I've always been a fan of Just Cause. I'll admit it never drew me in, but I liked some of the gameplay elements that were in it, like jumping from car to car and parachuting. I've been keeping tabs on Just Cause 2 through the various previews out there, so when I heard a demo was out for it I had to jump on it! So should you buy Just Cause 2 when it hits stores? Read on!


Just Cause 2 feels like a lot of games in one. You have an open world very similar to Far Cry 2, gameplay elements from games like Mercenaries II and Crackdown, and even a grapple mechanic similar to Bionic Commando. But how do all of these elements work together?

Just in the demo alone, Just Cause 2 will be HUGE. The beginning of the demo starts you off in an abandoned village on top of a small mountain where you can run around and get accustomed to the control layout. The main objective is to destroy all buildings and structures controlled by the government. Sounds like Red Faction: Guerrilla, right?! The more "chaos" you cause, the more missions will open up. Once you leave the village, a 30-minute demo timer begins to tick away. However, the way you leave the village is the fun part. You jump from the mountain down to the streets below by base jumping. You must release your parachute before you hit the ground though!

Once you land, you can steal any cars you see to get around. Once you find a base, begin to cause some chaos by blowing everything you see up. The enemies are dead accurate. The more you make them mad, the more your "heat" level rises. This system is very similar to GTA IV's star system. I found that you can take A LOT of shots before you die. In fact, your health goes up when you aren't taking damage, so you should live a good while. I found it fun to grapple around blowing stuff up and shooting enemies with my dual machine guns, but will there be more to do in the final release? I was able to unlock a race mode where you fly an airplane around, but again this has been done in Mercenaries II already. I'm hoping the demo is a small taste of what's in store. By the size of the world in the demo, it shouldn't disappoint.

So am I buying Just Cause 2? So far, yes. It doesn't do anything new, but I love open-world games. Just Cause 2 looks great, plays good, and was just fun to play. That's what matters right? It felt more fun than Red Faction: Guerrilla and Mercenaries II due to the stunts you can pull like jumping from car to car and base jumping. Go ahead and try the demo for yourself and sound off what you think of it!

Rent Just Cause 2 From GameFly

Just Cause 2 For his next assignment, agent Rico Rodriguez has been sent to the South East Asian islands of Panau. His destination might as well read: Playground. Just Cause returns with an incredible new almost-400-square-mile, open-world, action-hero paradise where everything is fair game to be jumped off, blown up, or shot down. Explore the islands at will, completing missions however you want. Leap out of planes and drop 10,000 feet. Jump off bridges and parachute onto moving vehicles. Tether your enemy to the wing of a plane and wave good-bye as he takes off. With stunts like that at your disposal, playing "however you want" will probably involve some serious action.