"What Kind of Explosive Garbage is this!!"



Wow, after playing the main game for only thirteen seconds I had
already decided to return the game to get Bad Company instead, and boy
I am so glad I did.



Firstly I want to get one thing straight; I am a fan of this first
Mercenaries on the PS2. It was one of the best games I had ever
played, and amazed me to no-end. Even the initial demo was really
cool, and you could blow up EVERYTHING, well almost. All the military
vehicals, helicopters, tanks and weapons were a joy to play with in
that 'Playground of Destruction!' and you could see elements of Star
War Battlefront within the gameplay, and certainly it was used by
pandemic as part of the coding for the game. This made the game a lot
of fun. Though that goes without saying that the game had faults. I
mean what game doesn't have mistakes, unfinished levels, and wierd
glitches (such as being catapaulted across the make-up of Korea in a
helcopter after I tried to carry a fuel truck on the winch, strange)
though all games have their short-comings; the GTA series has always
had strange gltches, and wierd happenings (planes falling out of the
sky) But now...



...what we have here is an utter load of tripe and a classic case of
Electronic Arts producing games because they know that the fan-base
will snap it up. Such as the poor Goldeneye: Rogue Agent game. (EA,
obviously, still have a lot to learn about fan pleasing, over money
squandering)



Mercenaries had changed production companies early on in its initial
development and was purchased from Lucas Arts by EA, and I was
thinking that maybe it would be another turn-around title for the
gaming giant; much like Bad Company, Dead Space, and Fifa have done in
2008. But no... the sad news is; the game that, and apart from GTA IV,
was one of the games I was most looking forward to playing, was a huge
let-down.



Firstly lets talk about graphics, or lack of it. I mean the game was
released on both x-Box 360 and PS3, yes I have played both versions,
and this is the kind of graphical quality on a game that I might have
come to expect from a regular PS2, or even back in 2006 on the next
gen consoles during its early days. Not in 2008. I mean you have to
see this crap to believe it. All I can say kid, is don't believe in
these screen shots, they misslead. The main character models are the
only things that seem to be HD, shiny, and anything close to good
rendering.



The gameplay is okay, if a little shabby. The control system for the
first Mercenaries was perfect, and my motto is don't fix something
that ain't broke (something Activision seems to know well with its COD
series, and Crytek UK, formally known as Free Radical Design, the
developers of the TimeSplitters series of First Person Shooters, and
the hugely under appreciated Haze.) Anyway the controls have been
revamped, but not in a good way. Natrualistic controls seem to have
been up-rooted in favor of an overly complex mess of 'which button
throws a grenade?!', and 'how the hell do you change to the other
weapon I'm carrying?!'. Disappointing. And then there is the in-game
PDA, and the rest of the interfacing with the game world. It gives me
a headache just thinkng about it. EA have screwed up the PDA into this
big Logo of the game, I mean why be so subtle; they may as well paste
the EA symbol im BIG RED LETTERS onto the in game buildings, cars, &
tanks. Infact there of no-sign within this load of rush work, of the
far superior game that this one sequals. To be totally honest, the
controls suck.



Though I will admit that the open ended gameplay, and the ability to
go anywhere is probably this games only redeeming feature (and its
bargain-bin price) but with so many games that follow the same
formula; GTA being the best example, this is nothing more than a
tiresome clone. A rip off, a clone of a game that needed no
improvements, yet Pandemic were only so happy, under EA's guidance, to
add and distort what was initially looking like a promising game that
had three years of development time, yet it looks like something
thrown together at the last minute. What gives? However something
slightly suprising is the sound engine.



The sound design, considering the rest of the games' quality is
something; by which I mean that this is your average sound design of a
game that just can't cut it standing next to the likes of the previous
Mercenaries, or Bad Company, and not even close to standing with GTA.
Amoung all the wrong turns and short cuts it a sound sound engine
(forgive the pun) it does, like Ronseal, exactly what it says on the
tin. In other words... its fine. Nothing wrong with it, nor anything
especially interesting.



However what got me was the games story; it centres around the plot of
(which ever one of) the Mercenaries characters getting shot in the ass
by someone who betrayed him/her and is about revenge. I thought it
would have been a funny plot, but the joke just doesn't work, none of
the dialogue is memorable, nor is my bothering to tell you the rest of
the lame plot. I mean, just go buy Bad Company if you want to blow
something up. It is a better alternitive. Or even go and fork over €60
for a second hand PS2 and Mercenaries and have a ball. Why not get GTA
San Andreas while you're at it....



The Verdict- THIS REVIEW SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, I'm totally disgusted with
this game, and I feel ripped off by EA once more.
"EA! theres a ticked off gamer here!"



The number game:

Graphics- 3
Gameplay- 4
Sound Design- 7
Plot/Story- 2
Replayability- 7

Score- 4.6



Final Words- I'm not proud to admit this, but this game contains a fun
co-op online multiplayer in which the entire game can be played
together with another Mercenaries 2 owner, especially fun with a
friend. Possibly the best feature of the game.



Author Note- This review is entirely my opinion and I have been
completely fair in my scoring and have tried to keep a balance to it.
However, even though my review was un-biazed by the corporate media,
and I have been completely honest in my opinion there will ofcourse be
those who do not share my opinions. That is the trait of we humans, to
make our own decisions on things. Thus I urge you to try Mercenaries
2, do not rely justly on my thoughts.

Happy Gaming!!

-Jedireaper