And I'm Free, Free Fallin' - #NBI2015Safari

Rico just noticed he left the stove on...good thing he left it in a Panau refinery

Today I leapt off the tallest peak in the lands. The virtual land of Panau, that is. As part of Murf's on-going NBI Safari 2015, my third submission is a Landscape shot of protagonist Rico Riguez soaring off the highest peak in Just Cause 2, an open-world action title by developer Avalanche Studios.

Most of this game will have you attempting to outmaneuver and overthrow the existing dictatorship, guns a-blazing and grapple hook a-...grappling. This part may feel familiar to one of the other kings of the open world genre, Grand Theft Auto. The story is most definitely not a strength of Just Cause 2, but then again, I think story in open world games are merely a small push to get the player out of the door and. Ultimately, it's the feeling of getting yourself lost in the world that is really the focus.

Getting lost in open world titles like this one and Far Cry 3 take you from the civilized GTA and out into the jungles and mountains. There is definitely something serene in rifling through the foliage, perhaps stalking some prey (as you will find in FC3), or finding the tallest peak and soaring untethered (eventually activating that parachute at the latest moment...or somehow being able to grapple to a surface from hundreds of feet, unharmed).

I do intend to complete as much of the content in JC2 as possible - open world titles are an ideal magnet for completionists. The actual storyline may have been a bit lackluster, but there are still a TON of outposts and collectibles to deal with, and should I happen to helicopter past a scene like I did here, it's hard to pass up abandoning that chopper (sorry, Arnold) and taking a thrilling leap to the next target.