realize these small dots usually represent large tracts of land and are covered in lots of Chaos-building targets. The cool thing is you're never forced to do anything and can take to conquering the island at your own pace. There are a requisite number of targets you'll have to hit to unlock story missions, though the number is comparatively low considering the number of locations. Just Cause 2 does, however, run into a few issues when trying to Michael Bay your way across the island. The game suffers from a lot of smaller technical issues that hamper combat. Additionally, the game tends to throw a lot of enemies your way once you attack a location. Even when attacking by air, soldiers seem to materialize out of nowhere and will give you a problem. It's not uncommon to have an enemy helicopter come into play early in your assault, and unless you have access to a powerful weapon, you're pretty much toast since there's little worthwhile cover.
Game Mechanics: If any game ever needed a cover mechanic, it's Just Cause 2. Even the smaller bases will spew enemies on all sides. You can crouch at anytime, but there isn't much cover to crouch behind. Even if you're able to find cover, enemies will find a way to shoot through or around it. Trying to pop-up and take a shot is even harder. There's a slight bit of transfer lag when switching from a crouch to a stand. You may luck out and get a few good shots, but not often. Aside from providing a quick and convenient travel option, the grappling hook plays a central role in combat. You can snag enemies and stun them, or snag them from towers/ catwalks for a quick kill. You'll actually use both tactics more than you think. Gunplay is okay and makes for fun combat, but unless you get really good at headshots, it takes forever to kill people. Weapons sound powerful, but don't feel powerful. A point-blank shotgun blast to the chest should kill someone, not stun them for a bit. It seems Avalanche was going for a location-specific damage model, but aiming is incredibly loose, so trying for a clean headshot is tricky. Getting back to the grappling hook and travel, it's going to become your main travel option once you get behind the wheel of some vehicles. With such a big island, the developers really want you to be able to get around fast. You'll get access to a helicopter early in the game and your first major vehicle unlock is a small jet. However, as much fun as it is to jump into a helicopter and pepper targets with heavy machine gun fire and missiles, you'll have to deal with a few seconds of lag between button presses and on-screen actions. It isn't as painful while flying, but driving can be an absolute nightmare. Unless I absolutely had to, I either flew everywhere or used "Catapult Air." Just Cause 2 has its fair share of technical issues, but it still managed to exceed nearly all of my expectations. Control issues will likely lead to a number of quick reloads, but once you get into the meat of Just Cause 2, they may not seem all that bad.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: PlayStation llustrated's Review of Just Cause on PS2 PlayStation Illustrated's Review of The Saboteur on PS3 PlayStation Illustrated's Review of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PS3
Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943 Metro 2033