Just Cause 2

Why did i spend the best part of 17 hours surfing jet planes around a tropical island while soldiers tried to blast my ass out of the sky?.... Just 'Cause...
Just Cause 2 to be precise. (That was horrible!)
Just Cause 2 is a sandbox-style action video game. It was released by Swedish developer Avalanche Studios and Eidos Interactive, and was published by Square Enix. It is the sequel to the 2006 video game Just Cause.

STORY
Just Cause 2 puts the player in the shoes of USA Agency Agent Rico "The Scorpion" Rodriguez, sent to overthrow the President of the South East Asian island of Panaua, who has cut all ties to the US, and begun his own dictatorial regime.
On top of this, Panaua is divided by three factions, vying for control and power; a struggle that really ties together the main story elements.

This game is really more for the action junkies, so if you're looking for story, its not the best place to look. By no means is it the worst, but I'd definitely say that Just Cause 2 relies heavily on the gameplay and sheer size of the game
In short, the story of Just Cause 2 is there, but its not particularly in-depth.

PRESENTATION
Rico's adventure takes place on the tropical island of Panaua, which has been brought to life beautifully by the Avalanche 2.0 Engine. It is a welcome change from the usually gritty look of games such as Grand Theft Auto 4 or Gears of War.
The island is more than just beaches and forests, however. Landscapes vary from frozen mountaintops, bright beaches, barren deserts, a particularly spooky "cursed" island and colourful tropic jungles.

The map is absolutely gigantic, and i can safely say that a lot of my playing time was spent just travelling between missions. Combining this staggeringly huge map with the eye capturing visuals gives us a playground from which we will find it hard to tear ourselves away from.

The majority of the voice acting in this game is rather cringe-worthy, but will endear characters in players hearts, if only for this reason. Not all of it, just a majority. My main example of this is Bolo Santosi, leader of the Reapers. I have no idea how people would talk in this island nation, though i doubt it would be in the forced, unintentionally comical fashion as Ms. Santosi.
That said, no matter how bad some of the voice acting is, it was always rather enjoyable to hear; and it gave each NPC their own character.

The score of Just Cause 2 reflects the tone of the game perfectly. It always conveys the emotion of the particular situation, from intense gunfights, to walking alone on a "cursed" island. The music always makes you feel a part of the environment, wherever that may be.


GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is really what Just Cause 2 is there for. The game throws you straight into the action by putting you in a freefall after your fallen comrade and your PDA, and from there, it just gets more fast paced and intense. Except for perhaps the travelling sections, but more on that soon.

Rico Rodriguez seems like the video game equivalent of Chuck Norris. Sure, he can run, jump, swim, shoot, lob grenades and pilot a number of vehicles (land, sea AND air) like many other game characters these days; but what he has that no-one else has (except perhaps the Bionic Commando) is a hookshot arm. But wait, there's more! "The Scorpion" can also magically pull parachutes out of his ass!
This allows for some truly dynamic vertical gameplay; such as base jumping into a base to sabotage a piece of military equipment, then hookshooting and parachuting your way to safety.

A variety of weapons and vehicles are made available to you via the Black Market Chopper shop, as well as extractions, for zipping around the map quickly. Weapons all have a distinct feel whilst using them, as do cars, boats and aerial vehicles.
Cars can be amazingly fun to drive, so long as you keep it on the road (if its not an off road vehicle). As soon as my wheels touched gravel, i felt the vehicles control slipping, and id usually spin out. This was a bitch when i tried to do it during high speed pursuits with guards on my tail.

That may not be a problem though, as you'll often find yourself zooming around the skies because its quicker, and infinitely more awesome. Especially when you surf on a jet, i can't stress that point enough.

The focus of this game is action, but not your boring, every day video game action, but completely insane, over the top action.
I've never seen anyone in any game surf a jet plane as they try to blow up a rocket, and i doubt that I ever will again.
The game features a "Chaos" System; the more chaos you create, the more missions and items become available to you. As fun as blowing shit up is, it does get a little repetitive, especially since so many of the areas look cloned from others.

My biggest problem with the gameplay would have to be the flawed checkpoint system. Having a checkpoint system during your missions implies that if you fail, you could retry from a recent event in the mission. However, more often that not, it forces you to return to the start of the mission which, thanks to the size of the map, can take a while to work your way back from.

Enemy AI is nothing particularly special, they shoot at you when they can see you, and they occasionally try to flank you if you run behind cover. Friendly AI is sometimes hit with the stupid stick, as i found they would run directly into the line of fire when I needed to protect them (this is generally directed at the engineers during the takeover missions).

REPLAYABILITY
Just Cause 2 is an absolutely mega-ginormous game. And being such, it has an epic amount of replayability. Given the short time i had to play it, i had completed all of the faction and Agency story missions, and had completed the story. But i was in dismay when i saw that the completion percentage was only 30 or so. My jaw dropped! In my mind i was like "Well fuck you Just Cause 2! You think you're better than me?!". Part of me wishes that i could have kept playing and made a feeble attempt at gaining 100% completion.
So, for the record, roughly 30% is story missions; which can be completed in around 14 hours, give or take a few to compensate for player skill and difficulty settings.
That means that 70% of this game is dedicated to fucking around; blowing shit up, racing cars, boats, planes and yourself with the hookshot and parachute, and collecting hundreds of items.
This is definitely one for only the most hardcore of trophy/achievement whores to try and take on.

There's also so much to discover around the island of Panaua that has no effect on completion percentage. For example, I'm quite sure i found the Hatch from LOST on one of the surround islands, and a Beached Whale on another (this is where my kiwi gene kicked in and i shouted "Beached As Bro!!").

OVERVIEW
There's a whole lot to love about this game; its over the top action, its inventive and functional gameplay, the sheer size and presentation of the playground you've been set loose on. But this doesn't make it perfect.
The story was shallow and voice acting was sometimes pretty bad. Dialogue was fairly uninteresting (except for a certain line where Rico threatens to chop off his hostages hands and bitch slap him with them), and there were some faults with the Checkpoint system, as well as the major retardation of most vehicles as soon as they touch a surface that isn't actual road.

However, these faults can be overlooked on the most part. Sure, an in depth story has been sacrificed here, but if it were present, chances are it would have taken away from the over the top action. And Just Cause 2 knows it. It knows why its awesome, and sticks to it.

If anyone is reading this, leave comments. I like to know people are reading it, and I'm always listening for ways to improve on what I'm doing!
See you next time =D