I picked up Just Cause 2 after a long time of not playing it a little while ago and I had a bit of a realization…
I simultaneously get bored easily with and highly enjoy these games. Outposts and towns are incredibly repetitive, and those make up 90% of the game’s runtime. It’s not like that’s all there is, and Just Cause 3 does have some other side diversions and new tools, but in the end, I’m just running, driving, and/or flying around a massive, largely empty, albeit pretty map.
It’s incredibly mindless sometimes, and I never stick around too long, but there’s also this call to it. It is mindless.
It’s simple. I know where to go, what I’m gonna do. Im gonna see some pretty sights, big explosions, and I’m gonna zip around like a deranged Spider-Man. No deep planning or strategy, just spur-of-the-moment chaos. See a thing? Blow it up.
It’s almost like candy. As long as I only come back and play it here and there, I will play it consistently.
Side note: On a certain level, exploring Just Cause’s maps is pleasant in its own way. They are remarkably pretty and it kind of scratches an itch of just being able to GO. No real destination, no plan, just going.
Never finished 3, or even bought 4, but I’ve spent so much time in JC2. I made my own objectives, such as riding different vehicles down a mountain, or strapping them to planes taking off. The actual objectives, like outposts were secondary, only sometimes clearing them when encountered.
JC2 is my baby XD
My main reason is the different biomes of 2. A desert, a massive city, snowy mountains, an island archipelago. I love seeing it all sprawl out in the distance and knowing that it’s all mine to explore and do whatever.
I loved the map. The environments were very pleasant and there was always something to find. I just remembered the time I came across here https://justcause.fandom.com/wiki/Three_Kings_Hotel and started strapping cars to the elevators with my modded unbreakable unlimited grappling hook.