Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (Xbox 360)
It may not be everything that we hoped for in a sequel, but Mercenaries 2 is still mindless explosive fun.
9/4/2008 8:14 PM | 5 Comments | Page 1 of 3
What's Hot: Taking what you loved from the original (blowing up stuff) and making it even more addictive (blowing up more stuff with a bigger arsenal)
What's Not: Horrendous AI; Cooperative play is more like just getting help; Gameplay broken up by lots of loading time; Repetitive dialogue
Oh, what to take out first!
When it originally announced Mercenaries 2: World in Flames back in 2006, Pandemic Studios promised a buffet of fun: a massive world in which players would have the freedom to hop in any vehicle they want, GTA-style; a new fire engine that would allow users to set fire to large areas; seamless drop-in-drop-out cooperative play; and heaps upon heaps of destructible environments. Even though the team didn't completely deliver on the first three promises, blowing up stuff in this game is even more fun than it was in the original.
Moving locales to Venezuela, World in Flames doesn't change up the Mercenaries formula too much -- kill bad guys, destroy everything, make mad cash to buy new toys -- repeat. The backstory isn't all that deep, and basically your character is out for revenge after getting stiffed on a payment, screwed over by a partner, and shot in the ass by a drug lord turned power monger. Needless to say, even though the story touches on oil resources, overthrowing governments and such, it doesn't take itself all too seriously.
Sky rockets in flight ... Afternoon delight!
From the game's outset, you choose from three characters, each of which has one distinguishing special ability: Jennifer Mui (runs faster), Chris Jacobs (holds more ammunition) and Mattias Nilsson (regenerates health quicker). The story and character interactions are the same regardless of whom you pick, and from the get-go you're a gun-for-hire that's working towards building your own private military company. As you play through the numerous recon missions, base infiltrations, fetch quests, high-value target evaluations, assassinations and destruction missions, you'll build your core PMC members. By adding a mechanic, helicopter pilot and jet fighter, you'll be able to build vehicles, drop in supplies, and call upon airstrikes. Each of these members will give you more information about assignments as well as challenge levels that will test a variety of skills and unlock different items to purchase.
Dune buggies are just one of many vehicle choices you have.
Even though Mercenaries 2 takes place in a GTA-style open world where you can jack almost any vehicle of your choosing, this world isn't quite as polished as Rockstar's. First off, the NPCs and faction members you team alongside are not the brightest. Beeping your horn to have them hop in your vehicle is an exercise in frustration, and the moment you step out of your vehicle, they'll jump out, too -- instead of manning turrets --and promptly get killed. Plus, they'll utter the same lame phrases over and over and over.
Enemies, on the other hand, alternate from having superhuman vision from 200 yards out, to being deaf and blind from 10 feet out. It's more or less humorous that the members of the Venezuelan government were up in arms about the plot of this game; they should have been more concerned about how their own people were being portrayed. At least I don't feel all that bad about blowing up everyone in this game; rather, I'm probably doing the in-game population some justice.
Throughout Mercenaries 2, you'll have work alongside different factions that don't necessarily like each other. You can't just pick one faction and stick with them -- you'll have to side with each of them to progress the plot, open up more of the world, and unlock different vehicles and weaponry. However, work with one, and you may piss off another. It's pretty simple to get back on good graces with a faction that you upset by paying them off with a bribe, or pulling off a mission or two. The annoying part to this is that each faction offers different items in their shops -- so even if you unlocked a certain item from a faction, you'll have to travel to their location to purchase it.
