Q&A: More chaos for Just Cause 2

GR: Can you give us an example of the new features (weather, climate systems, location, enhanced grappling hook) in action? Take us through a mission, for instance.

PJ: Just Cause 2 is built on the new version of the Avalanche engine. The move to a next-gen only release means we are no longer held back by having to support last generation consoles, which has enabled us to do many improvements. There is more detail and interactivity all over, for characters, vehicles, terrain and architecture. You can travel between paradise beaches, jungles, snowy mountains, deserts and everything in between without any interruption for loading which we feel is quite unique.

The gameplay of Just Cause 2 is all about freedom, insane stunts, intense action and vertical gameplay. It all boils down to what Rico does best… causing chaos. Panau is a huge and beautiful playground built from the ground up to give you complete freedom to cause chaos in any way you want. You have three rebel factions that you can work with but doing missions for them is only one of many ways to cause chaos. Maybe you decide to hunt down and kill important officers within the Panau military, destroy their military installations or hijack their vehicles. You will even be able to do many of those optional things while you’re doing a large mission.

A typical situation in Just Cause 2 would see you base jumping off a cliff or helicopter towards one of the many beautiful locations of Panau. You’d parachute into the middle of a group of military soldiers armed to their teeth and hating your guts. You’d fight them with a grenade launcher in one hand and an SMG in the other. You’d use the grappling hook to swiftly move around the location, jumping from the rooftop of a tall building one second and climbing around on a vehicle in motion while shooting at its occupants the next. If you need heavier weaponry you could place an order for a laser-controlled missile launcher from the Black Market and have it delivered to your location only seconds later. While doing your objectives, you’d take the opportunity to cause as much additional chaos as possible, for example by destroying iconic statues of the president, fuel depots or important communication equipment.

The military will start to get desperate and call for reinforcements. A helicopter arrives, drops off some paratroopers and then starts to attack you but you use the grappling hook to reel in to the chopper, hijack it in mid air and then use the military’s own missiles to finish them all off.