Review: Just Cause 2Posted by Mitch on April 12th, 2010

just cause 2You’re dropped onto a tropical island playground with a reusable parachute, a grappling claw, and the ability to take thirty bullets to the face and survive. What do you do? Well, if you’re Rico Rodriguez, the protagonist of Avalanche Studio’s open world adventure Just Cause 2, you blow stuff up. I mean, sure, you can collect resource crates, hijack a variety of vehicles and earn some cash on the side, but the main objective of Just Cause 2 is to make things explode.

More than any other open world game out there, Just Cause 2 is about freedom, and it isn’t about to let silly things like a coherent narrative and tasteful voice acting get in the way. No, from the minute you’re dropped onto the island until the moment you actually bother to take on an assigned mission, you can pretty much do whatever the heck you want. Unlike a lot of other sandbox games, which shoe-horn you into a ridged progression before you’re allowed to access the cool stuff, you can hop into a jet and lay waste to military bases within the first half-hour of Just Cause 2’s campaign. But is the game worth a purchase?
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The Freedom of MovementPosted by Mitch on April 3rd, 2010

just cause 2Well, we all had a lot of laughs on Thursday, didn’t we? We fooled a few of you, but it was all in good fun. With that out of the way, I had some time yesterday to really sink my teeth into Just Cause 2. While the demo did give me some pause, I was willing to look past my reservations and give the game a go. It turns out that second guessing myself in this instance was a good call, because so far the game has been excellent. While the story is non-existent and the voice acting borders on offensive, the freedom that the game allows you is nothing short of revolutionary.

For those of you who haven’t picked the game up yet, you’re basically dropped into a massive island playground after a couple of requisite missions and you’re left to your own devices. When I say this island is huge, I’m not exaggerating. I stole a helicopter from a mountain top military base and flew it all the way into the capital city; all told, the trip took me twenty minutes. So, with a sandbox on such a massive scale, how does the game allow you to move around so easily?
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Filed under: Adventure, GamerSushi News, Gaming Theory, Impressions, PC, Playstation 3, Sandbox, XBox 360 | 8 Comments

Just Cause 2 Brings Madness and MayhemPosted by Eddy on March 24th, 2010

I never got to play the original Just Cause, but I remember playing its demo nearly non-stop for several days straight. I loved the free-falling so much, it reminded me of the flying in Super Mario 64. However, when reviews started releasing, it became clear that the game had little much to offer in terms of variety and lasting appeal.

Now that the sequel is out, I’m curious about the franchise again. This new Madness and Mayhem Montage certainly bolsters the idea that this could actually be a pretty fun game. Has anyone here played it?


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GamerSushi Asks: Are Games Pissing You Off?Posted by Mitch on March 22nd, 2010

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One thing I’ve been noticing a lot recently is that it takes fewer and fewer annoyances to make me give up a game in frustration. In my youth, I used to be able to look past repeated cheap deaths or terrible voice acting, but now that I’m older and my time has become increasingly more valuable I’m throwing aside games that rub me the wrong way very quickly.

A couple examples of this have come from two demos I’ve played recently: Splinter Cell: Conviction and Just Cause 2. While they both have the makings of two very fun titles, there are certain aspects of both that make me doubt whether or not I even want to bother with them. I’m going to sound a little petty here, but just hear me out. For Splinter Cell: Conviction, I was having a decent time tagging guys and doing silent take-downs, even if I did find the actions a little repetitious after a while. Once I got detected by the guards, that’s when I started to get agitated. While they’re searching for you, the various henchmen populating the level will spout phrases like: “Target lost, requesting update!”, or, “Continuing search for the target!” over and over until you put several bullets through their skulls. While this may not be enough to set most people off, having to listen to a dozen automatons bark their dialogue while waving their flashlights around really did the game in for me.
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Filed under: Adventure, Gaming Theory, Impressions, Sandbox, Shooter, Stealth, Strategy, XBox 360, demo | 9 Comments

What Happens in the New Just Cause 2 Trailer? It’s Up to YouPosted by Mitch on January 15th, 2010

One of the most alluring aspects of Eidos and Square Enix’s London Studio’s upcoming Just Cause 2 is that it allows you to carry out your missions in any manner you see fit. Do you execute an air strike or sneak in all ninja-like? The choice is totally yours as emphasized by this new branching video. Take a look and get ready for the most interactive trailer you’ve seen so far.

How do you guys feel about this game? It is launching at the tail end of a very packed Q1, but there’s definitely going to be room on my shelf for this game. How about you?


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Just Cause 2 and Vertical GameplayPosted by Eddy on September 12th, 2009

One of the best demos I’ve ever played for a game was the one for Just Cause. While the game itself ended up being a bit repetitive, the demo showcased just enough to really make you want more. To me, the free-falling/parachuting mechanic was some of the most fun “flying” gameplay I had experienced since the wing cap in Mario 64. An open world game that allowed you to leap from car to car, or even jump up into helicopters, Just Cause made you a ridiculous action star, and had some promise, which is why I’m excited about the sequel.

The new edition to the franchise drops in 2010, and so far, it’s shaping up to be a hell of a ride. This vertical gameplay trailer really showcases some of the things you can do, and the thought of hook-shotting my way up skyscrapers and then leaping off of them gets my do want meter going. What do you guys think? Who here played the first game?


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Filed under: GamerSushi News, Industry News, PC, Playstation 3, Sandbox, Trailer, Video, XBox 360 | 9 Comments