[Update: The demo is now available on Steam]

The Just Cause 2 demo is now available on both the PSN and XBL stores, clocking in at just over 1gb. Just Cause 2 is the next installment in the Just Cause series which features a large open-world island where you will be tasked with various objectives but are free to go at your own pace and explore at your own leisure. The game extends realism quite a bit, allowing you to wreck havoc in almost anyway thinkable (flying a plane into a military base and eject at the last second). You can queue it up for download on your Xbox 360 with this link if you want to speed up the process.

Feel free to share your experience with the demo in our comments; I'm interested to see what everyone th inks of this game, the first one didn't receive much attention although I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Edios just tweeted today that a Just Cause 2 demo will be coming soon (no platform details). No other details have been given at this point but they said more details will “follow soon”. When those details do come we will update this post.

Just Cause 2, a third-person sandbox action game, was originally planned for a 2008 Christmas debut but was pushed back several times, finally settling on March 23rd of this year. It maintains the similar, fast-pace action of the first game while introducing new game elements, weapons and vehicles (including a helicopter!).

Eidos Tweet [Twitter]

You can chalk this one up in the "nifty feature" category for PlayStation 3 owners. Square Enix London has announced that Just Cause 2 for PlayStation 3 owners will have the ability to record clips of their in-game stunts and upload those clips directly to YouTube. In addition to just recording a few seconds of gameplay, you will have the ability to carve out ten minute increments that they hope will be used for more planned presentations, such as level walkthroughs. The best of the video submissions will make their way over to the Just Cause 2 homepage and beyond that, prizes will be awarded for the "best of the best."

I'm glad that this step has been taken, and hope to see more games in the future adopt the ability to do these things. I've seen plenty of stuff worth sharing with the masses in my days of gaming, but not having my console hooked up to a capture device has just left my tall tales unprovable.

Just Cause 2 is shaping up to be a truly fun game. We’ve already been treated to several gameplay videos displaying some of the awesomely ridiculous things you can do with the grappling hook and stunt parachute, but the Swedish developers over at Avalanche Studios have been kind enough to show us, in a new Developer’s Diary video, the type of destruction that is capable with a little bit of creativity, and a few high-speed vehicle pursuits.

From the video, developer Andreas Nilsson explains “It’s not realistic, we don’t want it to be realistic, it’s more like the laws of physics on drugs. Really, really, really fast-paced action,” and from watching the clips, he really isn’t kidding. Rico can be seen jumping from roof to roof of two vehicles driving at very high speeds, while planting C4 on another giving you the chance to witness some spectacular car crashes.

This is becoming a very promising title for 2010, and it’s already looking like a day 1 purchase for me. So if you want to view a teaser for this upcoming sandbox sequel, check the following video.

Just Cause 2 developer Avalanche has fallen victim to the harsh economic climate, having sent a three months notice to 20 employees, according to a GI.biz report.

The reduction in workforce will not affect any titles currently in development, including Just Cause 2 and The Hunter. Company CEO Christofer Sundberg says the cuts were made to better prepare for creative risks, further mentioning that despite this budget crunch, a third unannounced project is still being worked on.

As any other company we need to manage risks and sometimes that unfortunately means that we have to give notice and lay off staff. It’s not more complicated than that.

Looking at this from face value, I do question the judgment of keeping a virtually-unknown third project around while letting go of several employees. However, it’s safe to assume there were other factors at play here from a business angle, so perhaps it was a decision that had to be made. Either way, good luck to all those affected.