Playstation Two Reviews- Mercenaries2: World in Flames

Mercenaries 2. As I have said before (http://gameolosophy.com/games/mercenaries-playground-of-destruction/) Mercs 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, so as you can imagine, I freaked out when I heard they would be making a sequel. I first heard about Mercs 2 in February 2008, and couldn’t wait until the scheduled release date in August. Later, my brother and I discovered the website, www.mercs2.com, and my jaw dropped at what I saw. Incredible didn’t scratch the surface. World in Flames was the perfect description. There would be all new weapons, vehicles, tons more bounties, and incalculable amounts of destruction! I new better than to expect the amazing graphics I saw for the PS2 version, but with everything else I saw, it didn’t matter.

Mercs 2 promised the ability to stockpile vehicles, weapons, and airstrikes. The map was to be larger than both the maps of Mercs 1 combined. You could swim (water in Mercs 1 resulted in almost instant drowning), drive boats, monster trucks, carry silenced pistols, bash through shanty-towns in semi-trucks, and of course, use a nuke to bring down Ramon Solano; the newly elected president of Venezuela who betrayed you and didn’t pay for your services.

I actually got my copy of Mercs 2 a couple days before the August 31st release date. I got back to my dorm, and started playing. It felt like good old Mercenaries. Same controls, same feel. The movie cutscenes were somthing Mercs 1 had lacked, but this one had them.

But as I kept playing I realized it was basically the same of Mercs 1, just a new environment and storyline. It also played very quickly, and the difficulty wasn’t there. The AI was pretty bad, maybe even a downstep from Mercs 1. But at least in Mercs 1 there were enough of them to make it a fun battle. Mercs 2 lacksthe underground tunnel entrances and little enemy bases scattered throughout the map that always ensured a firefight in Mercs 1. Most of the vehicles were just remakes of vehicles in Mercs 1 (though the Ambassador gunship is pretty sweet).

The whole stockpiling supplies was an ultimate disappointment as well. You are required to buy supplies from contacts you meet around the map. Supplies go to your stockpile where you can pick them up or have them delivered from. This is worse than Mercs 1! You can’t just order an airstrike or a vehicle on the spot, you have to have one in your stockpile, if you don’t you’re screwed.

Now don’t get me wrong, this game can be fun, but it’s nothing like what the PS3, Xbox 360, or PC versions are like. I bought the PC version later, and now that was a good game. I have renamed Mercs 2 for the PS2 Mercs 1.5, because it’s pretty much Mercs 1 with a new storyline. I would really only recommend renting it; don’t buy it unless you a hardcore Mercs 1 fan and aren’t looking for anything more.