Just Cause 2

 PC
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. Edge Magazine
    70
    Just Cause 2 can hardly be called an average game. It's a good one undermined by a selection of mediocre elements, and it's all the more frustrating this time around because Avalanche shows us glimpses of just how much fun two weeks on holiday with Rico should be. [Apr 2010, p.96]
  2. Absolute Games
    70
    Excellent helicopter controls and highly polished code are, unfortunately, the only things that put Just Cause 2 above the other GTA clones. If you’re in the mood for silly fun, the game’s simple “jump-shoot-explode” routine will be more than enough, but it could have been much more than that.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PC Game of 2010
15
#15 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
11
#11 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1108 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 706 out of 1108
  2. Mixed: 292 out of 1108
  3. Negative: 110 out of 1108
  1. NorthKozar
    Dec 28, 2012
    10
    The problem and why I think this game has such mixed reviews is that people are focusing on one aspect of the game in their review and gettingThe problem and why I think this game has such mixed reviews is that people are focusing on one aspect of the game in their review and getting bogged down in it. The fun to Just Cause 2 is how open it is and what all it provides for you to do. Yes, if you focus solely on collecting the stupid collectables, you will get bored (it does get pretty boring) but you don't have to do that, nor do you have to focus solely on the missions. The main point to Just Cause 2 is to "cause chaos," a seemingly cliche way to tell the player to do whatever the heck they want to blow stuff up and have fun to progress to further missions. I've played over 150 hours and still found new, fun things to mess around with, the most recent being grappling a truck to a helicopter and swinging it around to the speed that it starts swinging my helicopter around. Basically, it comes down to this: If you're into games that push you (the player) to make decisions about how you want to play the game and to make the game fun and unique to you (whether you fast travel everywhere, drive and take in the gorgeous sights, or hijack helicopters and fly everywhere), you will enjoy this game. If you enjoy open world exploration and the freedom to try crazy ridiculous stuff, you'll enjoy this game.
    However, if you're looking for a strict, linear, engaging story telling experience, you probably won't enjoy this game. If you're looking for a realistic portrayal of physics and gunplay, you probably won't enjoy this game.
    Personally, I find the game's story to be absurd and insane -- which I feel is the point. I think they wanted to focus more on the content and free-roaming nature and I feel they did a very good job of that and it got me on board with the crazy storyline. The voice acting adds to this ridiculousness, it's almost that they don't want you to take the story seriously, and so that's how I approached it. My personal opinion is the negative reviews this game is receiving are because players are expecting the game to tell them or show them explicitly new and fun things to do, where Just Cause 2 pushes for creativity. Yeah, you could simply walk up to that radio tower and shoot it and be done, but what if you hijacked the helicopter over there, grappled a car to it and used the car as a wrecking ball to smash the tower? Then when your plan falls apart and you accidentally crash the helicopter into the tower instead, you can hop in the car and drive off. You, as the player, have to have some vision in order to see all the potential and fun there is in the game. There's things to collect and upgrade, there's things to destroy, there's semblance of progress, and there is an immense amount of fun all in Just Cause 2, you just have to be open to playing around and trying ridiculous things.    … Full Review »
  2. l0rdm0rd
    May 16, 2012
    3
    This game gets boring after a few minutes. If this game defines anything, it's repetition. Most cutscenes are repeated, the dialogues areThis game gets boring after a few minutes. If this game defines anything, it's repetition. Most cutscenes are repeated, the dialogues are generic and voiced badly, the story can't be named a story. The grapling hook is an interesting feature, but it stays the only interesting thing about this game. The driving physics are bad, the vehicles are slow, the map is enormous but with so few details, that you just take a jet, and fly up to 5 minutes in a straight line with afterburner on, just to get to a point 6 km away. Technically the game looks fine, but not great at all. Repetition is the main motive, trees, rocks, streets, landscapes get repeated so often, that the large map is of no use. Anyone can blow up a map using ctrl+v. Blood looks strange, explosions lack a real bang but the lighting of sunsets is quite nice. But gta4 looked better.
    Driving by car is annoying, all 30 sec the police starts shooting. They are not very difficult to fight back, but still it gets repetitive a lot. Just like Just Cause 1, the game is a nice feature, but fails to fulfill the rest of qualities a good game needs. The upgrade system does not make a big difference, there are very few different guns and all the good stuff is available from the beginning so you have seen all the game has to offer in the first hour of gameplay. After that, nothing new happens. Really, nothing. Some parts are ridiculously difficult, but just because 3 helicopters and a lot of soldiers fire directly at you after reloading. The controls are ok, the helicopter controls are really good, the only thing I'd like to see in another game. Countless counters track you during the game, but nothing interesting happens when accumulate 500 or 600 headshots, more than 100 stunt points and so on. And it is so easy to progress these stats, that you start to ignore them. In hindsight I wonder why i played this thing for over 15 hrs. I think I wanted to know if the end is as lame as the rest of the game, maybe I had some hope that the game surprises me with a good ending. But no. Not at all. So buy this game only if you have alzheimers and don't realize when things get repeated every 2 minutes or if you really want to waste time.    … Full Review »
  3. SPINEY
    Sep 5, 2010
    5
    I've seen too many people jump too conclusions with this game. Many people focus solely on the open-end aspect, saying "Wow, the land you canI've seen too many people jump too conclusions with this game. Many people focus solely on the open-end aspect, saying "Wow, the land you can explore is amazingly huge". When you broaden your sights on the major aspects which make a great game you see Just Cause 2 misses a few crucial aspects. First off is variety: After you've completed 30% of the game you realise you've been doing the same thing over and over. Blowing up fuel tanks, knocking over transmission towers and going through the tedious hi-jack animation. It all becomes a bit tiresome.

    The voice acting is some parts is terrible. Sometimes the voice stops but the lip-sync animation still runs for seconds after. And in other parts it sounds like the developers are patronising people who actually have accents of those portrayed in the game. The story, no doubt a crucial part of any game is lacking with the ending being unbearably corny. There a plethora of bugs yet to be fixed. Such as the faulty Heat-system (think of the 6 stars in GTA). Many timer I find myself with no enemies around yet my heat refuses to decrease. Also if you are stand right up to a wall and fire you grapple the animation of you hand puts the grapple through the wall, and he doesn't grapple on anything. Apart from all that, the game does have some interesting features. Grappling two objects (or people) never seems to get old. And you do get some pretty hilarious moments. But overall, this game could have a lot improved.    … Full Review »
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