Review: Just Cause 2

A heads up to everyone, Just Cause 2 has provided me with some of the most fun times I’ve had with gaming for a long time. The game isn’t perfect in any way, but when it comes to the bottom line with video games, they have to provide entertainment, and Just Cause 2 did that EASILY.

• There is a ton of ground to cover here – from villages, to military bases to creepy islands – there’s a decent amount of stuff packed in this game. And the map is absolutely huge. Even flying a helicopter sometimes takes too long to get to your destination.
• The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes the game even more enjoyable. Over-the-top voice acting and the various screams from throwing your enemy out of a helicopter are just fun to hear.
• There’s a ton of locations that you can gun for. I cleared the game and had only covered25% of the game. Anyone who is willing to get to 100% is downright crazy. Thank God there’s no trophy for getting 100% of the game covered.
• The amount of destruction in this game is satisfying, especially when piloting a helicopter. Whether it’s rockets or a machine gun, pelting destructible things in the air is enjoyable.
• The parachute/grappling hook combo was fun to mess with. It allowed for fast travel on-foot and not having to rely on getting a plane all the time or driving cars. Just grapple onto anything, and as you’re in the air, whip out the parachute and off you go. Use the grappling hook to keep momentum.
• Again, this game was fun if you know go into the game knowing it’s not meant to be a serious game. Even Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation didn’t destroy the game like he normally does and says it’s fun. Games need to be more enjoyable like this and not 100% serious all the damn time. Well done, Avalance Studios. I can’t wait for Just Cause 3. If I had to guess now, and if I did this sort of thing, I’d elect this game as my Game of the Year.

• A big downside to this game is the repetition. After awhile, you start to realize that you keep blowing up the same things. Some variation would be nice.
• The game can be challenging even on normal. The infinite supply of enemies doesn’t help. A breather here and there would be nice between complete shootouts, but the enemies keep coming. The only real way to get a breather is to just leave the scene.
• This game does have some glitches, nothing that crashes the system, but you will sometimes see enemies and vehicles spawn in front of you and there are some audio glitches.
• In order to get 100% on an area, you have to destroy specific enemy obstacles (specific statue, propaganda trailers, electric generators, water tower, etc.) but you also need to collect items. Because you’re only given a percentage, in some cases you never know if you need to find an item or if you need to destroy one last thing. This is a serious buzzkill when recording your takeovers.

Positive Points: 6 | Negative Points: 4 | Overall Score: 2

I have actually recorded about nine videos from Just Cause 2 that have been uploaded to YouTube. From miscellaneous stuff, to takeovers. If you would like to see them, hit the jump, they’ll all be embedded.