Just Cause 2 Preview

How was the demo of Just Cause 2? In short, A BLAST! As the picture to the left indicates, explosions are a big part of Just Cause 2. Let me rephrase that, MULTIPLE explosions are a big part of JC 2. I am happy I gave this one a try. The description said I would have hundreds of weapons, 400 square miles of terrain and a parachute so hitting the download button was a reaction more than a thought. The demo weighs in around 1 gigabyte and gives you a 30 minute timer to do as much damage as you can. The first time I loaded it up I started to get that sinking feeling that this was going to be a flop because the cutscenes were so cheesy and overdone. Your character's callsign is Scorpio and the lady talking to you has a terrible accent. Seriously, do yourself a favor and blink while it plays out. After my introduction I was dropped onto a mountain island with a pistol in hand. The object of the game is to cause as much chaos as you can by destroying government property. Simple. The demo immediately introduces you to the explosions. I began shooting everything with a red star painted on it and I was impressed with the physics engine as oxygen bottles were shot up they would take off and explode a few moments later. I soon picked up a SMG and some frag grenades, but that was nothing compared to what I learned next. Scorpio has a grappling hook that shoots out of his left arm, Bionic Commando style, and can be used in interesting ways. For instance, you can quickly traverse the terrain by just shooting your hook in front of you and letting it reel you in. The best part, it latches on to everything, even helicopters and people! More on that later.

So after a short intro to controls and what not, the demo timer started and I had 30 minutes to see what I could do. This is when I realized just how big this game is. I was on a mountain side and when peering over the edge I saw everything below was tiny and a bit blurry. So at the direction of the woman's voice I opened my map/info screen by hitting select on the controller. The map was huge! There are a number of points on the map that indicate settlements or unknown areas for you to explore. So I set a waypoint and made my way up the mountain. 20 minutes later I had come across a government relay station, shot a bunch of commandos, and was about to blow up the whole place when I got my first 'Whoa' moment.

The grappling hook I had was largely unused up to this point. I did whip a few guys with it and pulled one foe off a roof, but when the mini-gun toting helicopter started laying into me I aimed, fired (LB button), and quickly found myself dangling from the bottom of the chopper. I swung my character around onto the nose of the bird and shot the passenger. Then I was greeted with an icon to hit Y to enter. Oh yes. I threw the pilot out and got behind the stick. The controls for the chopper were almost a replica of the controls in GTA IV. Quickly I began to line up the scattering baddies on the ground when out of nowhere I was being shot down by another chopper that flew in. I started to go down, but again an icon on the screen to hit A for parachute caught my eye. In short order I was free falling towards the ground when I hit A again to deploy my chute. Lazily I floated off the side of the mountain, but strangely I wasn't being greeted with a 'Return to area!' prompt. Instead, I just kind of went where the wind took me. I came across a highway, I stole a car after landing on the roof James Bond style, I drove to another spot on my map, and did the same kind of thing as before but my timer ran out before I could really make any progress.

My appetite was wet now, so a second romp through the island gave me a nice preview of things to come when this game hits the streets March 23rd. In short, I was able to commandeer a tank of sorts and cause massive damage to a military installation with its cannon and machine guns. All in all, the game was a lot of fun and reminded me heavily of Mercenaries, GTA IV, and a few other action games out there. The developers did a fine job of crafting a fun game with really no limitations on what you can do. I ran over trees in my tank, drove off of cliffs, skydived, blew up a bunch of shit, and got rewarded for doing so. But while the game is certainly fun, its only 1 player and it loses some points with me there. The camera can get a bit crazy to the point of nausea-inducing and the controls aren't always responsive, but those are minor complaints. Two things set JC 2 apart from other action titles, the grappling hook and the re-usable parachute. This and the massive scope of the game makes for tons of fun for a long while. If you haven't played any of the games this one gets its inspiration from, you will be blown away by Just Cause 2, if you have played Mercs, GTA, and the like then this will be a great addition to your library.

Till next time!