$20 Game of the Week: Just Cause 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

The original Just Cause was a game that came out during the early days of the Xbox 360 lifespan. Although it was far from perfect, it did have a lot of potential as a Grand Theft Auto meets Mission Impossible style free roaming espionage title. This game’s sequel improves on it in every way, enabling players to pull off batshit insane stunts straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Playing as Rico Rodreguez, a field agent for a group called The Agency, you arrive on the Southeast Asian island of Panau in order to seek out your friend and mentor, Tom Sheldon who had gone missing. While you’re there, you get into as much chaos as possible. The game’s missions will have you blowing things us, hijacking vehicles (including several aircraft), and pulling off stunt moves to make Jackie Chan jealous. You’ll do missions for three criminal factions as you overthrow the island’s dictator and learn the fate of your friend. A grappling device allows you to latch on to vehicles and string together objects. A car plus a propane tank makes a perfect homemade bomb. The grappler alone will provide hours of fun as you discover new ways to use it throughout the game’s missions. A lot of objects can be destroyed for points, but I kinda wish the buildings were fully destructible, a’la Mercenaries – Playground of Destruction. Even so, Just Cause 2 is perfect for anyone who thinks more games should feature mindless destruction and chaos.