Just Cause 2 and the four phases of gameplay

Yeah. I got this game a long time ago and I’ve been playing it now and then, but only very recently getting into it more deeply. The verdict? Let’s just say that there is picture of this game next to the definition of awesome. At least for a while.

This game has involved going through four phases:

1. You begin playing. You like it. The superb graphics and hits you like a sledgehammer and there’s nothing to complain about. But what does it have to offer to distinguish itself? You remember something about a grappling hook and a parachute…

2. The discover the awesomeness of the parachute and the grappling hook. Even the most basic use of each, like gliding in the sky looking at the sunset or whatever (very pretty), is like the best gaming you’ve ever done. This phase lasts for hours. You just sort of travel around randomly exploring the island and doing some killing here and there, trying out vehicles etc.

Lots of parachuting, because, you realize after a while that it’s possible to use the grappling hook to gain momentum, so you basically use the parachute to get around everywhere, even to climb mountains if you like (not entirely easy though, but it gets you a trophy!). Parachuting is really fun, partly, I’m guessing, because it’s unusual, but also because it’s so well done, so smooth and with nice game physics.

But then…

3. After a while it starts to get a little old. You don’t know why, but it’s not as fun anymore. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the game and it almost feels like blasphemy to say anything negative about it, but… “let’s just shelve it for a while” is the unspoken feeling, and that’s what I did.

But then… once more.

4. At some point you realize something and start to play the game again, or if it’s the other way around. Maybe it’s just the lack of progress and purpose that’s the problem? I mean, during phase two I was so enthralled by the free-roaming type of gameplay, which is so much fun for a while, that I basically played like a hippie-junkie of some sort, i.e. without purpose or progression — without doing much missions or even trying to collect things from the map (which brings upgrades and the like).

Unlike GTA 4 this game lets you have access to the whole island from the start so there is less incentive to progress, which makes it even more open world (and the world is huge and beautiful btw, it certainly beats GTA in that regard and I’m saying that as a huge fan of the GTA world).

So anyway, I started to play with purpose (missions, collecting, blowing things up — yes the last makes you progress too, even when you’re not in a mission!) to get a sense of progress. The result? The return of awesomeness. Apparently it really was the lack of a sense or progress that eventually made the game less fun. Now I combine “work and play” in the game and it’s great. It’s absurd in a way that even being frustrated and angry because of repeatedly failing something makes the game more fun in the end.

[end of phase 4]

The story is not that great but the missions are well created and fun.

I still have a long way to go before completing the game (there’s a lot of things to do, definitely a game that lasts) so maybe there are more phases, we shall see.

Here’s some gameplay:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1GUO_15kw]