Mercenaries

"A game where you'll want to make tanks out of trees.."

Imagine running down the street and coming across an ensuing battle that pits the Allies against the North Koreans. All of a sudden, you see a North Korean tank join the fray and totally decimate the Allies. You think how you could do something to make this battle turn to the side of the Allies. That's when you realize that you're a mercenary and have a whole arsenal at your disposal. You decide to call in an airstrike to take out the tank. You aim the laser sight on the tank and patiently wait for the plane to pass through and turn the tank into a pile of rubble. That's when you hear a plane screech overhead and you see a missile rain down from the sky and hit the monstrosity. BOOM! The tank explodes and the North Koreans don't know what hit them.

That's one of the more basic scenarios behind Pandemic's game called Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. General Choi Song, the son of the reigning President Kim, wasn't too happy with the way his father was going with the country. He decides to stage a military coup and overthrows his father, personally killing him in the process. Song manages to get his hands on some nuclear weapons and is a major threat to the world and that's where you come in, the mercenary, to try and stop the most dangerous man on the planet. You are sent to North Korea to try and stop Song and his regiment, which have been identified as a playing card deck. From the moment you are dropped onto the land, you are immersed into a battlefield of chaos and mayhem.

You are thrown into battle as soon as you land. The game uses a mission-based premise for the main gameplay. There are 4 different factions that you can work for: the South Koreans, the Chinese, the Allied Nations (AN) and the Russian Mafia. Each of them have their own reasons for being in the country, like the Russian Mafia is there just to get a firm grasp on the black market. Each one also has a faction assigned to them that can be manipulated in several ways. Of course, killing any member of that faction will reduce it, only if they see you doing it. They can't hate you if they don't see you! You will be pushing the limits of the factions when you're doing the contracts. It all pays off in the end though, since you'll get intelligence on the Deck of 52 after a majority of the contracts.

The Deck of 52 is the main focus of the game and what you'll mostly be doing. There are a total of two maps, with two suits on each map. Each numbered card is hidden throughout the map and it's your job to find out where they are. Of course, should you gain intel on them from doing the contracts, it makes your job much easier in locating them. The cards won't go without a fight though, so you're given a huge arsenal of weapons to help in your endeavor. You can carry two weapons at any single time, as well as grenades, C4 and the availability of multiple airstrikes. You'll probably be creating plenty of explosions in trying to capture all of the cards!

One of the things you'll notice about the visuals are the explosions are simply marvelous. Whether it's a simple grenade taking out a jeep or an airstrike that demolishes a building, you'll be amazed over and over again. The explosions aren't the only thing in the game worth looking at though. The characters are well animated and move quite well, even when they're at the center of an explosion. You will see the enemies fly almost like they would in real life, thanks to the implemented Havok physics engine. Nothing is more satisfying than watching a jeep fly hundreds of feet after planting C4 underneath it. There also isn't any sort of slowdown even when things get hectic, which they undoubtedly will in some of the more intense battles.

When you're not fascinated by the visuals, you'll probably be amazed by the sounds. The dialog heard throughout the game is simply well done and there are absolutely no downsides to it. There are plenty of humorous moments, like the “destroy everything” mentality of Mattias Nilsson, one of the three characters you can play as. Pandemic opted to go on the route of a more classical touch for the music of the game. It really fits the game well when it plays, but the lack of a variety and points when it plays detracts a little bit from the overall experience.

From the sound of everything so far, the game seems amazing and nearly flawless. It is stupendous for the most part, but that's not to say the game isn't without flaws. There are a few glitches here and there that shouldn't have been included in the game. For instance, the shotgun in this version of the game emits no sound when shot, whether by you or your enemies. According to some people, the game may freeze up at times, but it isn't too common. One of the biggest gripes with the game comes into play with one of Mother Nature's most plentiful gifts, trees. Bridges don't seem to be a problem for you and neither do tanks and other heavily armored vehicles. Even fortified buildings can be demolished with the right tools, but should you mess with one of Mother Nature's creations, you'll be met with a resistance so strong, you'll want to make a tank out of the stuff. Sure, the other guys might laugh at you, but the joke's on them.

One last thing that can detract from the game a bit is the varying amounts of difficulty in the missions and capturing of the Deck of 52. There is no difficulty setting that you can toggle that makes the game any easier or harder. The missions themselves vary greatly from being very easy to sometimes being very hard, but this is probably one of the better points in the game. During a majority of the missions in the game, the simple “run n' gun” strategy won't work; you will actually have to use your brain some to get past some of the tougher missions. Of course, they're not so difficult that it's impossible to pass them, which is the right variance of difficulty. The game can also provide many hours of entertainment as you roam about two huge maps looking for trouble. The game may be short when it comes down to the cards, but the fact that you can collect a plethora of goodies such as blueprints, national treasures, and others can prolong the game.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction is a very enjoyable game that can provide a lot of entertainment when it comes down to it. After you finish the game once, you can begin anew with all of your previous stats in a mode called Playground of Destruction. That means you have all of your airstrikes and support items from your previous game at your disposal. Think of it as a New Game +. There is a tremendous amount of replay in the game, whether it's collecting items or even driving around looking for battles. You can go around and do whatever you want; sure, some people may hate you for your actions, but a little money thrown around can make them do a 180 like a car on an oval race track. If you can see it, you can fly it, drive it, hijack it or blow it up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/05