Overall:7.8/10
Purchase Value:2.5/10
Replay Value:1/10
Presentation:9/10
Gameplay:6.5/10
Graphics:7.5/10
Audio:7.5/10
Purchase Value:2.5/10
Replay Value:1/10
Presentation:9/10
Gameplay:6.5/10
Graphics:7.5/10
Audio:7.5/10
Let's put it this way: for a game where I never even heard about the original (Just Cause 1), it scares me slightly, since I am a gaming sharc and know practically every game there is. But after doing a little research, and recognizing the original cover, I remember the first game... and why I didn't play it... But this is the review for Just Cause 2, so let's get to it.
I gave it a poor rating, even though it was a pretty decent game. At first I hated the game, basically due to the awkwardness of the controls, but it eventually grew on me. The game had an intriguing storyline, but was very repetitive, especially in regards to the faction missions. All of these mission are practically the same, and there are three factions, so the monotonous CHAOS building acts become a waste of life. Building chaos (i.e., being very destructive) to unlock missions in the game was a neat feature... but grew old quick. I just wished that the agency missions would appear faster without having to do so much leg work (or grappling work, depending on how you decided to travel) with each faction... but I guess the point of the game was to gain each factions trust on the island of Panau.
The Goods:
At first the grappling hook was very strange, and the controls to use it was even worse, but once the learning curve was mastered, the grappling hook became my favourite weapon. It also became the fastest way of travelling the island when you have no gunship or jet. Grappling on to trees and then deploying your (endless amount) parachute, would speed up your travels drastically. Then continue by aiming down, shooting your hook again, and then pulling up. It helped out when trying to conquer the MASSIVE island of Panau. When I say massive, I mean it. This had to have been the largest map for a sand-box game, because I felt I spent more time travelling then actually doing the missions and progressing the game! Make sure you discover a city, just so you have an extraction point for later... it's the only way to speed up the game! Also, when using the extraction points, it's called Air Sheldon; that's my name... no big deal or anything; so it made the game that much better.
Back to the grappling hook though; it was slightly unrealistic, since it was a small arm mechanism and could shoot incredible distances. All of the other weapons, whether it be one handed or two (having the ability to use while parachuting or not), were very realistic (clip size, etc.), and for the most part, shown on the body. The grappling hook reminded me of The Legend Of Zelda, but it took it to the next level. The greatest feature of the grappling hook was the double tagging. I would purposely get the army to chase me, just so I could tag their vehicle, and then shoot the second shot into the ground, causing their vehicle to stop instantly and go flying! Very impressive!
Additionally, hijacking vehicles (i.e., stunt jumping) was very fun, and the damage all vehicles took showed the impressive qualities of the graphics! Surfing on planes was equally interesting. It reminded me of Saints Row 2, when Alex and I would coop together. Either of us would try to do handstands atop the plane while the other one flew; in other words, INSANITY!). Of course, in Just Cause 2, you have magnet boots apparently and cannot move, but still quite intense. Speaking of being in the air, base jumping from anywhere was the sweetest feature of the game, and was what initially sold me on the game (the commercial). Well done with the selling factor and overall presentation of the game.
Last, when dealing with the goods, there were some features of the storyline, which were off the wall, and by that, I mean INCREDIBLE! For example, when flying to the remote island in the Northwest corner of the map, there were Tesla Coils (very Red Alert-esque); 3 smaller ones which fed the largest of them all, shooting down everything in the sky, on the ground, or in the water. It was built back in WWII by the Japanese, and the Japanese who built the weapon are still on the island (at least 100 years old now), thinking that WWII is still raging on. Then blowing the towers up and having a slow-motion escape like many other explosion in the game, set the entire premise over the top!
The Lacks:
When writing this review, I realized that the pros heavily out way the cons for this game, and have increased my original grading of this game slightly higher... unusual of me...
The game had decent graphics, but in some cases had glitchy video clips. The voice was completely off from the subtitles and so forth. That can completely take you out of the immersive atmosphere of Panau. The faction missions were then repetitive, and in most cases random, but it was manageable. They were there just so all areas of Panau would be discovered and traversed, which is a feature I never truly enjoyed, but when the locale is as large as Panau, there has to be some forced exploration!
Furthermore, the controls are poor for the part, especially when it comes to climbing a completely flat, vertical building. For example, the casino that is first encountered! Having to use only your grappling hook to scale the building will become a chore, and become very annoying. A trick to this is aiming left or right when clinging to the wall. It will allows you to scale higher and faster.
Last, the checkpoints were weakly situated, causing one to always start from the beginning, which is a great method to improve your skills, but on absurd missions... you don't want to repeat them again for a silly mistake.
In conclusion, even though I rate the purchase value low, I would say that there is enough content to last you 20 hours, so it is worth it. And if you are a completionist, then buy this game just to cause chaos in every single little town spread across the map, you'll have plenty of fun (sarcastically written). Personally, I bought the game, but traded it in after completing the agency missions (storyline), because it was simply a waste of time to try and do everything else. I would have been happier just renting it... but now you know better than me! It was a fun game, but almost too long, due to the repetitive faction missions.
The Lacks:
When writing this review, I realized that the pros heavily out way the cons for this game, and have increased my original grading of this game slightly higher... unusual of me...
The game had decent graphics, but in some cases had glitchy video clips. The voice was completely off from the subtitles and so forth. That can completely take you out of the immersive atmosphere of Panau. The faction missions were then repetitive, and in most cases random, but it was manageable. They were there just so all areas of Panau would be discovered and traversed, which is a feature I never truly enjoyed, but when the locale is as large as Panau, there has to be some forced exploration!
Furthermore, the controls are poor for the part, especially when it comes to climbing a completely flat, vertical building. For example, the casino that is first encountered! Having to use only your grappling hook to scale the building will become a chore, and become very annoying. A trick to this is aiming left or right when clinging to the wall. It will allows you to scale higher and faster.
Last, the checkpoints were weakly situated, causing one to always start from the beginning, which is a great method to improve your skills, but on absurd missions... you don't want to repeat them again for a silly mistake.
In conclusion, even though I rate the purchase value low, I would say that there is enough content to last you 20 hours, so it is worth it. And if you are a completionist, then buy this game just to cause chaos in every single little town spread across the map, you'll have plenty of fun (sarcastically written). Personally, I bought the game, but traded it in after completing the agency missions (storyline), because it was simply a waste of time to try and do everything else. I would have been happier just renting it... but now you know better than me! It was a fun game, but almost too long, due to the repetitive faction missions.
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