Just Cause 2: Limited Edition

Ok......demo review only just now........update once full game is out!

This is a game i have been watching for ages and after reading a few reviews and finally playing the demo i can safely say.........ITS FUN!!!!!!!!!!!

Firstly the graphics on the play area in the demo are fantastic and hint at the delights in the full game.........if you pinch the helicopter and fly wwwwaaaayyyyyyy up in the air you can see the whole of Panau laid out before you in all its glory and it looks great!!!!!!
From deserts to ice caps to cities its all there waiting to be destroyed........or explored!
I love the feeling of jumping out and gently parachuting around looking at the scenery......reminds me of the best bits of Pilotwings but with guns!!!!

Gameplay is fun with simple to use grapple mechanics which basically allow you great freedom to tackle the missions in your own fashion, also tethering baddies to gas canisters was for me a LOL moment!!!!

I personally will now defo buy the game as the 30 minute demo was only enough to wet my whistle for the full experience, Rico, bring on the havoc!!!!!!!!!

Best sandbox game yet? I think so.

The first thing that hits you in Just Cause 2 is it's beauty. It's truly sublime. The island you have free reign in is meticulously crafted and spans a satisfying range of environments - cities, jungles, snowy mountains etc. A great feature of this environment is that from the local scale (grass, plants) all the way up to what feels like the sub stratosphere, the detail is impeccable and the transitions are almost seamless.

The next thing to hit you is the freedom. A true sense of exploration and discovery awaits you in this title. With access to any vehicle you see (ok, not that new a concept but done very well here) you have a wonderland of fun. Transport is not relegated to vehicular modes either. Your grapple and parachute are a joy to use. Anyone remember Hunter on the Amiga? It had a lot of vehicle access in a free roaming environment and you get the same fresh buzz with Just Cause 2. Fresher than GTA and the reasons for that I can't quite put my finger on. I read a post somewhere where it was compared to Pilotwings on the SNES and N64. I can agree with this. Particularly the N64 version where you would while away hours drifting around and admiring the environment. If you are fortunate enough to remember those feelings then get ready to have them amplified. Also, using the grapple and parachute in the city locales reminded me greatly of the freedom in Spiderman 2 on the original xbox. No bad thing.

The gameplay is also accomplished. Gunplay is accessible and fun and not in any way broken. I recall a review saying that the inability to employ pinpoint accuracy was a flaw. Simply not the case. Headshots are doable, if that's of great importance to you but I would argue you should embrace the kinetic, frantic nature of the combat to fully appreciate the game. The combat options provided by the grapple and it's dual hook use, are many and varied and make combat a delight. The game treads a fine line between making you feel all powerful but also vulnerable in large firefights.

The game is accomplished, detailed and lovingly-crafted. A triumph, really. Although voice acting will not win awards it matters not a jot. This game will also last a very long time.

Fantastic.

This game is huge. Its not a game that you'll finish within a couple of days, there are so many missions it would take weeks to complete there must be a couple of hundred at least. There are alot of similar type missions like get a scientist into a military base without him getting killed or bringing down oil refineries. Each one is different though and you can go at it however you like, steal a missile launching chopper or fly a plane into the building. You can buy different vehicles aswell and upgrade them slightly, same with the weapons. The aiming of weapons in the game is a bit dodgy but it doesnt detract from such an immense game. There are oil rigs to take over, time trials in boats, planes, cars and free fall off mountains that break up the missions if you want something else to do. It is slightly repetitive but the options to try anything you like keep it interesting. With so much to do in the game its well worth buying, you can explore anywhere on the islands however you want, it'll keep you busy for ages.

9 times out of 10, if you ask anyone what this game's like, you'll most likely get, "Like Mercenaries" or "What Mercenaries 2 should've been" and usually.....they're pretty accurate.
Only about 10-15% in (and trust me, of a game of this scale, it's a fair bit) but I am hooked on it. It handles well, the physics are great, and the gameplay flows well.
Couple drawbacks so far. You don't have a shield, fair enough, but should you be flanked by more than a handful of guards, bye bye health. Also, the button interaction can overlap sometimes. If you're melee'ing someone say, near a vehicle, sometimes you'll end up jumping on the vehicle. Or picking up a weapon instead of getting in a car.
But these are small things on an otherwise flawless game.
I personally didn't like the 1st one, but this is cracking. Try the demo 1st if you have doubts.

It's like a massive action blockbuster film, and you are in control!
The game is brilliant in almost every aspect. The visuals are great with graphics bringing the superb Island setting to life. The game play is flawless with stunts out of this world (some a little too far out of this world) all made possible with a grapple and a parachute- inspiring your creativity. The storyline is ok, not brilliant but that doesn't let the game down. I didn't play the first one but I have heard that this is a huge improvement. I have just about run out of superlatives to describe this game, so all I can say is that if you like sandbox type games, with action written all over it - buy this game it won't let you down!