Post by The Chupster on Jul 3, 2010 14:06:49 GMT -5
Genre: Sandbox-style shoot 'em up!
Rarely has a game impressed me like Just Cause 2.
Especially considering that I held off playing it for so long. I tried the demo that was released before the game and enjoyed it a bit, but I didn't really spend the time with the demo that I should've. See, the controls have a bit of a learning curve- essentially, that there IS autoaim, but it wastes a shitload of bullets, and you're almost always better off switching to manual switching and headshoting the enemies, because otherwise, you WILL have ammo probs in this game.
Just Cause 2 reminds me of Mercenaries 2, if you took out the artillery strikes and put in PURE FUCKING AWESOMENESS. Don't get me wrong; I LOVED Mercenaries 2. Along with Wulfie, I snagged all of the co-op achievements and what few singles I had left, as we rampaged all through the fucking game. Mercenaries 2 is one of the most badass games on the planet, and one of the best co-op games I've ever played, hands down. (Play it soon if you're going to, because EA LOVES to shut down servers and already canned the servers for the PC version of the game.)
Just Cause 2 takes all of that and amps it up to 12. Gone is the co-op and the aforementioned artillery strikes, but in their place, you get the most consummate "OMFG I'm a fucking BADASS" experience I've ever seen in a game.
Rico, your controllable protagonist, is basically there to look for and kill a friend while causing as much havoc as possible to destabilize the government of Panau. To assist you with this, the more Chaos (yes, capitals, the game uses Chaos as sort of an "experience level" that unlocks new vehicles and weapons) you unleash on Panau, the more awesome toys you get to play with, courtesy of your black market contact, the Sloth Demon.
Let's get the tech out of the way: the graphics look good and sometimes great, but for the most part are merely serviceable. However, given the amount of geography and the lack of pop-in, who cares? Voice acting is at its cheesiest, but it isn't like you'll be playing this game for its plot. Sound effects are solid and give you that sense of "oomph" that a game like this needs. Controls are solid as shit, and the game's physics are UNBELIEVABLY FUN. This game gave me more HOLY SHIT moments in the first couple of days of play than most games give you during their entire course.
The cool parts, in a nutshell:
--Rico has a constantly deployable parachute and a grappling hook. You can utilize this combo to fly around the island at will. You can also ditch the parachute and freefall, and as soon as you get near the ground, grapple to it; even though by all rights you should be dead (because freefalling to the ground WILL kill you), grappling to the ground lets you land solid without so much as a bump.
--The grappling hook can be used to kill baddies, attach them to objects, attach objects to objects, etc. Last night I spent a lot of the evening grappling people and vehicles to aircraft and taking off with them. MUCH FUN.
--The physics in this game allow for some of the MOST AWESOME CRASHES you've ever seen! Cars roll and spin through the air, bouncing on the ground, and if you land on all four wheels without exploding, hell, you're still good to go! And we're talking about some amazing crashes in the meantime. I REALLY wish I had replays of some of the crashes I've had in this game.
--Want awesome weapons? The game's currently available DLC (which includes some free vehicles and about $9 worth of weapons and other vehicles) allows you a quad missile launcher, an air cannon that's just awesome, a jetpack for your parachute that pretty much lets you fly wherever you want, a cannon-like pistol that's almost always a one-shot kill, a clusterbomb launcher, and more!
--Want awesome vehicles? Aside from the over 100 basic vehicles in the game (which include tanks, boats, sports cars and the like), the DLC includes a hovercraft, full-sized assault jet, pimped-out wagon and the like. You want it, you got it!
Add in that a lot of the environments are destructive (especially the enemy bases) and that your weapons can be upgraded and the game is just a big massive ball of WIN.
The only downside to the game that I can even remotely mention is the aforementioned problem with killing bastards. Shoot them normally and autoaim will help you with the somewhat oversensitive controls, but a normal grunt can absorb anywhere up to 12 bullets- a pain in the ass when ammo is at a premium. Headshot them in manual aim and one bullet will take them down.
Overall- if you like sandbox-style action with a ton of missions and real estate to explore, and a SHITLOAD of collectibles, you can't do much better than Just Cause 2. It's just a pure awesomefest. There's a lot to do and it's all fun to do while you're doing it!
So go frickin' buy it, and DEFINITELY GET THE DLC!!!
Rarely has a game impressed me like Just Cause 2.
Especially considering that I held off playing it for so long. I tried the demo that was released before the game and enjoyed it a bit, but I didn't really spend the time with the demo that I should've. See, the controls have a bit of a learning curve- essentially, that there IS autoaim, but it wastes a shitload of bullets, and you're almost always better off switching to manual switching and headshoting the enemies, because otherwise, you WILL have ammo probs in this game.
Just Cause 2 reminds me of Mercenaries 2, if you took out the artillery strikes and put in PURE FUCKING AWESOMENESS. Don't get me wrong; I LOVED Mercenaries 2. Along with Wulfie, I snagged all of the co-op achievements and what few singles I had left, as we rampaged all through the fucking game. Mercenaries 2 is one of the most badass games on the planet, and one of the best co-op games I've ever played, hands down. (Play it soon if you're going to, because EA LOVES to shut down servers and already canned the servers for the PC version of the game.)
Just Cause 2 takes all of that and amps it up to 12. Gone is the co-op and the aforementioned artillery strikes, but in their place, you get the most consummate "OMFG I'm a fucking BADASS" experience I've ever seen in a game.
Rico, your controllable protagonist, is basically there to look for and kill a friend while causing as much havoc as possible to destabilize the government of Panau. To assist you with this, the more Chaos (yes, capitals, the game uses Chaos as sort of an "experience level" that unlocks new vehicles and weapons) you unleash on Panau, the more awesome toys you get to play with, courtesy of your black market contact, the Sloth Demon.
Let's get the tech out of the way: the graphics look good and sometimes great, but for the most part are merely serviceable. However, given the amount of geography and the lack of pop-in, who cares? Voice acting is at its cheesiest, but it isn't like you'll be playing this game for its plot. Sound effects are solid and give you that sense of "oomph" that a game like this needs. Controls are solid as shit, and the game's physics are UNBELIEVABLY FUN. This game gave me more HOLY SHIT moments in the first couple of days of play than most games give you during their entire course.
The cool parts, in a nutshell:
--Rico has a constantly deployable parachute and a grappling hook. You can utilize this combo to fly around the island at will. You can also ditch the parachute and freefall, and as soon as you get near the ground, grapple to it; even though by all rights you should be dead (because freefalling to the ground WILL kill you), grappling to the ground lets you land solid without so much as a bump.
--The grappling hook can be used to kill baddies, attach them to objects, attach objects to objects, etc. Last night I spent a lot of the evening grappling people and vehicles to aircraft and taking off with them. MUCH FUN.
--The physics in this game allow for some of the MOST AWESOME CRASHES you've ever seen! Cars roll and spin through the air, bouncing on the ground, and if you land on all four wheels without exploding, hell, you're still good to go! And we're talking about some amazing crashes in the meantime. I REALLY wish I had replays of some of the crashes I've had in this game.
--Want awesome weapons? The game's currently available DLC (which includes some free vehicles and about $9 worth of weapons and other vehicles) allows you a quad missile launcher, an air cannon that's just awesome, a jetpack for your parachute that pretty much lets you fly wherever you want, a cannon-like pistol that's almost always a one-shot kill, a clusterbomb launcher, and more!
--Want awesome vehicles? Aside from the over 100 basic vehicles in the game (which include tanks, boats, sports cars and the like), the DLC includes a hovercraft, full-sized assault jet, pimped-out wagon and the like. You want it, you got it!
Add in that a lot of the environments are destructive (especially the enemy bases) and that your weapons can be upgraded and the game is just a big massive ball of WIN.
The only downside to the game that I can even remotely mention is the aforementioned problem with killing bastards. Shoot them normally and autoaim will help you with the somewhat oversensitive controls, but a normal grunt can absorb anywhere up to 12 bullets- a pain in the ass when ammo is at a premium. Headshot them in manual aim and one bullet will take them down.
Overall- if you like sandbox-style action with a ton of missions and real estate to explore, and a SHITLOAD of collectibles, you can't do much better than Just Cause 2. It's just a pure awesomefest. There's a lot to do and it's all fun to do while you're doing it!
So go frickin' buy it, and DEFINITELY GET THE DLC!!!
