Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Comments by Kristan Reed

"This game is nowhere near only worth a 5 out of 10. It's the most fun sandbox game I've played in a long time, and I just cannot understand why it deserves a full 5 points less than over hyped crock like GTA IV. Oh wai...did the cheque from EA not arrive then? That would explain it I guess."


The big difference is GTA had way better production values.

Mercenaries 2 is a buggy piece of shit. Gun play is unsatisfying. The cut-scenes have been done in a rush and have the most awful acting. The story is pathetic. The engine is a buggy mess. The AI is absolutely awful. Atleast GTA 4 actually put effort into creating a decent engine, got decent voice actors in, made gun fights enjoyable and has AI that understands you can't walk through a wall.

GTA4 may not have been worth some of the scores it got but atleast the quality and production values were there unlike Mercs 2.

I just bought it, and I have to agree with Haloboy!
yes its buggy, yes the production values are not that high...but it is just stupid entertaining fun, just like crackdown....its had me laughing out loud many times in the past hour....50% laughing with the game, 50% laughing at it! but I dont care, I am having a damned good time playing it. the gun play is fun, its less sluggish than GTA, & blowing stuff up is pretty stupidly over the top.

I saw an AI get stuck in a tree, I laughed at his crap ai while I shot him (and was disappointed pandemic didnt have the guy shouting "My pathfinding and collision is so bad I am stuck in a tree!" which really wouldn't be out of place in this game. Then I got the devastator...which yes made me laugh in different ways.

GTA4 has plenty of bugs too people. I've seen many cars stuck in mid air etc. I once walked into clucking bell and ended up in a wireframe box, I then fell through the floor and landed back outside the restaurant....

@ Godz_Mercenary

"The big difference is GTA had way better production values"

And? It may well have had vastly superior production values, but it still suffers from the same problems every other sandbox/open world title does. Try watching the following link and then tell me higher production values saved GTA IV from being a partially train wreck of a game?

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...

What I am getting at is I bet I've witnessed first hand worse glitches/bugs/crazy shit in GTA IV than I have while playing Mercs 2 so far, and yet all I'm reading is how broke Mercs 2 is. Right.

To end, GTA IV was about as fun as knocking my knee against my desk. Mercs 2 on the other hand is like having 2 hot babes in the sack and both want to tickle my feet until I wee a little with roaring laughter.

I rented it and think it's great fun. I think 5 is a very unfair score, I'd say it's more like a 7 or 8.

To each his own. Kristan may not like the game, big deal. Leveling abuse at them for their opinion is really just a waste of time. What amazes me though, is the fact that so many people base their purchases on something as subjective as a person's opinion (a total stranger to boot). Surely as a gamer you know what you like and dislike and don't need someone to hold your hand and direct you to what you should play. If anyone deserves abuse it's morons who changed their pre-orders based on this review. Think for yourselves for a change, you might be pleasantly surprised ; ).

Anyway, on a more relevant note, the game is great. Sure the AI is incredibly stupid (no more stupid than what you would find in any sandbox game GTA IV included), but the combat works and the level of destruction you can inflict on the world around you is unprecedented. If blowing shit up sounds like your cup of tea then check the game out. If not, go play whatever else floats your boat : P.

I think it has to be played in coop to fully appreciate it. Great fun. Bad game. But we play for fun dont we?

In answer to my own questions (seeing as EG can't be arsed ;D) yes, you can swim, so that's no longer an issue. Being run over still kills you faster than being shot, but not as fast as I remember it doing in the 1st one, and I haven't found it as much of an issue. All in all, I'm really enjoying it so far. If you liked the original, or if you just like the sound of a run and gun shoot-em-up as opposed to a dour war sim, then I can't really see any reason you wouldn't like this.

"Gamespot gave the game a 5 too. It just sucks kids. Too bad, you bought it and now it sucks and you're hurt. "

Oh, Gamespot and EG both gave it a 5? I guess that renders my opinion invalid then? You complete and utter tool.

5/10, I don't know if you read these things Kristan but I think you need to have a word with yourself. This is the first time I have ever posted on this board because your review of this game which has shocked me into action. If this was your sites intent then mission complete.
Yes, this game is by no means perfect or even the best of its type that I have played but please don't build up GTA like its any less buggy that MERCS 2 because ..it isn't unless its scripted for your girlfriend to get run over by passing traffic whilst she attempts to go home after the first date? and of course lets not forget the great AI that GTA sports every cycle, you know the type, like dudes running into non physical objects because they get stuck between way points and then can never reach them.

I would say if you like a game that is as cheesy as its name then go with this. Its a good laugh and has loads of things to blow up :). Think of it as a crap action movie you can play and your on the money. I think 7 is a worth while score, oh and 4/10 for smash court....no words!

Nice to see not everyone takes EG's reviews as law. Because they were really wide of the mark on this one.

*Blows up EG*

I’m 30% into the game and these are a few of the gems I’ve encountered so far! One bug was a critical as I had to restart the mission, though the majority were able to workaround with other just being sandbox quirks that you should expect from a large game map!

1. The pick up fuel Helicopter got stuck in a flag pole and was unable to pick up the fuel I had marked.
2. When I marked some munitions to be picked up by the helicopter, it picked up the fuel that it got stuck in the flag earlier!
3. Entered a trawler that was two trawlers stuck together intersecting each other!
4. The mission where the executive is shredding sensitive company documents and you have to escort him to safety. The executive got stuck in the passenger seat of a helicopter I bought to transport him to the refinery. I had to restart the mission! (Critical issue).
5. When a bunker bomb explosion went off! My TV flickered to black for about 1 second before returning the picture. Observed only once!
6. I got trapped in small bushes at least twice! With a lot of jumping, running and melee I was able to escape the situation.
7. Target practice level 1 – shooting the statue heads, where the statues fall down and its impossible to get a shot on the fallen head!

The game is clearly slightly behind the times in terms of quality when put up against the likes of GTA4 though it is without out a doubt very fun indeed, and that at end of the day is what counts!

Loads of features could have been implemented to make game play smoother and more coherent as it does leave you on your jacks from pretty much the outset! Though I’ll say again it’s FUN! And I do recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a sandbox experience! 5/10 is a very controversial score in my opinion as I would have given it a maximum of 7!

Ok I also now played this game for about 10 hours (guestimate). I will admit that I was a big fan of the original Mercenaries game, which may cloud my judgement. Then again, I am usually very critical about games.

In short: I love playing this game and I think that even against GTA's admittedly high standard, it deserves marks above 6.

Why? Because the gameplay fundamentals are extremely solid. Controls are good if not great and so are the gameplay rules. Added to that is a huge gameplay world littered with things to do and toys to play with. The comparions with Crackdown are valid, and to me, this is the better game, even though I hugely enjoyed Crackdown. To me this has more character, better toys (the vehicles are just fantasic fun), and the fact that literally everything can be destroyed or set in flame just adds a guilty fun to the mix. In GTA, I'd have this rocket launcher and a bank to rob, but I can't shoot the bank to bits. In mercs, you can!

Sure, there are some bugs, and the game is not polished to a shine like GTA. And yes, the constant whining of the same 5 sentences gets irritating quick. Then again, none of these are show stoppers.

As for the AI, take into consideration that there's a lot of AI going on about you at a given time, and the game always plays smoothly. Here the AI also flies choppers, drives tanks, and does all sort of other stuff you'll never see in a game like GTA. While some of the AI is pretty silly, I've also seen them take cover, go on their belly, or run for cover.

Finally, some defense for the graphics in the game. While not realistic, the engine is incredible! Try flying in a chopper and see the game world below you. Of course you have the same in GTA. Then realize that you can nuke one of the cities. That's the fun and guilty pleasure this game gives you, and what Eurogames doesn't seem to get...

As for a 5 for this? Come on Kristian...

Heh, think this is bad then have a look at the GamesRadar PS2 review.
Oh dear. Big Mutha Truckers might have some competition. :)

well at least its still selling ok...but its hard to tell....
http://kotaku.com/5047113/british-sales-...

The videos make it sure look like fun for the casual gamer, ala Just Cause.
Morrisons are currently doing PS3 chart games at £25 so I'm tempted to take a punt :)

I would give it a 3 to be honest as it's rather irritating and badly developed...

Just Cause is better imo

Oh no you didn't
EA tried to play me and steal my money, never
Oh no you didn't
Payback is a comin, EA will keep runnin, forever
Oh no you didn't
Till I get my vengeance, I will never end this, post spam
Oh no I didn't
I'm a loyal player, you ain't got a prayer, you owe meeeeee!

@SEVQA

Brilliant, almost split my sides..

i think we should try and make that the official song!

@ BillyBrush

Mercs Deux is a positive step away from the torturous mundane as sin missions that Just Cause was littered with. Also in Mercs the AI is better, the combat, the missions, the vehicles handle far better I could go on and on. The one and only thing JC did better than Mercs is the sky diving, which is sorely missed when you are way up in the air. Plus JC's lush islands were far prettier than Mercs' more gritty based locations.

I really cannot see why you'd think JC was still the better game. And I was a big fan of JC myself when it was released and really look forward to what Avalanche bring to the table with Just Cause 2.

The game reminded me a lot of just cause too. But just cause was so damn boring with some of its missions and way too buggy for me to deal with. I liked Mercs 2, graphics were very good missions were fun most of the time. I enjoyed the fact it was hard to die it let me try some crazy ass stuff lol.

All in all its a good game for what it promises which is mindless destruction and online coop!

I steered well clear of this because of the review, but found myself at a loose end today, so decided to rent it from Blockbuster.

Have to say, this is quite a dull game. It just plays like GTA IV with a fraction of the budget/development time. There's some wry dialogue in there, but the core gameplay just isn't there. The AI is is a joke, and the bullet detection is frankly terrible. Like GTA IV, the missions become a chore - but alas, it doesn't have the multiplayer aspect to redeem it.

Funnily enough, I also rented Stranglehold at the same time - a game no one really mentions anymore. That by comparison, was fantastic fun. Ok, so it's quite limited in some ways but I had a smile on my face within minutes of playing it. Which is more than could be said for Mercenaries Poo.

Last!

You wish last. That's not even a comment :P

I just re-bought this, missing it a bit after trading it in. It's still fun :) Sure, it's a bit shallow, and there's too much padding out in places, and the graphics are occasionally a bit broken. But ripping about in a gunship, or tank, or just me with some C4s, is quite enjoyable.