Just Cause 2 - am I missing something?

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:44

I purchased Just Cause 2 in the Steam Sale last year, didn't read the small print and couldn't play on XP.

A year later I have Win 7, install JC2 and play.

Aside from the nice environments and novalty parachute this game feels very wooden and linear, re-spawning enemies, vanishing vehicles and bodies, simple mechanics, no internal areas, no destructible terrain aside from props etc.

Have I missed something because I remember a lot of people raving about it? :confused:

'Wes · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:46

I thought it was an okay game, not as amazing as some people preached.

Metalface Mark · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:48

I think its pretty much the opposite definition of linear.

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:49

'Wes said:
I thought it was an okay game, not as amazing as some people preached.

It feels a bit FarCry 2 to me.

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:49

Metalface Mark said:
I think its pretty much the opposite definition of linear.

Why, because it has a big environment? What's the point when it's filled with repetition?

It also doesn't feel alive, it's like the Truman Show with it's pop up cars and people, hence I said it was wooden!

Confused · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:53

The story is rubbish but it's something you can drop in and out of for short sessions when you want to tether someone to a helicoptor and fly them to the other side of the map...

iv-tecman · 20 Apr 2012 at 13:58

I went and got this in a steam sale after all the hype it got on these forums... IMO overrated and I didn't really think too much to it. Lack of story, seems to have little structure but I did enjoy blowing stuff up..

Nice graphics I too wondered what i'd missed and played it for a few hours and didn't touch it again...

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:07

iv-tecman said:
but I did enjoy blowing stuff up..

I think that's my biggest gripe, I was expecting destructible terrain but everything is solid aside from the odd prop such as barrels and fuel tanks... rubbish!

Evilsod · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:11

Bleek said:
Why, because it has a big environment? What's the point when it's filled with repetition?

It also doesn't feel alive, it's like the Truman Show with it's pop up cars and people, hence I said it was wooden!

Neither of which make it linear though do they...

Its a gigantic area that you do whatever the hell you like in. Pretty much the polar opposite of linear.

Mostly its just fun causing mayhem. Not the greatest of games but good fun to mess around in now and again.

Cutshaw · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:15

It's one of the rare few modern games that doesn't hold your hand and push you from scripted event to scripted event. It's really what you make of it, it's a place to play. Attach a truck to a chopper and drag it through a camp like a wrecking ball to assassinate a General, see how many different ways you can kill soldiers in a base takeover. Stunts, exploration, amazing graphics and sense of space. A story while not to be taken seriously, is funny and entertaining in it's b-movie glory. Ninjas? Exciting and well done physics. Unheard of optimisation.. etc etc

Experimenting with the grapple is obviously key. One fairly tough mission had me climbing a tower on an island full of enemies and just using the grapple I got it done without using any ammo. Fire the grapple into them, aim up at one of the outstretching girders, then fire the other end. They would bounce around screaming, suspended in air for a bit then when you cut the grapple, they fell hundreds of feet to their death. Go off-road in a chase with the military, fly off a cliff you had no idea was coming up, bail out and skydive. Hijack a commercial jet and fly it into a building if you like.

Be creative.

If it all sounds like too much work and you just want to switch off and be entertained, then that is absolutely understandable and Just Cause 2 just isn't for you. Move on.

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:16

Evilsod said:
Neither of which make it linear though do they...

Its a gigantic area that you do whatever the hell you like in. Pretty much the polar opposite of linear.

Mostly its just fun causing mayhem. Not the greatest of games but good fun to mess around in now and again.

I think it's a fraud, pretending it's something it's not i.e. this great expanse of freedom! And yet its hollowed out with simplicity.

Cliste · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:18

Metalface Mark said:
I think its pretty much the opposite definition of linear.

Non-linear?

I've yet to play it, it's just sitting in my Steam account. Saving it for a very rainy day.

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:19

Cutshaw said:
Attach a truck to a chopper and drag it through a camp like a wrecking ball to assassinate a General..

Which sounds brilliant but the reality is more beige as your truck bounces off perfectly indestructible buildings and objects creating absolutely no real havoc and then it explodes and vanishes in to thin air.

A tease of a massage without the happy ending.

IIDeathCubeKII · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:20

I didn't like it either. I'd rather a smaller world and less gimmicks if it meant the gameplay was tighter. Also no rudder control in planes makes me sad.

Evilsod · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:22

Bleek said:
I think it's a fraud, pretending it's something it's not i.e. this great expanse of freedom! And yet its hollowed out with simplicity.

I'm not really sure what you were reading but I don't think the game ever claimed to be something like that. It has a ton of space and the freedom to do whatever the merry **** you like. Be it attaching soldiers to aircraft and flying off with them, standing on car rooftops and doing a variation on a drive by or flying a harrier up a generals nose and bailing before you crash, then shooting people as you fly around the base on a parachute with a rocket launcher. It never really claimed to be complex to my knowledge.

To some extent, its what Red Faction Guerilla wanted to be.

Raumarik · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:23

I can't think of any games which give the level of environmental destruction which also has them perpetual throughout your game. Most reset the area shortly afterwards or at the very least after a reload of a saved game.

JC2 is a good start, totally agree on the storyline (although I did complete it) but for me it was about setting my own goals and simply exploring - something not many modern PC games cater for.

Bleek · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:24

Halfmad said:
I can't think of any games which give the level of environmental destruction which also has them perpetual throughout your game. Most reset the area shortly afterwards or at the very least after a reload of a saved game.

JC2 is a good start, totally agree on the storyline (although I did complete it) but for me it was about setting my own goals and simply exploring - something not many modern PC games cater for.

So I need to explore more, are there plenty of hidden treats to uncover then?

Cutshaw · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:25

Bleek said:
Which sounds brilliant but the reality is more beige as your truck bounces off perfectly indestructible buildings and objects creating absolutely no real havoc and then it explodes and vanishes in to thin air.

A tease of a massage without the happy ending.

Cutshaw said:
Move on.

mysticsniper · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:33

I think JC2 is one of the most fun games you can buy. There is soo much to do and you are not confined to one area, and some of the mods are awesome. :cool:

Khrest · 20 Apr 2012 at 14:36

Best £5 I ever spent, and I would have been happy paying full price knowing I would get the 60 hours of entertainment out of it that I have. Pure sandbox fun IMO.