Just Cause 2 Review — IGN
Just Cause 2
By Ryan Clements
Updated: May 9, 2012 5:43 am
Posted: Mar 24, 2010 1:10 am
I’ve been looking forward to Just Cause 2 ever since I saw the game demoed here in our office a year ago. A third-person shooter with more explosions than a summer blockbuster, Just Cause 2 promised to burst into the open-world sub-genre with guns blazing. Although the original Just Cause has its fair share of problems, I was confident that the folks at Avalanche Software could put together a fantastic action experience.
Fortunately for all us gamers, Just Cause 2 is just as enjoyable as it looks. Although the game has a few annoying problems to speak of, this stunt-filled affair is one of the best open-world games I’ve played in a long time. The action is spectacular, the game world is tremendous and enemies can be tackled in a seemingly infinite number of ways. This is a title that every gamer with a taste for action should play.
In Just Cause 2, players take control of the rugged and charming Rico Rodriguez — a field agent for the powerful American agency called. .. the Agency. Rico is assigned to travel to the beautiful island of Panau in Southeast Asia because his friend and mentor, Tom Sheldon, went missing. Whether Sheldon is in danger, dead or has gone rogue is not clear, so it’s up to Rico to find out. In the process, Rico must attempt to cause as much chaos as possible on Panau in order to overthrow the current dictator. In order to do that, Rico must assist three criminal factions on the island and take on missions for them, causing chaos and earning money along the way.
The game’s story is clearly not the focal point of the experience, but it does its job well enough. You can never accuse Just Cause 2 of taking itself too seriously, especially when you come to the point in the game where Rico is attacked by Uzi-wielding ninjas. Unfortunately, the cutscenes aren’t nearly as impressive as the in-game action — especially scenes that introduce faction missions. The animations in these scenes are always repeated and that can get tiring.
Just Cause 2 might seem like a standard, open-world shooter, but there are a few gameplay mechanics that make it special. The first is Rico’s grappling hook, which can be used freely at any time. Not only can this grappling hook allow Rico to zip around walls and hang from ceilings, but it can also be used to pull objects towards him. For example, shoot it right at a sniper and you can yank the poor lad right off his perch, saving valuable ammunition in the process.
The grappling hook can also be used to tether two objects together. These objects can be living enemies, or you can attach a car to a helicopter and fly it around. The possibilities are astonishing. It will actually be difficult for me to go back to other third-person shooters, as I grew so comfortable with zipping from one wall to the next with Rico’s trusty hook.
The second gameplay mechanic is Rico’s stunt parachute, which can be opened in mid grapple or when free-falling. This parachute automatically gives Rico the freedom to explore without fear, as you can quite literally jump off any cliff and just open the parachute before you hit the ground. With the parachute deployed, you can use your grappling hook to pull yourself along, making the two items into a makeshift form of transportation.
With the grappling hook and parachute, Just Cause 2 is an absolute blast to play. Players are free to move around and fight in whatever way they see fit. With all the weapons available to Rico (including pistols, machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers, etc.), storming through the island of Panau is always action-packed and it’s always satisfying. Adding in around 100 different vehicles only makes the game more enjoyable. There were times when I simply didn’t know how to get from Point A to Point B because there were so many options at my disposal. Do I hijack this villager’s slick motorcycle and get there in style? Do I just parachute my way down the cliff? Or do I hang from the bottom of a passing helicopter and enjoy the sights along the way? It’s all up to the player.
The freedom to approach gameplay in whatever manner you choose is certainly one of Just Cause 2’s selling points, but the game does one thing extremely well: creating mind-bending action set pieces like you’d see in a top-dollar Hollywood production. Some missions will task Rico with diving off a bridge to catch a passing convoy, while others will force him to sprint off a cliff as missiles explode around him. Not all the missions are as intense as these, but some of them really are fantastic.
But Just Cause 2 isn’t all fun and games… and explosions. The controls certainly take some getting used to, and the in-mission checkpoints can be extremely frustrating. This is the kind of game where you die often, and when currently engaged in a mission, that means you’ll be starting over just as often (there are checkpoints in the longer missions, but they’re not as frequent as I’d like). When you couple this disappointing save structure with the overwhelming odds tossed against Rico when he’s on foot, this can lead to a lot of vein-popping curse words.
Just Cause 2 also lacks polish in certain areas. There are a number of audio glitches that pop up throughout, included stuttering lines of background chatter and characters not finishing their sentences during cutscenes. This is surprising, considering the game’s otherwise impressive scope and scale.
I haven’t had this much fun with an open-world game in years. Just Cause 2 is over-the-top and insanely fun. There are some issues in the game’s presentation and the checkpoint system is far from perfect, but Just Cause 2 is otherwise a must-play for adrenaline junkies. Rico Rodriguez might just be my new hero.
In This Article
Just Cause 2
Avalanche Studios (SE)
Rating
ESRB: Mature
Platforms
PlayStation 3PCXbox 360
Just Cause 2 for PC Reviews
PC
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Publisher:
Square Enix
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Release Date:
Mar 23, 2010 -
Also On:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
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Summary
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Critic Reviews
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User Reviews
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Details & Credits
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Trailers & Videos
Metascore
84
Generally favorable reviews
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based on
33
Critic Reviews
What’s this?
User Score
7. 6
Generally favorable reviews- based on 1079 Ratings
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Summary:
Developed by Avalanche Studios, Just Cause 2 finds Rico Rodriguez returning in an epic open-world adventure set in the diverse tropical playground of Panau in South East Asia, where the aim is to cause chaos and destruction in a way that only Rico knows how! His mission is to destabilize theDeveloped by Avalanche Studios, Just Cause 2 finds Rico Rodriguez returning in an epic open-world adventure set in the diverse tropical playground of Panau in South East Asia, where the aim is to cause chaos and destruction in a way that only Rico knows how! His mission is to destabilize the island and free it from the tyranny of the evil dictator, Baby Panay. Players tackle missions and objectives in any way they want while exploring the highly-detailed and beautiful island by land, sea or air, performing an insane range of new daredevil stunts and mastering the use of the all new grappling hook and Rico’s trademark parachute. [Eidos Interactive]… Expand
Buy Now
Buy on |
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Developer:
Avalanche Studios
- Genre(s): Action Adventure, Modern, Modern, Open-World
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# of players:
No Online Multiplayer -
Cheats:
On GameFAQs -
Rating:
M - More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive:
31
out of 33 -
Mixed:
2
out of 33 -
Negative:
0
out of 33
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Just Cause 2 sets a new standard in the sandbox genre, and will be difficult to top due to its incredible graphics, expansive world, and extremely fun gameplay.
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Just Cause 2 is a good, but not perfect mixture of GTA and Boiling Point. It offers a huge playground for every action gamer — supported by beautiful graphics.
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One of the most enjoyable sandboxes for players to experiment in this side of Grand Theft Auto. [Issue#204, p.86]
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Just Cause 2 reminds us why we play games in the first place: to have an utterly ridiculous amount of fun, and to surf jets because it’s possible.
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Just Cause 2 is a very good, humorous sequel with a vast open world and a wonderful destruction system. The downsides though are a miserable AI and a lack of variety concerning the mission design.
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Chocked full of insane action and plenty of creative opportunities, and knows that ultimately it’s all about having fun. It’s a brash, no-brainer experience that gives everything you want from a sandbox game, but lets make sure the combat ramps up a notch in the next title.
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Excellent helicopter controls and highly polished code are, unfortunately, the only things that put Just Cause 2 above the other GTA clones. If you’re in the mood for silly fun, the game’s simple “jump-shoot-explode” routine will be more than enough, but it could have been much more than that.
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See all 33 Critic Reviews
Write a Review
Score distribution:
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Positive:
146
out of 222 -
Mixed:
62
out of 222 -
Negative:
14
out of 222
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The problem and why I think this game has such mixed reviews is that people are focusing on one aspect of the game in their review and gettingThe problem and why I think this game has such mixed reviews is that people are focusing on one aspect of the game in their review and getting bogged down in it. The fun to Just Cause 2 is how open it is and what all it provides for you to do. Yes, if you focus solely on collecting the stupid collectables, you will get bored (it does get pretty boring) but you don’t have to do that, nor do you have to focus solely on the missions. The main point to Just Cause 2 is to «cause chaos,» a seemingly cliche way to tell the player to do whatever the heck they want to blow stuff up and have fun to progress to further missions. I’ve played over 150 hours and still found new, fun things to mess around with, the most recent being grappling a truck to a helicopter and swinging it around to the speed that it starts swinging my helicopter around. Basically, it comes down to this: If you’re into games that push you (the player) to make decisions about how you want to play the game and to make the game fun and unique to you (whether you fast travel everywhere, drive and take in the gorgeous sights, or hijack helicopters and fly everywhere), you will enjoy this game. If you enjoy open world exploration and the freedom to try crazy ridiculous stuff, you’ll enjoy this game.
However, if you’re looking for a strict, linear, engaging story telling experience, you probably won’t enjoy this game. If you’re looking for a realistic portrayal of physics and gunplay, you probably won’t enjoy this game.
Personally, I find the game’s story to be absurd and insane — which I feel is the point. I think they wanted to focus more on the content and free-roaming nature and I feel they did a very good job of that and it got me on board with the crazy storyline. The voice acting adds to this ridiculousness, it’s almost that they don’t want you to take the story seriously, and so that’s how I approached it. My personal opinion is the negative reviews this game is receiving are because players are expecting the game to tell them or show them explicitly new and fun things to do, where Just Cause 2 pushes for creativity. Yeah, you could simply walk up to that radio tower and shoot it and be done, but what if you hijacked the helicopter over there, grappled a car to it and used the car as a wrecking ball to smash the tower? Then when your plan falls apart and you accidentally crash the helicopter into the tower instead, you can hop in the car and drive off. You, as the player, have to have some vision in order to see all the potential and fun there is in the game. There’s things to collect and upgrade, there’s things to destroy, there’s semblance of progress, and there is an immense amount of fun all in Just Cause 2, you just have to be open to playing around and trying ridiculous things.… Expand -
This game may be repetitive and the voice acting sucks and the storyline isn’t that good either. But does the storyline really matter? No. IThis game may be repetitive and the voice acting sucks and the storyline isn’t that good either. But does the storyline really matter? No. I love exploring in this game and the the graphics are insanely beautiful even for two years later. The grapple hook is fun to travel around with and there are mods for this game, such as free vehicles you can buy, when they actually cost a lot of money which makes me play the game 1000 times more. The game is simple, go blow up stuff, and kill if you want or need to. The game may be repetitive but it’s still fun. This game is very well optimized and if you have a bad card then you’ll have to lower quite a few things..… Expand
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There are 4 words that can be used to describe this game: «Bloomin’ huge» and «very fun». It looks beautiful, and runs extremely well, quiteThere are 4 words that can be used to describe this game: «Bloomin’ huge» and «very fun». It looks beautiful, and runs extremely well, quite the experience using max settings on my PC. Yes, the story is crap (like a cheap action movie). and there are quite a few bugs I found, but these add to the overall feel of the game: fun. And isn’t that the main reason we play games? for fun? and this game has hours of it at your disposal to do whatever the hell you want. Please make Just Cause 3 for the Wii U, I will love Square Enix for ever if this happens.… Expand
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Graphics: Some of the best graphics seen on the PC. 10.
Sound: Catchy background themes/soundtrack, the voice acting is weak though. TheGraphics: Some of the best graphics seen on the PC. 10.
Sound: Catchy background themes/soundtrack, the voice acting is weak though. The gun sounds are okay. 7.5.Gameplay: Huge sandbox game with the world being one of the biggest in gaming. The game is like Just Cause, or a GTA type game but probably has the most freedom ever in the game. You get a grappling hook, unlimited parachutes, stunts similar to pursuit force on PC but much better. The gun play and shooting mechanics are good, but could definitely feel better. The game is built on a chaos mechanic; cause enough chaos to unlock each Act, stronghold mission, or faction mission. There are different factions where you do side quests. This game is superb. 9.5.
Story: This is probably the weakest point of the game but still average. Your sent in to kill your old employer from the first part, but things take a turn and you find out the truth, and so on so forth it’s really not too interesting but again average. 7.5.
Lasting Appeal: The game is worth it, single player only took me 12-14 hours to complete, plus many more side missions, PC mods that make the game even better. 10.
Overall Score: 8.9 out of 10.… Expand
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The best part of this game is also the worst part of this game. And the name of the game is chaos. For a game that doesn’t take itselfThe best part of this game is also the worst part of this game. And the name of the game is chaos. For a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, doesn’t place any emphasis on plot, character development or an engrossing narrative, it could be a lot worse. And a lot better. What this game is, however, is everything GTA 4 wants to be and isn’t. No more annoying phone calls from your virtual friends. No more game dates wherein you never get to see any closed-doors action. Murder, of everything and anything, is the name of this game. And if you’re looking to waste hours of your life destroying haphazardly anything and everything, then this is certainly what you’re looking for. Expect a game that sacrifices narrative for cliche characters and big explosions, but requires you to follow the nearly propagandist plot to find the biggest and best of all the die-hard scenarios.… Expand
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I kind of hated and found the game frustrating at first, especially the annoying 2nd mission with the car surfing, but once you get past thatI kind of hated and found the game frustrating at first, especially the annoying 2nd mission with the car surfing, but once you get past that it starts to get a little better and becomes quite fun and addicitive, can’t stop playing even though it gets repetitive and sometimes feels tedious with terrible voice acting, terrible story, no depth.
Game would crash often until I turned off decals and blur. But still game crashes at least once or twice a play session.
Sure you can purchase vehicles, but it seems like a waste of money, I bought a plane having never flown one yet and not even being sure of the controls, ended up crashing it into the ocean, so goodbye to 60k and if you die you lose them as well, if they blow up they are gone for good. I hate how you can’t store purchased vehicles anywhere. I’ve played other games where you can save your vehicles in a garage even if they blow up. I just don’t bother buying vehicles.
The environment is beautiful and detailed, I love exploring it and diving underwater just because the water looks so nice.
I like creating chaos and trying to complete all achievements.
Though being very repetitive makes it just an ok game, slightly above average.
Worth getting on special like I did for $5.… Expand -
Devs should fix their game instead of joining political flashmob. Closing purchases of your products for people of Belarus and Russia isDevs should fix their game instead of joining political flashmob. Closing purchases of your products for people of Belarus and Russia is antidemocratic and should be punished.… Expand
See all 222 User Reviews
Awards & Rankings
18 |
#18 Best PC Game of 2010 |
16 |
#16 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010 |
11 |
#11 Most Shared PC Game of 2010 |
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