Premature Review: Mercenaries 2

Sep 11 2008

Premature Review: Mercenaries 2

As previously mentioned, we at GameOnYou UK unanimously enjoyed the Mercenaries 2 trailer. Something we can’t all agree on, however is what we think of the game itself. I’ve played it and I think that it’s delivered more enjoyment and action than most other games have managed in the past couple of years, and there have been a lot of great games in this period.

I have so far played the game for roughly 3 solid hours and I haven’t even scratched the surface of the game, and it’s already given me this much entertainment. As a view of the scope, there are about five factions who you can work for, each with their own set of missions, enemies and objectives… though helping one often means displeasing another. A system reminiscent of 2005 flop Boiling Point (A game which I myself like, acknowledging the flaws of course - many of which are ironed out with the application of 2.0 patch). Of course, having played through 3 hours I have only done 4 missions and met one of these factions.

What’s kept me occupied is the wide range of things to do outside missions (that, and consistently failing a mission involving a monster-truck) as you can take on a lot of optional side-missions, as well as scouting out large resources which can be used in later missions, such as oil tanks and munitions. Another side mission harks back to the original game’s 51 card deck style gameplay where you had to retrieve 51 targets each represented by a card which portrayed their rank and importance, getting double the pay if you manage to retrieve them alive. In Mercs 2 this returns in the form of High Value Targets (or HVTs) each faction assigns… always targets of a rival faction which are scattered across your map.

In order to accomplish your goals, you must make sure to stock up on a lot of firepower, as well as support (such as airstrikes and weapon drops) and be prepared to take down a lot of soldiers and a lot of scenery. How you will do this though depends on the character you choose (of which there are three). There’s the Mofo Swede who regenerate’s health faster, the Badarse Yank who can carry more ammo and the greedy Brit/Chinese woman who can run fast. I myself chose the American for the sole reason that he’s the coolest… well he’s always smoking a cigar (5 Inches of awesome). The choice however appears to make very little difference between the male characters as both of their traits are rendered almost useless by the abundance of ammo and the generous regeneration system anyway.

Another thing rendered useless is unfortunately the NPC’s AI, as friendlies run into walls shouting “Enemy is Here!” and enemies wait out in the open for you while it rains bullets or shoot RPGs at you when you’re standing next to them. Something which increases the challenge with the AI however is an interesting system where, if you’re attacking those who are friendly or neutral to you then some soldiers will attempt to report your actions to their bosses over radio and you need to kill those soldiers before they describe you to their superiors, to prevent relations with the faction decreasing.

Technically the game isn’t highly impressive, with graphics which feel somewhere between last-gen and current and could easily be obtained on lower end computers than the current requirements with a little bit of optimisation. The graphics are however a little pretty at times and eclipses those of games like Saints Row, although it’s arguably only a partial eclipse. The technology used in the game is tried and tested stuff, such as physics, but also an impressive fully destructible environment (a first on the current-gen formats) and it’s aspects like that which give this game an overall experience which is unrivalled.

It contains occasionally laughable humour, countless cliches, average storytelling and a general lack of complete polish which stop this game from achieving a higher level of greatness. The vehicle handling is generally acceptable except on motorbikes where it feels like you’re trying to wheelie on a turntable, but the vehicle (and general) physics are good enough to entertain.

While this game isn’t close to being a masterpiece it’s an original, action packed experience which is only matched by the original game and it’s a release every deserves to play. If it’s an average game then it’s set a new standard for average games as, while it sometimes feels average, something big will always be waiting around the next corner to lure you back to the edge of your seat. Simply put, I can’t wait to start playing this game again!

Playability – 1.5

Exciting combat, big bangs, original missions and a fully destructible environment keep your mind off the Dodgy AI and Quick Time Events (made bad only by their poor translation to the PC).

Addictiveness – 1.9

Online Coop, instant gratification combat and a huge variety of things to do will keep you itching to come back to this gem.

Value – 2.0

There are not only a lot of missions to do but a coop mode, and multiple players to choose from (all with their own cutscenes and dialogue) which give you much reason to play again. Even without the huge array of activities, the gameplay alone gives you reason for multiple playthroughs.

Opinion -1.8

The only thing letting this down for me is a lack of polish. The humour is more often funny than not and while the world isn’t exactly begging you to play with it, the missions beg you to destroy it. If a game can impress me so much after playing so little, I can imagine it’s only going to get better.