Cause for excitement

 "I should have taken that flying class"

I have to admit I barely played Just Cause, and it didn't really won me. Maybe it was just my distaste for another tropical island  setting, or I was just having more fun with something else back then, I can't really say. Just Cause 2 though, looks quite promising. From what I've seen so far, Just Cause 2 is all about explosions, stunts and completely non realist physics. How could this not be good?

 "There is sunshine after she is gone after all"

 Realism if fine, especially when done right, either when referring to realistic characters and interactions(now thats rare) or physics and environments. And there is always stealth, which is way too popular nowadays. I'm betting the next Tomb Raider will have a stealth mechanism, so you can backstab some near-extinction tigers and dinosaurs. What happend to the stealth genre?

"Backstab was supposed to be one shot kill!!!"

The problem is, if you ask me, that there aren't enough games taking advantage of the current technology and being successful on creating a madness imbued fun to play -and maybe sandbox- experience. 

Just Cause 2 seems to be the remedy for that.

-A usual modern action game...-
Rico was pursued by at least a dozen guards. After he destroyed the Kashmir hotel, located on one of the many hills of Panau island, he realized that his careful planned getaway route was compromised. He had no choice but to make his way to the road below, where he could hijack a car and try to loose his pursuers, as the guard patrol cars were probably inaccessible*. "Getting to the road will be difficult" Rico thought, as he was hiding behind a small wall and watching the guards moving into groups and securing the alley ahead. Rico knew that out in the open he would be dead almost immediately, so he decided with grim determination that the best course of action would be to ambush them and use as much cover as possible, if he wanted to get out of this alive. As the guards were closing in on his position, Rico threw a flash grenade and waited patiently for it to hit and go off, and for the guards to start shooting blindly. After the sound he was waiting for, Rico carefully leaned and aimed down his handgun, killing as many of the guards as his limited ammo allowed. He knew that they're gonna focus on the wall he used as cover pretty soon, so he moved behind another wall as fast as he could. He could hear the remaining guards shouting and after a second hundreds of bullets destroyed his previous cover. While the guards were still occupied, Rico silently moved behind them and after picking up a rifle from a dead guard started finishing them off. As the guards realized what was happening, they started turning towards Rico, but it was already too late. "I was lucky this time", Rico thought to himself as he moved towards a car nearby. Another missions was completed.

-...and Just Cause 2...-
Rico was pursued by at least a dozen guards. After he blew up the Kashmir hotel, located on one of the many hills of Panau island, it was inevitable that he would have a whole welcome committee waiting for him. Rico smiled to himself as he was watching the guards moving into groups and securing the alley ahead without knowing who they were up against. Even though he could probably slip away from them if he wanted, Rico decided to fight them off, and to do so with style. "After all, what would be the fun of turning tail and running?" Rico amused himself. As the guards were closing in on his position, Rico jumped toward them and the same time used his hook to pull a ominous looking red barrel towards his enemies. The guards didn't had time to react as Rico pulled the trigger on both of his semi automatic pistols. At least half of them wouldn't bother him anymore. The remaining guards where still a short distance away, now running towards Rico and shooting. While Rico enjoyed playing with the guards, he had more missions to take care of so he decided to clear up things fast. He jumped on one of the patrol jeeps the guards came with, and speed up towards them. After running down two of them and hooking a third on his jeep for a small trip, he opened his parachute and glided over the small wall the last of the guards were using as cover. Rico was satisfied with himself as he could see the fear painted on the guards faces, and he used his hook to make a human mess out of them. They were helpless. Rico pulled the trigger repeatably on the assault rifle he picked up on the jeep. "And not even a car fight or a rocket launcher", Rico thought to himself a little sadly as he moved towards a car nearby. Another sunny day on Panau and another mission completed.

"Damn, and all this because I told her I needed some space"

Ok. maybe I overdid it, I'm sure Rico is not such an evil guy. Tommy Vercetti has a similar body count and he is just misunderstood. Oh well, even if he is... Cool.

* -> Static meshes as cars = bad.