Mercenaries 2: World In Flames

Formats: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Price: £35 ($60)

This is of course a sequel; to one of the more popular PS2 and Xbox (original games), not least due to the sandbox nature and flexible approach to battle you could take.  This sequel is no different.  You take the role of one of the three ‘mercs’ in the game (mercenaries), out for revenge in Venezuela after being let down by a previous employer.  Naturally they want revenge, and being mercenaries, this is going to get nasty!

As with the original, Mercenaries 2 allows you to run wild and create the most havoc you can imagine in what turns out to be a surprisingly large game world.  However, it still isn’t engrossing in the way that, as it is the benchmark for this sort of freeform game, Grand Theft Auto manages.  Part of the problem is the world itself.  As I mentioned, it is large, but then it is surprisingly.  Space is there to be filled, at least in part, and provide the player with further interaction.  Mercenaries 2 just doesn’t back its big environment up in this way.

Frequently, between the missions, you’ll have very little to do – though there are some (reasonably fun) side quests to get involved in.  The best of these will have you siding with one of the many factions in Venezuela, but unfortunately you’ll feel like you won’t get much reward for completing them.

It seems as though Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is one of those games that could have done with just a little more development time, especially when it comes to the weapons.  They feel underpowered and just aren’t that satisfying to fire – a problem when action is the core focus of the game.  Embarrassingly for a title of this generation, you’ll even see respawning enemies appear barely feet in front of you.

Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is a good game at times, which makes it all the worse when you do see the glaring errors.  If you are a fan of the original, you might well be able to see past the faults, but no amount of building destruction or crazy vehicle driving can change my mind.  It could do with a patch or two.  Rent, don’t buy.

Rating: 3/5

Related posts:

Mad World Preview
Halo Wars Review – Xbox 360
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Review
MMORPG’s Changing the World?
Ninja Gaiden 2 Review

Hope you like that post!

Forever Geek is a resource for all things geek. You can stay tuned by having the latest FG news delivered to you for free via RSS.