GAMES & GIZMOS

Just Cause 2

OK, first up is the good news: Just Cause 2 has one of the largest, and we mean HUGE, gameworlds in like, ever! And it looks really good too. Exploring this ginormous world while performing some crazy stunts makes this game a real treat. You got over a 100 vehicles to drive, including rickshaws. Yeah, go figure! And the explosions are sweet... you just never tire of those! The visuals are totally awesome! In fact, the only downside that we saw in this game is that it doesn't support Windows XP... time to upgrade, kids!

The game is set in the island nation of Panau where 3 gangs who want to usurp the corrupt government and you are Rico Rodriguez, an agent of The Agency.

And Rico goes loco big-time. And you would too, if you had a grappling hook with which you jumped on to a rickshaw or used it with your parachute to fly and do air-borne stunts. Or you could use your grappling hook to hijack a hovering helicopter (of course, after you throw the pilot out) and then blow stuff up. Blowing things up is what Just Cause 2 is about... in fact, more explosions lead to more chaos and you need to wreak as much havoc as possible to unlock missions and goodies. And your boom-boom making will attract the local militia...and boy, do they land on you hard and fast! Thank god, they are deprived of lead and you have the ammo to feed them!

But when a bunch of bad-asses surround you while a chopper in the sky is launching bomb after bomb, discretion might be the better part of valor. And once again, the grappling hook comes to the rescue. And while on the run, you can use sedans and double-decker buses and commuter aircraft and speedboats.

Panau is an amazing place to visit with ski resorts nestling in tall snowcovered mountains with military bases for company. And beach shacks, a la Goa, dotting the seaside. Even the underwater views are amazing with lotsa tropical fish and colourful coral reefs. And the game gives you plenty of reasons to visit all of these varied locations. The villages along the coast harbor rewards like gas tanks to blow up and weapon and vehicle parts to collect. You can also call a black market dealer to fix your gear.

A big part of the gameplay involves faction missions you run for the three gangs and some Agency missions. Some of these missions are fun and some are varied and all are "blast-tastic". There's a lot to do, a lot of sights to take in, and a lot of secrets to uncover if you look hard enough — and the game is so much fun that you'll have a blast doing it.

LOOK at that baby there! Want it,dontcha? So do we! And god willing one day, we will have it!

That hot-looking phone there is a collaboration between French handset manufacturer Sagem and Puma (yes Puma, the same guys whose shoes you grew up wearing)! And it's the perfect gadget for this month's issue of The Teenager... it's green (we mean, environment-friendly, duh!), sleek and stylish (just like you, yes, you!) and packed with features (like everything else we love!).

So, the features: a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3G ready, Bluetooth, music player, mobile email, web, solar cell with charge indicator,... wait, what? Yes, solar cell with charge indicator... which means you don't need a plug point to charge this phone... just let it tan in the sun. Awesome, ain't it? And it looks sexy too... yeah, yeah... we just can't get enough of how nice it looks.

And for the sports fans, this beauty's got a pedometer and a GPS tracker and a stopwatch and great looks. And once you buy it, you can even download stuff from the Puma store online. And where do you buy it?

Nowhere yet... they only announced it in February... should be available on the Puma store sometime this month. And the music player ain't any ordinary music player... it comes with a spin and scratch playing mechanism for all you wannabe teen DJs who wanna look good while they spin the tunes... and with this insanely goodlooking phone in your hands, you might look good too!