embraceuk1
Original Member Since 2001
http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/848/848249p1.html?RSSwhen2008-01-29_090500&RSSid=848249
Just Cause 2 First Look
Avalanche lifts the veil on its radically overhauled sequel to 2006's ludicrously over-the-top tropical stunt-'em-up.
by Matt Wales, IGN UK
UK, January 29, 2008 - Remember Just Cause? We loved its focus on hi-octane, adrenaline-fuelled, over-the-top antics. In a sea of same-old shooters, Eidos's free-roaming stunt-'em-up was a breath of fresh air, five thousand feet up or speeding across the waters of tropical paradise San Esperito. In terms of structure though, its uninspired roster of repetitive side-missions and an all-too-brief story mode left a sour taste for those hankering for something more than an enormous boys-own playground.
Now though, CIA black ops agent Rico Rodriguez is back in Just Cause 2. Several years on from events in the first game, Rico is on hiatus, soaking up the sun and sea in South America. His vacation's cut short though when old partner Maria Kane calls for Rico's assistance in tracking down and killing his friend and mentor Tom Sheldon, gone rogue and in hiding on the island of Panau, located in the Malay Archipelago.
Just Cause 2 promises to offer more than a simple story update though, with developer Avalanche Studios intent on creating a sequel to please fans and detractors alike. The original game's healthy does of humour and daredevil escapades make a welcome return, but part two also seeks to address common complaints of Rico's first outing. Most notably, Avalanche is concentrating its efforts on improving combat and enemy AI, offering a much bigger dose of meaningful, rewarding content, plus integrating those all-important insane stunts more tightly with Rico's basic skill set.
Now, for instance, enemies are much more than simple cannon fodder. Avalanche has incorporated a sophisticated planning system, enabling intelligent responses from opponents to your own actions. Dynamically adapting, your pursuers can use their surroundings more tactically, taking cover, corner-flanking and commandeering vehicles. What's more, enemies can communicate with one another, gathering squads, organising guards for tactically significant installations or even calling for reinforcements, whether that be parachute units or helicopter attacks.
With more challenging opponents on hand, Avalanche is also overhauling Just Cause's combat engine, its Hybrid Locking System with independent aiming reticule enables the targeting of specific limbs on your foes. What's more, Rico has a whole new arsenal at his disposal this time around. Alongside laser-controlled rockets, Just Cause 2 features a one-handed grenade launcher, detachable mounted mini-gun and sticky remote-triggered C4 – the last of which can even be deployed while in the air, ideal for impromptu parachute-bound bomb runs. Even better, both weapons and vehicles are now full-upgradeable, with over 2,000 parts at your disposal.
Speaking of vehicles, Avalanche has revealed a handful of this sequel's more esoteric forms of transport, including jumbo jets and something suspiciously like a mobile home. Whatever your ride, Just Cause 2 sports a significantly upgraded driving system - differences between the handling of vehicles is now much more evident, plus ground materials now affect the performance of your car. With Panau home to a diverse number of climate zones – from snowy peaks to swampland and arid deserts to lush rainforests – this second addition is particularly important. You'll need to think carefully about your choice of transportation if you're to maximise its performance on a particular type of terrain.
Of course, it wouldn't be Just Cause without insane stunts and Avalanche has a whole new bag of tricks for wannabe Bonds. First up, Rico's grappling hook now operates as an always-accessible arm-mounted gadget. Most notably, it can attach to pretty much any object in the game word, meaning you can use it to quickly traverse terrain, reel in enemies or even latch onto ledges and scale buildings, Spider-Man style. It's even possible to attach your grabble to objects, hook them to your ride and drag them down behind you.
Used in tandem with Rico's completely overhauled parachute – now far more realistic in behaviour – it's possible to perform combination stunts, such as the Slingshot. By opening your chute while reeling yourself in, momentum causes you to fly high in the air – perfect for hopping over hordes of blood-thirsty assailants.
On top of that, Just Cause 2 also features an entirely new vehicle stunt system. This time around, rather than standing lifeless on top of a speeding car, Rico's able to clamber all over its exterior, dodging gunfire from enemies leaning out windows to shoot if you get too close. It's another neat, over-the-top touch and hanging off bumpers, popping up for pot-shots looks simply awesome.
All these additions would likely be meaningless for some without major work on the game's mission structure, however. To that end, Avalanche has reduced the amount of dead space on its new island and dropped the original's myriad uninspired side-missions, opting for a new 'Chaos'-based system. Creating chaos causes the island's many factions to grow in strength, meaning it's possible to storm government strongholds with help from powerful allied factions. With a stronghold secured, an area of influence grows around it, opening up new opportunities, information and prospective employees.
How you create chaos is entirely up to you and you can either work with factions or on your own. Just Cause 2 features over 1,000 different smaller activities to complement larger missions, all designed to create increased unrest. You might want to steal military transportation, assassinate military official or even destroy significant strategic installations – the choice is yours. It's even possible to undertake these smaller activities while you're working toward completely larger story goals.
Of course, until we go hands-on with the game, it's tough to come to much of a conclusion about Just Cause 2. That said, we're incredibly optimistic, particularly given Avalanche's dedication to addressing criticisms of the first instalment, promising a far more rounded package. It's all quite the looker too, thanks to improvements in Avalanche's graphics engine. No longer constrained by last-generation hardware, Just Cause 2 boasts more detailed character and vehicle models, higher resolution textures, real-time deformation, plus a brand new animation system among other things. Of course, that stunning dynamic weather system is set to make a return, with new environmental effects such as snow and sand storms in tow.
Oh, and the wah-wah porn music's back too. We can't wait…
Just Cause 2 First Look
Avalanche lifts the veil on its radically overhauled sequel to 2006's ludicrously over-the-top tropical stunt-'em-up.
by Matt Wales, IGN UK
UK, January 29, 2008 - Remember Just Cause? We loved its focus on hi-octane, adrenaline-fuelled, over-the-top antics. In a sea of same-old shooters, Eidos's free-roaming stunt-'em-up was a breath of fresh air, five thousand feet up or speeding across the waters of tropical paradise San Esperito. In terms of structure though, its uninspired roster of repetitive side-missions and an all-too-brief story mode left a sour taste for those hankering for something more than an enormous boys-own playground.
Now though, CIA black ops agent Rico Rodriguez is back in Just Cause 2. Several years on from events in the first game, Rico is on hiatus, soaking up the sun and sea in South America. His vacation's cut short though when old partner Maria Kane calls for Rico's assistance in tracking down and killing his friend and mentor Tom Sheldon, gone rogue and in hiding on the island of Panau, located in the Malay Archipelago.
Just Cause 2 promises to offer more than a simple story update though, with developer Avalanche Studios intent on creating a sequel to please fans and detractors alike. The original game's healthy does of humour and daredevil escapades make a welcome return, but part two also seeks to address common complaints of Rico's first outing. Most notably, Avalanche is concentrating its efforts on improving combat and enemy AI, offering a much bigger dose of meaningful, rewarding content, plus integrating those all-important insane stunts more tightly with Rico's basic skill set.
Now, for instance, enemies are much more than simple cannon fodder. Avalanche has incorporated a sophisticated planning system, enabling intelligent responses from opponents to your own actions. Dynamically adapting, your pursuers can use their surroundings more tactically, taking cover, corner-flanking and commandeering vehicles. What's more, enemies can communicate with one another, gathering squads, organising guards for tactically significant installations or even calling for reinforcements, whether that be parachute units or helicopter attacks.
With more challenging opponents on hand, Avalanche is also overhauling Just Cause's combat engine, its Hybrid Locking System with independent aiming reticule enables the targeting of specific limbs on your foes. What's more, Rico has a whole new arsenal at his disposal this time around. Alongside laser-controlled rockets, Just Cause 2 features a one-handed grenade launcher, detachable mounted mini-gun and sticky remote-triggered C4 – the last of which can even be deployed while in the air, ideal for impromptu parachute-bound bomb runs. Even better, both weapons and vehicles are now full-upgradeable, with over 2,000 parts at your disposal.
Speaking of vehicles, Avalanche has revealed a handful of this sequel's more esoteric forms of transport, including jumbo jets and something suspiciously like a mobile home. Whatever your ride, Just Cause 2 sports a significantly upgraded driving system - differences between the handling of vehicles is now much more evident, plus ground materials now affect the performance of your car. With Panau home to a diverse number of climate zones – from snowy peaks to swampland and arid deserts to lush rainforests – this second addition is particularly important. You'll need to think carefully about your choice of transportation if you're to maximise its performance on a particular type of terrain.
Of course, it wouldn't be Just Cause without insane stunts and Avalanche has a whole new bag of tricks for wannabe Bonds. First up, Rico's grappling hook now operates as an always-accessible arm-mounted gadget. Most notably, it can attach to pretty much any object in the game word, meaning you can use it to quickly traverse terrain, reel in enemies or even latch onto ledges and scale buildings, Spider-Man style. It's even possible to attach your grabble to objects, hook them to your ride and drag them down behind you.
Used in tandem with Rico's completely overhauled parachute – now far more realistic in behaviour – it's possible to perform combination stunts, such as the Slingshot. By opening your chute while reeling yourself in, momentum causes you to fly high in the air – perfect for hopping over hordes of blood-thirsty assailants.
On top of that, Just Cause 2 also features an entirely new vehicle stunt system. This time around, rather than standing lifeless on top of a speeding car, Rico's able to clamber all over its exterior, dodging gunfire from enemies leaning out windows to shoot if you get too close. It's another neat, over-the-top touch and hanging off bumpers, popping up for pot-shots looks simply awesome.
All these additions would likely be meaningless for some without major work on the game's mission structure, however. To that end, Avalanche has reduced the amount of dead space on its new island and dropped the original's myriad uninspired side-missions, opting for a new 'Chaos'-based system. Creating chaos causes the island's many factions to grow in strength, meaning it's possible to storm government strongholds with help from powerful allied factions. With a stronghold secured, an area of influence grows around it, opening up new opportunities, information and prospective employees.
How you create chaos is entirely up to you and you can either work with factions or on your own. Just Cause 2 features over 1,000 different smaller activities to complement larger missions, all designed to create increased unrest. You might want to steal military transportation, assassinate military official or even destroy significant strategic installations – the choice is yours. It's even possible to undertake these smaller activities while you're working toward completely larger story goals.
Of course, until we go hands-on with the game, it's tough to come to much of a conclusion about Just Cause 2. That said, we're incredibly optimistic, particularly given Avalanche's dedication to addressing criticisms of the first instalment, promising a far more rounded package. It's all quite the looker too, thanks to improvements in Avalanche's graphics engine. No longer constrained by last-generation hardware, Just Cause 2 boasts more detailed character and vehicle models, higher resolution textures, real-time deformation, plus a brand new animation system among other things. Of course, that stunning dynamic weather system is set to make a return, with new environmental effects such as snow and sand storms in tow.
Oh, and the wah-wah porn music's back too. We can't wait…
