Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

"Overall, A Fun Gaming Experience."

Mercenaries is a third-person action game where you play as one of three mercenaries. You try to rack up the money and mayhem by finding and securing resources, doing jobs for local factions, and seeking revenge on those who wronged you.

Gameplay
If you've played Mercs 1 then you an easily get into Mercs 2. There have been some changes this time around, but you are still about to cause mayhem and destruction wherever you go. As you progress through the game, factions will give you some contracts that steer you toward your final goal; defeating the evil dictator that tried to kill you. At first you only have access to a few weapons and vehicles that you can scavenge, but as you go on you will gather resources and people that can help you gain access to even more resources. Missions play through pretty simply; most objectives have you killing and destroying assets and soldiers from other factions or from the main Venezuelan threat. Controls work well to give you control over your character. Shooting is easy to get into and piloting most vehicles works fine. If you have played Mercs 1 it's pretty much exactly the same here. Each character is essentially the same except for a minor ability each one has. Mattias can regenerate health faster, Chris can find and carry more ammo, and Jen can move faster. Overall, the gameplay is fun and exciting and, while repetitive, should keep you having a good experience throughout.

Story
Story is basic here. You've been wronged by a few people, some factions want to use you for their own goals, and you simply set out to make people pay. Each character has the same story and the only difference is some dialogue changes on your side. The story isn't good or bad, its just there. I don't think the story matters in a game like this anyway.

Graphics/Sound
Graphics look good for certain things. Fire and explosions are great. The main characters all have good models, as well as most vehicles, most textures look decent, and most buildings look ok, but not great. Also, much of the VZ countryside looks great, with the water being a minor exception, it just doesn't look quite right. Other character models are a step down to the protagonists. Pop up still occurs and when looking through a scope or binoculars you get blurriness and pixelation. Overall, the game is a definite step up over the first game and I would say it is near par with most next gen games.

Play Time/Replayability
You'll have a good time playing this through. The game isn't too long is you run through it, but if you take you time to just have fun with it, it can last you a while. I intend to replay the game with all characters just because I like them all, and the co-op you can get into is really fun when you just want to have help with a mission or you just want to have fun blowing stuff up. In co-op you are tethered to the other player by a good distance which means you can't just go anywhere you want away from each other. But why would you be playing co-op if you didn't want to play with each other anyway, so it didn't become a problem for me and the people I played with. I know that over the next few months with others titles coming out I will definitely come back to this time and time again like I did with the first game.

Final Recommendation
If you liked the first, you should like this one. If you like third-person action, you should have a lot of fun with it. Minor glitches here and there haven't swayed me from completing missions or having fun. The co-op helps you get together with other people to have some great fun as well. I recommend a purchase to those who enjoy the genre. If you still fell wary, go ahead and rent it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/08

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