Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

"Revenge could be a little bit sweeter but what can you do?"

Ok I've had this game since it came out, very first day, at nine o'clock in the morning. Ever since ten o'clock, I've heard 75% of the people bash this game, 10% of the people praise the game and 10% of the people saying it's a good game with flaws, but they over inflate them into huge problems. The other 5% of the people are the people believe with. It is a good game and yes it has flaws but there really not that bad. It can be a little glitch (ex: the auto spare parts finder that doesn't actually find them) and some clipping issues do happen (ex: Mattais's beard). But all in all it is a really good game.

The game play is the best part of the game. It is an open world, sandbox mode, and destroy-everything-and-have-no-regrets game. You can go anywhere in the map (as long as you have unlocked it) at anytime you want. The missions, besides the outpost missions, are different for every faction and all of them are very enjoyable to do. You go from saving a hostage to destroying a church. You can work for a Gas company to a group of guerillas to pirates. All of the vehicles can be stolen, from motorcycles to helicopters to even full on tanks. It's all out chaos and you can choose who and what is going to be destroyed.

The graphics of the game are pretty good. There not of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare quality, but they are still rather well. The explosions look realistic even though the radius of destruction isn't. This game is not to scale. Grenades are about the size of your head or a little smaller, and you are about as tall as a tank. But apart from these easily ignorable factors, the graphics of the game looks like next-gen.

The game does include a lot of comedy. There are a lot of one liner's but they are used continuously and so after a while they can get repetitive. The other lines of dialog can also seem familiar after a few hours of play. Each faction only has one-two ways of reporting you and so every time, it's the same thing. If you can ignore these problems, the games dialog can be interesting.

The PMC and its inhabitants, also known as PMC's, are gathered through out the game. The first one you collect is a very... romantic Irish man name Ewen. He is a helicopter pilot that can move you to any outpost and headquarter you have ever been to. He can also bring you weapons, vehicles and even steal cash, fuel and airstrike munitions from anywhere on the map, assuming there isn't any SAM sites in the area. The second one you hire to your team is Eva. She is a very interesting woman who seems to hate Ewen. She can sell you special vehicles that she has created after you've collected spar parts across the map, 10 spare parts= 1 new vehicle. The third and final person you hire is Misha, a very, very drunk Russian pilot that is used to drop any bomb you may have in your stockpile.

Finally, the multiplayer co-op is awesome. It's so much fun recruiting a complete stranger and killing a massive amount of people. It is awesome. Having someone join you in a mission is so much fun. Two people, one HVT, ultimate destruction. Hell yeah!!

All in all, this game is great. It has flaws, but there not as bad as you think. The game play is fun, the comedy is great but repetitive, and the characters you meet are just that, characters. I really believe this game is worth every bit of money I spent on it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/08

Game Release: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (US, 08/31/08)