Despite what this screenshots depict, you unfortunately cannot karate kick cars so they explode

Then, quite by accident I stumbled over the Just Cause 2 demo as one of the highlights on the Playstation Network and spent almost my entire Sunday afternoon playing this ridiculously addictive demo over and over again. If Just Cause 2 isn't on your radar then fire your sonars and signals people for not picking it up. I can't comment on the full game but the demo's just about the best damn demo I've played for a long time.

Your character seems to be part Antonio Banderas in Desperado, part Jason Bourne and part Spiderman

For those early Xbox adopters who have fond memories of the timed Crackdown demo that gave you 30 minutes to enjoy the world of Crackdown, this is the same deal. That demo sold a lot of people on Crackdown's open world shenanigans and I get the impression Just Cause 2's demo will get the same result with the same tactics. You get 30 minutes play time in a small corner of the island on which Just Cause 2 takes place, about one twentieth of the full map, but this is a huge island and just getting to the four corners of the playable area you get is no easy task. As you rack up Chaos points by destroying property and men controlled by the islands resident bad guy you unlock black market weapon drops and information on the various settlements and bases around you, you also unlock missions and challenges around the island which in turn earn you more Chaos points and money. And get this, if you score achievements and reach certain goals in the game the demo rewards you with extra play time beyond the 30 minute meter, the demo rewards you for being better at it! That's some demo gold right there!

If you played the original you'll be pleased to know that Just Cause 2 has had a big shot in the arm graphics wise and looks a hell of a lot better than its prequel. So how is this game different from say, Mercenaries 2 or Saints Row 2 where you drive around blowing hell out of people? Well in Just Cause 2 it's all about the stunts and courtesy of a wrist mounted cable gun and a parachute backpack you can do some pretty crazy things. One of the unlockable demo missions has you leaping from a chopper onto the roof of a car in a convoy, then paragliding from car to car to reach the target vehicle before shooting the armed guards and making a daring getaway with your hostage.

It's probably not going to win game of the year, the voice acting is atrocious and while the graphics are an improvement over the original they're still not great. But for open world fun I don't think any game is going to beat Just Cause 2, it looks like being the surprise hit Red Faction Guerrilla was last year. An open world action game that's just pure good fun every time you play it.

Oddly while this game is a front page item on the PSN, on Xbox Live it's currently buried away in the game marketplace under new release downloads. Seek it out and download it immediately! You'll spend crazy amounts of time trying out insane stunts like trying to rappel onto an exploding gas cylinder as it shoots away, and yes, you can do that.