Producer wants to go underwater for Mercenaries 3

Mercenaries 2 producer Jonathan Zamkoff reckons that going underwater is the next step for Pandemic's playground of destruction.

So there's going to be a third game, then? "If I have anything to do with it, there will be," Zamkoff told us.

A third Mercenaries game is hardly a certainty, of course, but what with the first game's chart-topping exploits and the second's high profile - and EA as publisher - we get the impression it'll probably happen.

"We probably would be looking at underwater gameplay - submarines, scuba tanks and underwater action," Zamkoff said, when asked where the series might go next.

"I think it would be really cool in Mercs to do some more submersible stuff - take an underwater vehicle and plant some C4 at the base of an oilrig."

Other ideas include expanding co-operative multiplayer to allow for four, eight or even sixteen players.

Whatever happens though, Zamkoff thinks it's important to preserve "the minute-to-minute" of Mercenaries, having felt the first game was only lacking in a few areas - like storyline.

In the meantime, what of plans for a Mercs 2 demo on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live? "It's to be decided right now," says Zamkoff. "We certainly have ambitions to do so, but we've got a pretty tight window."

Not hard to appreciate, with the game due out on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PS2 in just a few months.

You can read more about the progress Pandemic's made with this one in our preview/interview.