The game's open world is free for players to explore when they are not on missions. In addition to typical missions, Just Cause 2 has race challenges which give players cash. As the number of chaos points increases, the factions gain influence and the government begins to collapse. Players earn chaos points for completing missions and destroying designated government property. Agency missions advance the story and are the game's main campaign faction missions task players to assist the game's three factions, and stronghold missions task players to infiltrate government bases and liberate them for the factions. To advance through the campaign missions a player must earn chaos points, a progression system introduced in the game. Just Cause 2 is a third-person action-adventure game in which players control Rico Rodriguez, a major operative of the Agency, in an effort to overthrow the island dictatorship of Panau: an open world for players to explore. A sequel, Just Cause 3, was released in late 2015. The game was supported with downloadable content at release, and a multiplayer fan project was eventually approved as an add-on. Sales of six million copies worldwide exceeded original projections. Just Cause 2 received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay, open-ended nature, stunts, world design and graphics and criticized its story, gun-play and mission design. It was announced in 2007 with a demo attracting two million players. Avalanche Studios worked with Square Enix London Studios while developing Just Cause 2. Panau, inspired by Malaysia and Indonesia, was considered by the team a good location for an action game.
As a result, mission design, artificial intelligence and most core gameplay mechanics were overhauled. The game was developed as an improvement of Just Cause its team saw missed opportunities in the first game, analyzing and refining it. These points are essential for story progression. Just Cause 2 introduces the Chaos System, in which players must complete missions and destroy government property on Panau for Chaos points.
The gameplay involves Rico fighting hostile militants with guns and a grappling hook, enabling players to tether objects to each other and slingshot into the air with a parachute. It features Rico Rodriguez, a major operative of the fictional Agency who arrives at Panau (a fictional dystopian island nation in Maritime Southeast Asia) to overthrow dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay and confront former mentor Tom Sheldon. It is the sequel to 2006's Just Cause.It is powered by Avalanche Studios' Avalanche Engine. Just Cause 2 is a 2010 open world action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios, published by Eidos Interactive and distributed by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.