The demo for Just Cause 2 is undeniably the most open demo I’ve experienced so far. You are shown a mini cutscene kind of explaining why Rico Rodriguez is heading to the fictional tropical island of Panau in Southeast Asia. And then, well…you have 30 minutes to do whatever you want.
The developers would love (and reward you) if you devoted the next half hour of gaming to causing as much chaos as possible. The demo features an area of 35 square miles located in the desert, with light aircraft and many civilian and military vehicles available. There’s plenty to see and do…and destroy.
Controls take a bit getting used to, especially the grappling hook. I wasn’t comfortable using it until about 20 minutes had passed, and then I was zipping from building to building, car to car, tree to tree. It made getting out of tough situations a breeze, and using it to take down guards is fun and imaginative.
Right, back to causing chaos. Love that this is Just Cause 2‘s currency, and that the player is rewarded for going ape-shit. Since it took me awhile to get the hang of parachuting and moving from zone to zone, I caused very little chaos during my 30 minutes. Some chaos, mind you, but not enough to make newspaper headlines. Will try harder next time to, y’know, maybe hook a guard to a moving car and then crash it into some water tanks while parachuting off it to safety some many yards away. Amazingly, that’s all very possible.
Anyways, it’s a refreshing demo, one that I can see myself heading back into again and again to try out new stuff. Not sure if the full game would be for me as a lot of open-world games lose their appeal early on, but this is perfect for getting a feel for the game’s nuances and desires. Let the chaos continue!
Grinding Down 