As gaming concepts go, none seem quite as fun as the idea behind Mercenaries. You wonder around a huge world blowing up whatever you like AND get wheelbarrow full of cash for the privilege. Sweet.
The original Mercenaries on the PS2 and Xbox was decent enough, but failed to be quite as thrilling as we’d hoped. There just wasn’t enough power in that generation of consoles to give Mercs the treatment it deserved.
So here we go on the brand new high definition beasts – and this time the action has been ramped right up.
They say:
Gamespot: “Mindless, random destruction provides some thrills, but there are so many better open world action games out there (including the original Mercenaries for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox).”
Videogamer: “Somehow, despite the extended development time, Mercenaries 2 feels rushed which simply isn't good enough when it's going to be directly compared to the ultra slick GTA IV and the high quality of the original game.”
Eurogamer: “Pandemic has produced a game that not only fails to compete with any current generation openworld, but somehow takes a backward step from the original.”
We say:
As you may have noticed from the bombardment of Mercs TV ads, the budget and the expectation behind this title are huge.
Playing as one of three Mercenaries, this sequel is all about revenge. It transpires that some silly sausage used your services but is refusing to cough up the dosh. And that’s a daft mistake when you consider what being a mercenary is all about.
The story admittedly is pretty awful. The voice acting is terrible, the plot laughable and it’s about as brainless as the Die Hard films. But when this is all about the balls out action, what did we really expect?
As promised, the world is huge and full of buildings to blow up. Hit a huge skyscraper with a rocket and you'll see it crumble with a fantastically gorgeous explosion filling your screen. If only the rest was as well executed as our description above.
The size of the game world is the biggest problem. Big is best, right? Well not here. It takes ages to get from one contract to the next and there’s just not enough to do or see on the way.
Second, blowing stuff up might be fun but it’s not always in your best interests. Different factions will pay for your services if they like you enough and just one stray bullet is enough to make them very displeased with you indeed. So simply wandering around and blowing buildings into dust makes about as much sense as urinating on an electrified fence. Which kind of defeats the point.
Third, as good as the variety of weapons on offer is, none feel particularly chunky. In fact we’d go as far as saying they’re all seriously underpowered. A regular civilian takes at least a dozen shots to knock down and that’s very odd setup indeed. It’s as if everyone is clad in flak jackets from head to toe.
Still, there’s always the explosions to cheer you up. Pandemic’s got them working just right and they’re truly a sight to behold. It’s just a shame they rushed the rest – the characters are functional at best and the Venezuelan landscape isn’t half as jaw dropping as you’d expect.
Your enemies aren’t exactly Mensa members either. Some of them will just casually watch their friends being blown to bits and stand perfectly still as you wander up and punch them on the nose. Others will happily blast a rocket launcher at you from a few yards, oblivious to the effect it’ll have on their own anatomy.
Mercenaries 2 just feels rushed. The idea’s fantastic, but the actual game doesn’t back it up. The poor story, underpowered weapons and a horrific number of bugs – like helicopters vanishing before your very eyes – make this title one to miss. Shame.
Like this? Try these:
Crackdown – Xbox 360
Grand Theft Auto IV – PS3, Xbox 360
Mercenaries – PS2, Xbox
FORMAT REVIEWED
Xbox 360
OTHER FORMATS
PS3, PS2, PC
POSTED...
Tue 9 Sep at 10:43pm
