I wasn't going to write this tonight, I figured the time I had put into the game was insufficient to really get a good look at what the game offers but just as I decided to save the game I noticed my current play time was somewhere around four and a half hours .
This time warp phenomena is something the original Just Cause did well and the sequel hasn't lost that touch, the main reason for this is the over the top action, everything from driving a car to grappling around the environment can be combined in the game to allow the player a sense of freedom usually reserved for Eagles and rocket powered super elephants.
Straight out of the gate you're thrown into some political intrigue and immediately you will want to skip the cutscene due to its delightful use of ethnic stereotypes and terrible voice acting. Rico himself is a fiery Latino pepper and if you mess with him he will "Keel you like a pig dog" the other character are just as bad or worse, its grating but just cause is about more than the story.
The emphasis is placed firmly on the action and the exploration and for the most part the game gets it right, the way to stay alive is to keep moving, using your grapple hook, the roll ability and the environment so that the enemy never has a clean shot is the best way though heavy weapons and a big smile will get you through at times. The problem however is the targeting system, it isn't bad at what it does locking on to enemies when you point in their general direction happens automatically but the targeting system holds a grudge (that's the only way to describe it) when you point at a group you might decide you want to get rid of one guy but the targeting system will continue to stay locked on to another and regardless of what you do it won't let go until that guy is dead.
Exploration is a mix of foot, wheel and wing on foot your uncanny ability to dodge and zip around on the grappling hook makes you feel at times like a superhero or if you need a little more grunt under you the ability to jack any car, helicopter or plane that you see comes in extremely handy, having trouble getting into a base hijack an armoured car and smash the gate or just grab a plane and aim it at the guards before jumping out and parachuting down to the base.
From time to time you will need these vehicles just to get around because the world of Just Cause is massive and the vehicles are simple to use, you can easily fly a chopper without needing a degree in aerial manoeuvres(Battlefield :P)
The missions so far have been fun with several requiring you to protect other AI characters and assault large military installations, others ask you to destroy high value targets or recover sensitive data. Even when you're not in a mission you will be on the clock destroying government structures or causing chaos will increase your standing and unlock different missions and support available to you.
The enemy AI isn't smart by any standard but they come at you in bunches and are quite effective, when you throw an elite in with the grunts the battles become much more exciting, these elite soldiers are a great new addition to the series, demo men will throw explosives at you and are heavily armoured and worst of all when they die the drop a load of C4 at their feet which you have to avoid like the plague, others will require you to get a headshot and many have heavy weapons which are devastating to your health.
To sum it up fans of the first will be happy to get a great looking sequel that retains the same charm as the original and fans of open world exploration won't be disappointed, however a few of the niggles may put a lot of people off the game, definitely try the demo if you are undecided.
I don't feel like my words do the game justice so I have included a link to a great video below.
Review coming some I think