Faster than a speeding bullet

GAME OF THE WEEK:Just Cause 2, 15 cert, Eidos, PS3 (also Xbox, PC)

The Just Causegames have a good premise. Like the Grand Theft Autoseries, they're freewheeling sandbox games: you have missions to carry out, but you can also meander from area to area. Unlike GTA, however, the casual destruction, car theft and civilian casualties don't have the morally iffy aftertaste of a crime simulator, because (presumably) you're playing a rebel fighting for the good guys.

This time fighting you’re with revolutionaries known as the Reapers in a dusty, fictitious country called Panau. Instead of speaking, say, Spanish or Portuguese, the characters speak English with a foreign accent, like in a 1980s action movie.

So, flying, driving, and (my favourite) base-jumping around Panau, the main purpose of your existence in Just Cause 2is to create chaos. This is usually done by way of property destruction: Anything with the Panau emblem should be destroyed, and the accumulation of "chaos points" often brings you to your next mission. As in GTA, too much destruction brings the authorities' unwanted attention, but you can hijack passing vehicles for your getaway, and indeed, jump onto passing and incoming transport.

The act of leaping aboard a moving vehicle is exciting enough, but the on-board tussles (reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark) are especially entertaining, and it's thrilling to be able to climb around the outside of a car while it's moving, taking shelter from incoming bullets while returning gunfire of your own.

While initially tricky to get to grips with (pun intended), grappling hooks provide the most fun. You can nab motorcyclists as they pass by, or even hook one vehicle to another; connecting your jeep to a passing helicopter, for example. In fact, you can even sling a hook to an enemy and attach him to a departing helicopter or boat.

Unfortunately, the free roaming can be a common problem in these sandbox games, and Just Cause 2is no exception. Yes, it's nice to have a virtual world to explore and vandalise, but the game will demand that you drive or run across reams of digital limbo in search of some action. Surely there could have been fewer acres of jungle and sea between towns, cities and fortresses?

Not surprisingly, it’s a good-looking game. The graphics are crisper than in the first one, and there’s nice character animation and fabulous location design. The explosions are gloriously rendered too, and the chaotic action scenes, once triggered, are visceral. So much of your environment is destructible. Indeed, hold a grenade for too long and it can explode in your hand!

Despite some minor quibbles, Just Cause 2is an innovative, lively action game. Viva la revolution!