E3 2009: Just Cause 2
Just Cause 2 is an insane mixture of machine-gun toting, base jumping, parachuting, grappling-hooking, open-world exploring and vehicle driving that makes Mercenaries and Grand Theft Auto look firmly grounded in stifling realism rather than over-the-top action.
In the demonstration at E3, increasing levels of blissful ridiculousness were on hand behind closed doors. One of the developers opened the game with a stunning vista of the fictional island of Panau in southeast Asia. There’s apparently 400 square miles, but what good is an oversized world if there isn’t enough to do in it?
From what was shown, this looks like it won’t be a problem.
Rico Rodriguez, the main character from the first game, tired of the beautiful view and leapt from the enormous cliff. He was guided just over a waterfall, and then quickly ejected the parachute just before hitting the water. He safely glided under a bridge and pulled up onto a busy road.
Before the killing and maiming portion of the game is delved into, Rico’s physics-defying grappling hook, needs to be explained. Typically, grapping hooks seem to be used to hoist a character up to a higher area, and that’s true here. It also latches to the ground in order to build momentum while parachuting, which can make it as fast as any moving vehicle
It can also be detached to stick two enemies together. An enemy can be hoisted to a flagpole as if they were a nerd from an 80s high school comedy. Unlike in those films, the victim can then be shot while hanging there. Snipers can be grappled in the chest and launched from their lofty vantage points. In chase sequences, the hook can flip over a car by getting stuck to the vehicle and a wall. No matter how serious the crash is, the cars always exploded. That’s something we can all respect.
Rico’s next course of action was to cause as much chaos as possible at a nearby enemy base. He hijacked a boat and sped on over, launching the vessel from a sloping shore and then ejecting the parachute to float around and massacre some hapless soldiers. Many explosions ensued. In order to unlock new missions, enough destruction needs to be caused, which also nets money and weapon upgrades. It doesn’t make sense, but not much in the game does. It all feels like a cracked out rampage mission from the GTA.
Enemies were dispatched in a variety of ways – most of which demonstrated the uses of the grappling hook – and a new mission was unlocked. There will be more than 60 missions, and if they’re all as extreme as the one shown, then there will indeed be more explosions than at a red flammable barrel manufacturer’s convention.
After hijacking a helicopter, Rico shot down another aircraft and blasted some random goons as he tried to protect his informant on top of a building in the vein Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers. As the helicopter hovered many stories above the ground, Rico hopped out and grappling hooked his way to the middle of the walkway connecting the buildings. He grabbed his guy and jumped out, and the mission appeared to be over. That didn’t turn out to be the case.
After using the grappling hook to connect a car to a tractor in order to back up the vehicle, a chase scene ensued. In a logical move, Rico’s informant told him to stand on the moving jalopy in case anyone appears. While it might not make any sense, it seemed to make for some good gaming. As jeeps appeared, Rico could grappling hook to their roofs and plant C4, shoot the tires out and create a spectacular crash, or hover above ominously on his parachute.
Just Cause 2 probably won’t win any awards for it’s writing or storyline, but it’s poised to deliver the kind of action that B-movies only wish they could deliver. The enormous world coupled with some nifty gadgets look like a delight. The big explosions and numerous people to bully will also be quite a draw. Unfortunately, none of this was playable and developers have a way of making every game look intuitive and easy, but there’s no way all that nutty action could possibly be faked. Look for it on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in early 2009.
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