Yes, it's starting with a "montage"
It’s the second of our week long look at games that we at Game Engine should definitely of played, but are they worth really buying? Yesterday, we looked at Final Fantasy XIII, the conflicting pro’s and con’s of the game set out, and we still did not come to a conclusion. Now it’s the turn of Just Cause 2 from Avalanche games.
Just Cause 2
This one should hopefully be a lot more straightforward than FFXIII. After previewing the half hour demo of this game and being impressed at the scope and scale, a little less at the variation, I was in two minds whether this was a definite pick up, or one I should hold back on.
I do enjoy open world games like this. Red Faction: Guerilla, for all it’s faults regarding mission structure, was simply a fun game to play, the same with Saints Row 2 (which I actually preferred) and Infamous was a great game. I played a bit of Prototype, but never really got into that the same, but anyway, I’m off topic. Just Cause 2, should in practice be a win-win. Improve on the first game’s already great sense of being a “do anything” kind of dude on a tropical island and being the giant sandbox the original was supposed to be.
But it looks so awesome...Must...Not...Be...Drawn...In
The most tempting thing about Just Cause 2 is the fact you can just have fun. I’m not expecting a GTA IV in terms of hard hitting narrative, but GTA lacked that feeling of “well…let’s just blow everything up”. Because Rico Rodriguez has about as much character as biscuit, I doubt I’d feel bad about blowing up the majority of a small town as him, because “if the government wasn’t evil, I wouldn’t do it”.
The fact that the demo only gave me a small chunk of the game to run around in was a damn clever tactic. As now I’m thinking “oh wow, those buildings over there were a lot bigger” and “oooh jet fighters” which would be available in the full game. But of course, that is what every game does, and being a rational person (probably too much of one), I have to set out the worth of the game.
Basically, it’s been a while since I’ve played a game that was simply ‘fun’. A strange thing to say, but I reckon if you think back, most of you will agree. Heavy Rain isn’t fun. Neither is Dragon Age: Origins, or even dare I say it Modern Warfare 2. Assassins Creed 2 comes close, but I’m not sure I’d class that as not having any moral overtones. All of them enjoyable, interesting and rewarding experiences, but not necessarily fun. Case in point, you are not going to be fastening clueless soldiers to a plane which you then fly off in. Unless that’s the point of the DLC…
So, I reckon JC2 will be fun. I could at this point pull out the defeatable logic of “but I already have lots of fun games”, but I’ll refrain from doing that and keep going. The big thing that puts me off with Just Cause 2, a complaint that is floating around quite a lot, is not the poor, laughable and almost to a degree, ironic, voice acting, but the mission structure. As with Red Faction, I can see the missions being simply larger more extravagent versions of the stuff you do in the rest of the game. “OK, so now I’m not destroying this Water Tower, but a radar station”, and the faction stuff doesn’t seem to vary greatly.
But, but, just look! He's all skydiving and stuff...
At the end of all this though, Just Cause 2 is likely to be one of those games which you break out occasionally for a bit of fun after finishing it quickly. If you like the style, are prepared for repetition and to overlook the obvious flaws, then, like me, you’ll be considering buying this. I think this is far more black and white in terms of enjoyment than FFXIII is. You either know you like these games, or don’t, it’s not revolutionary by the sounds of things, but makes a good argument that sequels can actually significently improve upon a concept.
With regards to platforms, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are pretty much identical, especially if you install to the 360, as per usual, the PC version is superior in both visual quality and price (£29.99 off Steam), but is best played, according to critics, with a game pad. If your PC is up to snuff spec wise and you have a 360 pad you can plug in, I’d go for that, otherwise, 360 and PS3 are good to go.
Well, that was a lot easier than FFXIII, tomorrow, I hit another divisive title, God of War III.
This week on Ignition we discuss the latest news from the worlds of video games, technology and movies. Stevie talks about iPad sales figures, China threatening Google and quantum computing; Matt reviews the winners from this years Oscars, the box office success of Alice in Wonderland and Tron Legacy; finally Josh talks about his obsession with Just Cause 2 as well as the Playstation Move and this years GDC.
Duration: 66 minutes
You are far more in control that this screenshot would have you believe
Just Cause was one of those late generation games that nearly, but didn’t quite, bridge the gap between the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube and the release of the 360. People who were adament they were sticking to their current consoles were told to “look at Just Cause, try that on your PS2!”. The developers certainly did, and apart from having an massive environment, far bigger and, on the surface, prettier looking, than we’d seen in GTA San Andreas, the fact that the rest of the game world, and the game itself, was pretty devoid of content, screamed “Tech demo” at us. And whilst the PS2′s chugged, sluggishly loading the environment, the Xbox 360 simply performed, not really offering any major benefits to warrant an upgrade.
I always thought that if Avalanche Studios had made Just Cause for just the 360, it may well not have sold anywhere near as many, but the quality would of been hugely improved, on a concept, using a parachute to take off from cars in a ‘stunt position’ that was already unique. So Just Cause 2 is rolling onto the 360, PC and PS3 this month, and perhaps it’s probably been the greatest benchmark of how far the 360, if not this generation, has come forward. Or, maybe, as I got to play a half an hour timed demo recently. Read more
STUNT POSITION! AIR JACK! LOUD NOISES!
It’s an enthralling prospect, Just Cause 2. From someone who played a little bit of the original, it always looked awesome, but only in very short pieces, any longer caused me to just spot every technical flaw that a massive open world game was bound to have on the PS2. However, it had a “Stunt Position”, where the character would jump on the back of the car he was driving a second ago, then took off in a parachute. I think Matt and me described it at the time as ‘awesome madness’.
The latest Just Cause 2 trailer shows you how much cool DLC you’re missing out on unless you pre-order the game. All I need is a lot of things to be blowing up for me to be convinced, but these are a bonus I suppose. On another note, how many games does Square-Enix publish now?
