The genre of open world action games truly begun with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, and since then titles within it have followed a similar style. Just Cause 2 however attempts to break the mould with a completely different style of gameplay but remaining well and truly in the same genre – this is potentially something very special indeed.

The first thing that will impress you in Just Cause 2 is the shear scale of the open world environment, shortly followed by the level of detail put into it by developers Avalanche Studios. Continuing the trend of impressive aspects of the game is the fact that almost everything you can see – near and far – will be of some use to you and your extra-ordinary abilities of movement.

JUST CAUSE 2 TRAILER

Thanks to a grapple line device on your arm you can attach yourself to pretty much anything and pull yourself towards it at great speeds – be it a post, a mountain ledge or even a helicopter in mid-flight – oh and we must not forget to include your enemies in that list. The grapple allows you to inflict some pretty devestating pain on them in almost limitless ways.

Visually, Just Cause 2 is astonishing and it boasts a sense of freedom to match. Whatever you choose to do, you will find yourself doing it for hours on end, night after night, day after day! This really does look set to change the thinking of most developers when it comes to open world gameplay.

Just Cause 2 isn’t just about exploring and having random fun though. There is of course a storyline to it and a pretty good one it is. Rico, your character is given the task of recovering a fellow government agent who has been taken hostage by the government of the make-believe nation of Panau. Needless to say it’s not quite as simple as that, but with a game of this quality we would prefer to steer clear of spoilers and leave the enjoyment of discovery to you.

Just Cause 2 is released on PC, Playstation 3 and XBox 360 on March 23rd 2010 in North America and March 27th 2010 for the rest of you! Take note, or place your pre-order today!