Since my last post I've been having a ball playing Just Cause 2 (I managed to pass the age verification on the site). I've seen Just Cause 2 compared with Grand Theft Auto IV, but for me it's more like Far Cry 2 on steroids...
Just Cause 2 is a sandbox game. I love sandbox games, but their weakness can be that at times you are left wondering what the hell you should do next. Sure enough, after completing the first few (compulsory) missions you are left on your own, and I spent the next several hours gameplay running around in increasing frustration, getting not very far at all.
The storyline is driven by missions, but you have to 'earn' them by causing 'chaos' across the huge game map, by destroying government installations. This was OK at first, but I soon ran out of triggered explosives, and then found it very difficult to blow anything up. I eventually solved the problem by hijacking government helicopters that had all the firepower I needed to cause plenty of chaos...
... and that is one area where Just Cause 2 becomes totally insane. A large element of the gameplay is the grappling hook that your character is equipped with. This can be used in many ways, for example 'grappling' a helicopter, ridding it of its crew and hijacking it. Reality goes out of the window, but wonderful fun nevertheless. This is a game after all...
Another comparision I've seen is that Just Cause 2 plays like a Hollywood 'B' action movie. It does. I can't stand watching those movies, but playing them is a different matter...
It is also a bloody good looking movie. The scenery is generally superb, with huge view distances and very little pop-up. Loading times are excellent, and there is no loading at all between areas. Makes you wonder why other games can't do this...
One small gripe: when you reload a save or after dying, you're unceremoniously dumped back at some point after a previous mission, and sometimes not the same mission. After about 20 hours gameplay I still can't work out exactly how this works. I'm used to saving a game and then returning to exactly where you save when you reload. Quite why Just Cause 2 can't do this, I don't know.
Still, as I say, that is just a small gripe. If you are looking for a fun action game with few concessions to reality, then Just Cause 2 could just fit the bill.
AGEING GAMER RATING:
