Just Cause 2 Let's You Do the Impossible

Jason Trent, Associate Writer

March 5, 2010

Open world games are a dime a dozen. Some people like Grand Theft Auto, some Saints Row, and others like Red Faction: Guerrilla. I feel like the video game market is pretty saturated in sandbox-style games, so every time another comes out, I'm a bit skeptical. I picked up the Just Cause 2 demo today not really knowing what to expect or what I was getting myself into. When I first loaded up the demo, I was greeted by the Square Enix logo, something that took me a bit by surprise. Square isn't exactly acclaimed for their non-rpg titles, but don't let that fool you. I found what just might be this month's diamond in the rough.

Mechanically, this game is kind of a mix between Red Faction: Guerrilla and Bionic Commando. I know, it sounds silly, but let me explain. Much of the focus in the game is destroying government property. Just like in Red Faction, you play the lone warrior doing his darndest to free the oppressed from the oppressors in a police-state government. As you destroy things, your enemies become increasingly agitated, and additional missions are unlocked. For the most part, weapons are standard fare. You have your handguns, machine guns, pistols, and some good ol' fashioned explosive barrels at your disposal. This is all fine and great, but what sets this apart from other open world games as far as gear is concerned is the grappling hook you have on your arm. Yes, just like the one in Bionic Commando, with the key difference that this arm actually works. You'll find yourself moving through terrain at blistering speeds, jumping onto and over buildings, hi-jacking vehicles, and causing a lot of all-around chaos.

The appeal of open world games is the freedom of choosing what to do, and how to do it. Although this style of game does encourage experimentation and exploration, certain gameplay mechanics sometimes don't come together quite like they should. I'm happy to report that such is not the case here. The thing that impressed me the most was just how flexible the gameplay is, and how well you can interact with your environment. Too often in games do we try to do something awesome only to find that the game does not allow it. Only a few minutes into the game you'll be tasked with destroying a radio tower. You could go about this the boring way and try to shoot it, or run into it, or something equally mundane, but I chose to hi-jack a helicopter instead. As I ascended, my friend asked if I could somehow cut the support cables to the tower with my helicopter blades. I scoffed and told him I'd try it, even if I didn't think it would do much more than help me crash. Guess what? It worked. Carefully piloting the machine, I cut one cable at a time. Once the cable supports were gone, the radio tower toppled over, and I took a sigh of relief and excitement. If the game let me do this, what else would it let me do?

After the tower fell, I spotted a town off in the distance. I cruised over, and bailed out of the helicopter. Diving to the ground I eventually pulled my chute's cord, and safely landed in a guarded military base. It turns out some people weren't so pleased with my handy work and sent a helicopter to do me in. At first, I started firing with my hand gun, and saw that was little to no help, so I shot my grappling hook in a last ditch effort to take my foe down. I was zipped from the ground to the front of the helicopter where I dodged shots from the upset man in the passenger seat. Once I'd dispatched him, I swung over to the driver's seat, brawled with him, then took control. I admit, I did not think this would work. It's one of those things that you think you should be able to do in a game, yet something that I would totally expect to fail in some way.

The demo allows 30 minutes to a play session, but those 30 minutes were packed with many holy crap moments that make gaming worthwhile. This seems like a title many will overlook. Please don't make that mistake. At the very least, pick up the demo and give it a whirl. I cannot imagine you'll leave disappointed.