"Ever get that, destructive sensation?"

Mercenaries is a true example of what happens when you have a great idea that will give you hours of enjoyment as you play through. The basic concept for the game was, blow things up. If it wasn't, well it sure has a knack for it. Players were introduced to a game that not only let you travel around for hours just shooting things, but a game that also has an intriguing story.

Ah, purely a great example of how well the ps2 controller fits some games. If Madden or Kingdom Hearts didn't teach you that, then this will. Defiantly some of the best controls on the ps2. The buttons flow great, and are never confusing. You will be forced to think on your feet a lot, and it helps that the controller layout will help you more than the X-Box controller.

Shooting is done simple, and every gun is different. I was disappointed that there were no small type of guns like pistols in the game and the fact that you could go first-person, hence the 9, but other than that, it's a great flow throughout the game.

Defiantly the greatest surprise to me about Mercenaries. I thought when I first saw it, that with the subtitle, “Playground of Destruction” That the games story would be lacking and just meant for you to blow things up. But no, the story is actually quite long and compelling.

The game starts with you choosing one of three characters, I big burly white Swedish guy, a fast and knowledgeable British woman, and the all around American black guy. All have their pros and cons, even though the black guy is the coolest, and everyone has a different weapon of choice and speak a certain language each.

But besides that, the action starts as you are inserted in Korea, in the middle of a giant battle between North Koreans and allied forces. South Korea and North Korea are at war, after a North Korean ship was found carrying nuclear weapons. The President of North Korea is in an uproar that his boats were carrying such cargo, but is soon "killed" by his own son, who takes control, and announces war on the world pretty much. The fighting has gotten worse and the last thing the Nations know what to do is send one last Mercenary, you.

The stories main purpose is to capture, or if need be kill, The Deck of 52, the 52 most dangerous and brilliant minds behind North Koreas attacks. It's a well thought out, and well executed story, and if you ever need a break, just ride around for hours killing North Koreans, any way you can imagine.

The sound is some of the most impressive gun sounds I have heard in games ever. Everything sounds realistic, including the hummers and jeeps. The weaponry is probably the most impressive thing in the game though, and I just can't express that enough. They sound awesome. The only thing that I was disappointed in though, was that some of the characters sounded kind of off, don't get me wrong, they sounded great, but some of them just didn't match the person to me.

Mercenaries is great in a many number of ways, unfortunately graphics isn't really one of them. The environments look just spectacular. The explosions, even better, especially when you order bomb strikes from the air, hehe, so funny seeing people running around screaming. But, the one thing that brought the game down, was that the character models were, sad, for a lack of a better word. Sure they looked average, but the faces on characters were weird and blocky, and the enemys seemed fuzzy for some reason.

Mercenaries is one of the best games to free roam around for hours, or if you just like to blow things up. I have never had an experience like Mercenaries and has its own sense of game play and style, that I have never experienced before. A definite buy, and will keep you going for hours on end.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/06/05, Updated 01/04/06