Review: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

Mercenaries 2 invites you to blow the living crap out of more stuff, this time in Venezuela. How could you possibly resist?

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Adding the action sequences for hijacking would be a mood-killer though. Though, from your glowing review, it sounds like their brief enough where it still allows hijacking to be possible and doesn't disturb gameplay too greatly.

Am I the only one who has an issue with the vehicle break sound? It sounds like scratching a chalkboard with steel nails.

Great review, man. I couldn't agree more. Aside from the QTE's, the only other annoying thing I have run across so far is the shallow pool of dialogue from the AI. Basically, the game is just a lot of fun blowing shit up.

I agree. This game is a blast. It's got it's share of problems, but nothing worse than GTAIV. Of course, GTAIV was getting perfect scores all over the place. Shenanigans, I tell you!!!

I just had my "Moment I Wished I'd Had Before Writing the Review" for this game. Which was a mission so incredibly frustrating I wish I hadn't picked up the controller, while simultaneously wishing I could throw it through the TV screen.

Beware the "Jungle Cruise" mission. All I'm saying.

I played the first Mercenaries game at a friends house, and had some fun with it. After reading this review, I definitely think Mercenaries 2 is getting added to my "to buy" list. Very enjoyable, informative review.

Never actually got to play Mercenaries 1, but I heard 2 was an improvement on everything in that game so I just assumed the QTEs were part of that one too. I don't really mind them in this game. Hijacking a tank or helicopter would be boring if it was instantaneous and always successful.
I really wish you could co-op with more than 1 other person though. 4 would be nice, but there are 3 mercs in the game, you'd think it would be possible to have all three in action at once. Three of the best mercs in the world and at least one has to sit out? Why?

oldmanscene24:
Aside from the QTE's, the only other annoying thing I have run across so far is the shallow pool of dialogue from the AI.

It's not just the dialogue, it's the fact that the NPCs feel compelled to chatter at you every 5-10 seconds. I was driving a tank to an outpost last night with a UP merc in the gunner seat, and I think I heard every possible dialogue option 3 or 4 times. I wanted to get out of the tank and shoot him in the face but I was worried he'd take off with my ride.

Other than that, yeah, the game kicks ass, especially if you were a fan of the original.

Nice review Russ, I agree. The game is fun for all of the reasons stated and I like that you didn't feel obligated to get hung up over the technical snafus and irrelevant lack of detail in some aspects of the game.

And you're dead on about the QTE, there's definitely a God of War fanboy in the EA production offices who spoke up when he wasn't supposed to.

Oh, and is there anyway to delay the airstrike? I try to attach the homing beacon to a jeep just to drive it into the middle of a base but I can't seem to get enough distance between me and the airstrike when I dive out.

there is only 2 things in this game that sux but they can fix in updates #1 the fucking water is so bad #2 the online but i do know its still new so the 2nd one is easy to fix

Oh, and is there anyway to delay the airstrike? I try to attach the homing beacon to a jeep just to drive it into the middle of a base but I can't seem to get enough distance between me and the airstrike when I dive out.

I haven't tried that trick with sir strike beacons. Works wonders with C4 though. Attach to car, aim car at oil tanks, dive out, detonate. Boomdeyada.

As for air strikes, I somehow always manage to get out of range. Guess I'm lucky.

Also, shooting billboards for cash is my new favorite thing. Spent about an hour last night doing just that.

Russ Pitts:

Also, shooting billboards for cash is my new favorite thing. Spent about an hour last night doing just that.

Huh, wha?

Explain... I didn't know about this.

Mercinaries 2 is out?! Whaaaat?!
Is it out in the UK? Please tell me its out in the UK!
Did i mention your review was good? 'Twas a good review indeed.

Shooting billboards is a random mission for the PLAV faction. I honestly don't remember how I got assigned the mission, but I suspect it came about by opening up all of their outposts.

Russ Pitts:
Shooting billboards is a random mission for the PLAV faction. I honestly don't remember how I got assigned the mission, but I suspect it came about by opening up all of their outposts.

Yeah, I don't remember how I picked up that mission either. I just remember shooting a billboard for the fun of it and getting paid for it. I wish there was a real life analog for this.

The bio-line should have really been: Russ Pitts has been waiting forever to use the line ...

:D

Russ Pitts:
I just had my "Moment I Wished I'd Had Before Writing the Review" for this game. Which was a mission so incredibly frustrating I wish I hadn't picked up the controller, while simultaneously wishing I could throw it through the TV screen,

So you write reviews before actually completing a game. Interesting.

Don't you think you owe it to your readers to at least add a disclaimer along the lines of "I wrote this before finishing the game, so it may not present an accurate picture of the whole experience...." at the top of your review?

Russ Pitts:
Shooting billboards is a random mission for the PLAV faction. I honestly don't remember how I got assigned the mission, but I suspect it came about by opening up all of their outposts.

you get this mission from the PLAV and when u do the first mission u unlock there extra missions so billboards and destroying buildings and so on so if u get hated with PLAV and need there weps just go do there extra missions but the VIP's is what u have to watch if you walk into there vip u will get shot and hostile

i was wondering if it was any good, thanks for the review.

The review was good, and you make the game sound pretty fun, but I'm still a bit hesitant because of how many sites across the net are giving this such mixed reviews. Many of them are claiming a large number of bugs. Did you encounter any noticeable bugs throughout your play?

From all the mainly negative reviews on other sites I was starting to think this game was going to be a huge disappointment. Thankfully when I got it home I came to basically the same conclusion as Russ did. This game is great for the same reason the first one was. You get to blow stuff up in a giant persistent world.

No, it's no 'Mona Lisa' but it is still a great deal of fun for all the right reasons. This game is more of a sports game the sense that it does one thing very well, and not much else. There is some repetition due to that, but it's forgiveable, those minor annoyances seem to be the nature of the beast.

The PC port on the other hand is awful, I had the 'pleasure' of sitting down with my friend's copy of the game on PC and it was so ugly and glitchey that we went back to my flat to play it on 360.

wilsonscrazybed:
The PC port on the other hand is awful, I had the 'pleasure' of sitting down with my friend's copy of the game on PC and it was so ugly and glitchey that we went back to my flat to play it on 360.

Really? What are you playing it on? I D/L'ed the PC version just to try out (I bought the PS3). I was so impressed with how clean it was on the PC that I might go back and buy it again.

BleachedBlind:
The review was good, and you make the game sound pretty fun, but I'm still a bit hesitant because of how many sites across the net are giving this such mixed reviews. Many of them are claiming a large number of bugs. Did you encounter any noticeable bugs throughout your play?

There are a few bugs in the Ps3 version but in no way do they affect they gameplay enough to warrant a 5/10 score like those obviously corrupt editors at gamespot gave it. It is what it is, an explosively entertaining romp through the towns and jungles of Venezuela with tons of firepower. Anyone expecting something more complicated should stick to their barely understandable Japanese hentai rpgs (Aaron Thomas you moron). The only criticism I could add is that it's a jungle so where are the monkeys? I want to blow up lots and lots of monkeys over and over.

The Best part of the game is this song

http://www.pandemicstudios.com/mercenaries/audio/Oh_No_Full_Length.mp3

Ok on the whole a good review but you can hardly mention this game with out pointing out some of the bugs which make completing it a chore.

Danzorz:

TomNook:
Am I the only one who has an issue with the vehicle break sound? It sounds like scratching a chalkboard with steel nails.

The noise is so horrificly annoying I avoid driving at all times.

I agree with you too on that aspect. My mate figured out a way to delete/modify the entering vehicles sound files, if I can get him to tell me through simple instructions I'll post it up. Though this is obviously only for computer versions.