Right, me and my friend just recently ended a 3 hour streak of Just Cause 2, and even though I have completed the story, and every other type of mission, we still managed to have fun just doing stuff, for no reason, just doing stuff, and that was when I realised Just Cause 2, was my favourite game. It doesn't try to be something it's not, the map is genuinely interesting and probably took a lot of time and effort to create, and fair enough the story wasn't stellar, but that for me wasn't ever the main point of any Just Cause, so, does anyone else have any opinions which contrast or agree with mine, i'm interested in what other people think of (IMO) this brilliant game.
Just Cause 2
- Thread starter Mr Krepe
- Start date
No dissenting opinions allowed?
Like you said, JC2 is basically an entertaining sandbox circus with a disposable main story. It's fun to kill a few hours once in a while, but it's not something that can engross you and hold attention for very long. Same basic formula of success as GTA games - goof off, explore, kill random stuff. The altered laws of physics are a plus. However, I also don't think it's anything extraordinary. And if you try to play the game for too long, it gets repetitive very, very quickly.
The most notable thing is graphics (which are very good-looking), I wish that every time game journos try to make excuses for Bethesda's crappy graphics and unstable engine because "it's so big, it's so hard to do", someone punched them in the face and forced them to play JC2. Huge diverse map, with all the modern GFX bells and whistles present and looking great, and still with reasonable system requirements and barely any stability issues.
By biggest beef with the game is the clumsy PC port; while playable, it still feels consoley and imprecise, which is a huge minus for any game imo. I've played old console ports that nailed mouse behavior, and if it was possible 8 years ago, it should be possible today, and the only reason it never happens is because developers can get away with it.
Wintermind
Vault Senior Citizen
I'm surprised that you feel like it's still worth mentioning how PC ports are generally shitty. It's like you haven't realized they aren't a priority for most games.
It is a shame though, because everyone should be able to join the utterly simplistic, satisfying fun that is Just Cause 2 or Saints Row 2, but due to laziness, it's not likely to happen without end users having to do some a bunch of tweaks to play it anything resembling smooth.
Both games are proof that 'games are art' though.
It is a shame though, because everyone should be able to join the utterly simplistic, satisfying fun that is Just Cause 2 or Saints Row 2, but due to laziness, it's not likely to happen without end users having to do some a bunch of tweaks to play it anything resembling smooth.
Both games are proof that 'games are art' though.
Just because it's common doesn't mean it's acceptable. If game journalism was actual journalism and not an advertisement network fed by the publishers, they'd be bashing every crappy port as deserved.
It actually ran pretty smooth for me except for a handful of certain areas/instances. And I ran it on a laptop, not a desktop powerhouse. So performance-wise it's not unreasonable, at least better than certain recent games that don't even look half as good (FO3, Dead Space come to mind).
I'm usually highly skeptical of the "games as art" thing. Games are primarily entertainment, only a handful arguably "art". JC2 is about on the level of your run-of-the-mill Hollywood action flick. I don't consider that art. Unless you mean just the visuals, of course, but then that means the graphic design is artistic, not the game itself. Anyway, this is drifting way off topic.
One thing I hated about JC2 was how poorly designed plane controls were.
Ilosar
Vault Fossil
Tell me about it. The airplane challenges were almost impossible for me; I did one, to prove I could, and that was it. Helicopters, on the other hand, were very fun to use, and a bit too easy to steal. In fact, a few times I bit more than I could chew and was saved by an enemy helicopter politely standing there waiting to be hijacked.
Other than that, it's a very fun and entertaining game, it drops all pretense of realism in favor of fluid gameplay and general sillyness and benefits for it. I particularily enjoyed (pretty light spoilers, but still) [spoiler:1b1cc93436] fighting the remnants of the Japan Imperial Army over a laser tower, riding bombs right after taking out ninjas, and zooming in a jet to shoot down a speeding satellite-carrying rocket.[/spoiler:1b1cc93436]
^ That last one in your spoiler was absolutely inane because of the flight controls, though. No rudder AND ridiculous sensitivity. I have to aim at a moving object? Gimme a break 
I think I had to repeat that one 10+ times before I got it. Also kinda silly that they wouldn't let you blow it up same way you did the others, with dynamite, it's a lot easier to fly up close to the thing and spiderman over to it.
One of my favorite things to do would be killing a bunch of guards until they summon helis, then start an air battle. If everything goes well, you can then "juggle" helis almost indefinitely until you're bored, jumping from one to another in the air if yours is about to go boom. Every once in a while a heli with rockets would show up, that's when you can take it and go take out a large base somewhere.
I think I had to repeat that one 10+ times before I got it. Also kinda silly that they wouldn't let you blow it up same way you did the others, with dynamite, it's a lot easier to fly up close to the thing and spiderman over to it.One of my favorite things to do would be killing a bunch of guards until they summon helis, then start an air battle. If everything goes well, you can then "juggle" helis almost indefinitely until you're bored, jumping from one to another in the air if yours is about to go boom. Every once in a while a heli with rockets would show up, that's when you can take it and go take out a large base somewhere.
Faceless Stranger
Board Drifter
My only problem in with the game was that everything was expensive, and there was just not enough money.
I find that you gain money quite easily myself, you get money for everything, you get money for missions, money for destroying stuff, money for killing soldiers, money for doing races...so yeah my opinion is quite the opposite for that. I love how it is easy to make money, because you can just randomly summon up a rocket-launcher or attack helicopter to have merry fun blowing crap up.
Ausdoerrt said:
PainlessDocM
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
I bought JC2 very cheap some time ago but every time I attempt to play it I just quit after 10 minutes and play Episodes from Liberty city instead. I guess it's just not my type of sandbox game.
Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
Just started playing it. The missions are already getting repetitive, but the sandbox action is about as good as it gets.
Wintermind
Vault Senior Citizen
Nope, they're both 'art', period. You have a game where you can, with regularity, hijack a jet fighter out of the goddamned sky. How is that not art?
SR2 lets you customize your character's appearance and clothing to such an extent that the various combinations would number so high as to give a computer a headache. Never mind the stuff you can actually do, like driving a septic truck around town, covering it in semi-liquid shit to lower property values and stick it to the man. Literally art.
SR2 lets you customize your character's appearance and clothing to such an extent that the various combinations would number so high as to give a computer a headache. Never mind the stuff you can actually do, like driving a septic truck around town, covering it in semi-liquid shit to lower property values and stick it to the man. Literally art.
I simply cannot find the motivation to argue with someone who seems to think that "keewl" = "art". I don't see why some people feel compelled to ascribe artistic value left and right to anything they find enjoyable, though it appears useless to argue when they do.
Wintermind
Vault Senior Citizen
Because we don't have stuck up standards for art? I don't consider everything I enjoy art, but Saints Row 2 is a goddamned masterpiece. Shit belongs in museum. Preserved for future generations and shit.