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Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Flawed Fun

The original Mercenaries was a very ambitious title. It took the open-world structure of Grand Theft Auto, added more militaristic gameplay elements, and made the player feel like Rambo incarnate. It was clearly ahead of the curve when it was released, and its success was more than deserved. Understandably, many gamers have been eagerly awaiting the sequel’s inevitable release on this generation’s new, more powerful hardware. Unfortunately, even with the leap in console power, Mercenaries 2 (M2) ends up feeling somewhat archaic.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screenshot

The first thing you will notice is just how rough the game’s visuals are. This is especially true for the game’s many character models. The main characters in the game all look more like wet plastic dolls than actual human beings. M2’s environments also look decidedly out-of-date, with tree leaves and bushes being made up of crisscrossing flat layers of sprites and some of the worst-looking water you’ve seen this generation. There is also an incredibly short draw distance; making things like grass, objects, enemies, etc. constantly pop into existence mere feet in front of you and without warning.

Sure, the visuals of M2 aren’t where they should be at this stage in the game, but it is pretty easy to overlook some of these flaws since they don’t really affect the gameplay (except for the randomly appearing enemies). Fortunately, this game still succeeds in making you feel like an indestructible one man army. Players can use a wide variety of weapons, vehicles, and airstrikes to remove anything that stands between them and their goal, be it human, vehicle, or building. While you do get some decent weapons right from the start, the game’s real gems will need to be unlocked by completing missions and making contacts.

M2 starts out with you helping a devious man, Ramon Solano, overthrow the Venezuelan government. You are quickly betrayed by Solano, who tries to kill you and even fails to pay you for services rendered. As a mercenary who lives by the words “everybody pays,” payback is the only option you have left. This story isn’t incredibly compelling, but it is loaded with a good amount of humor and serves as a decent enough excuse to continue blowing things up.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screenshot

To advance in the game, players will need to help out various factions by completing whatever dirty work they offer. Many of M2’s missions will have you taking over bases for these organizations and, in turn, getting cash and access to more powerful tools of destruction. Aside from the main missions, you will also be able to hone your many skills in a wide assortment of challenges, destroy buildings and kill specific targets for your employers, and steal a plethora of cash and munitions scattered throughout the Venezuelan landscape.

Because all the factions you are working for aren’t friendly with each other, they understandably keep their distances. This is where a major problem with M2’s gameplay rears its ugly head. If you want to complete a mission for a faction, you must first find whichever base has the available job and then travel there to actually begin the mission. The same goes with buying supplies, weapons, vehicles, and airstrikes. Having to traverse the game’s vast amount of real estate for these reasons is completely ridiculous. All of these things could have been made much less painful by allowing players to use their PDA to achieve the same ends or, at the very least, by providing access to these things at your own home base. While you can call for a helicopter transport to take you to these different areas, it takes far too long and unnecessarily wastes your resources.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screenshot

Once you actually start a mission, several things become immediately apparent. The first is that your guns are incredibly inaccurate. Essentially, unless your weapon is rocket powered or a sniper rifle, hitting your target from more than a few feet away is a frustrating chore. More times than I can count, I’ve spent several clips worth of ammo trying to kill one enemy who I was directly aiming at, as my bullets hit virtually anything but their target.

The next problem you’ll encounter is just how counterintuitive using air support can be. The first drawback is you can only have three airstrikes, vehicle drops, or ammo drops equipped at one time. If you want to use something that isn’t equipped, you will need to make your way through a series of time consuming and clunky menus to find it. Once you finally have what you’d like to use equipped, actually using it can be exasperatingly difficult. While being shot at by countless enemies, players will need to hit up on their D-pad, then hit up or down until they find what they want to utilize, and finally press the execute button to actually use the item. Keep in mind, if you press the left analog stick or get knocked down at any point during this lengthy process, you’ll have to restart it from the beginning.

The hoops M2 makes you jump through including the painful traveling, menus, and tricks required to actually call in any kind of vehicle or airstrike detracts from what are easily the best parts of this game. The explosions caused by airstrikes are graphically impressive and incredibly satisfying to watch. Having a tank fall from the sky with its weapons full and ready to roll over your enemies will undoubtedly make anyone grin. Unfortunately, it just isn’t worth the trouble most of the time to utilize these options.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screenshot

While it isn’t an incredibly fun alternative, there is a work around for many of this game’s weapon problems, don’t use them. Since M2 wants you to feel virtually indestructible, it is actually fairly difficult for you to die. No matter how big an explosion is or how much damage something should do to you, the game will put you at two health. While at two health, it seems to still take quite a bit of damage to actually finish you off, especially considering you continue to regenerate health when not taking damage. At one point, just to test a theory I had, I took a helicopter to the height limit for the world directly above my current objective. I bailed out of my helicopter, fell hundreds of feet, taking fifteen to twenty seconds, and then hit the ground with two health. I then proceeded to take out six enemies without being killed.

This ridiculous exploit was made possible partly due to what I found to be the best offensive option in M2, your melee attack. Considering the difficulties found in performing any other sort of attacks, the fact that your melee attack is a one hit killer for almost every enemy in the game, and the speed at which you can run and regenerate health, it was much easier to play through this game by running up to every enemy and cracking them with the butt of my gun. Besides needing to occasionally steal a tank to level buildings or momentarily protect yourself from fire, the game can be played completely by using this run and melee formula. While this may have worked, it was also incredibly sad and made playing through the game feel remarkably shallow and uneventful.

While the concept behind M2 is a good one, too many issues keep the game from being as enjoyable as it should be. Having to muddle through numerous menus to use the game’s impressive airstrikes, travel all over the map to find work and shops, your inability to find a gun that fires straight, and a serious lack of challenge hamper what would otherwise be a fun and destruction-filled romp. If you can look past all the game’s problems, you will still find a good game that is entertaining to play. Unfortunately, these abundant flaws are persistent and make sure that everybody pays, including the player.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.4 Graphics
Visually, several aspects of this game look dated. If only the whole game could be as beautiful as the explosions! 3.6 Control
The game’s combat and vehicles control well, but, unfortunately, calling in vehicles and airstrikes is needlessly clumsy. 4.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Constant gunfire, twisting metal, crumbling buildings, and massive explosions create a fantastic orchestra of destruction for your ears. 2.9 Play Value
Even with a ton of missions/objectives and the ability to play with a buddy, Mercenaries 2 is just too easy and full of issues that detract from your experience to make this a game you’ll want to spend a ton of time with. 3.6 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Massive open-ended game world: Larger than all previous Mercenaries combined, the world of Mercenaries 2 is jam-packed with colorful characters and environments.
  • Enhanced destruction: Bring buildings teeming with enemy soldiers down section by section, topple an overpass with C4 to stop an oncoming enemy vehicular assault, fire off an RPG at a balcony and watch as it crashes on unsuspecting enemies below. This destruction isn’t just cool, be sure to use it to your advantage!
  • A mercenary’s paradise: Recruit other mercenaries to build your own private military company. Each faction has plenty of work for you, from small pick-up jobs to elaborate, multi-objective missions. The world offers over one hundred unique tasks you can take on-if you’re interested.
  • Cool new toys: Dozens of weapons, land-based vehicles and watercraft are available for you to use and blow the stuffing out of everything! Use the new grappling hook to latch on to flying vehicles and commandeer them in the sky.
  • Cooperative multiplayer: Play the main campaign with the help of your friends. Jump in and out of a game at any time.
  • Screen Resolution: Up to 720p (Standard HDTV, Widescreen).

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