XGC Yoda
New member
Blowing up stuff is fun, no one can deny that. Nothing beats the feeling of pulling the pin on that grenade and throwing it in between two guys shooting at you. The explosion and screaming coming from that sound system makes it even more enjoyable. World in Flames hasn't really done much to evolve in the wonderful world of detonation. While Mercenaries one was a great chance to create mayhem in our little world, it was still frustrating trying to keep A.I. from doing really idiotic stuff. Once you get past the disappointment and hysterical crying, try to enjoy the pretty explosions in the sequel.
After the Lovely trip from North Korea to Venezuela your explosion driven conquest can begin. With the thick jungles, Rocky Canyons, and quiet little towns it makes for a interesting journey. Probably the best part of the terrain is every piece can be destroyed. It will remind you of Battlefield: Bad Company, mostly because of the tree and wall destruction feature. While you can choose to mow down whole forests with bullets, I recommend you save your ammo for the battle soldier. Another great feature is the ability to plow through trees in your favorite vehicle, while running over trees is funny, it is better to do it with the consideration. You may find yourself deep in the enemies territory, which can be bad if your companions are A.I.'s.
As in the first game, you find yourself working for multiple people(the People's Liberation Army of Venezuela and Universal Petroleum initially, and eventually Pirates, the Chinese Army, and the Allied Nations). Your always having to deal with the rebel VZ Force, and trying to take down the Drug Lord Ramon Solano. Trying to keep the multiple factions you work for happy is less than easy, while working for one you can lose your favor with others. Fortunately their are side missions that make it easy to get back on the good side of your employers. You will meet some people who will join your crew as the game continues, a mechanic(who you can by better vehicles from) and a jet pilot(who will keep the airstrikes coming).
Mechanics have cool features and also some rather irritating ones. On the good side, you can grapple helicopters from the ground. A hacking system for vehicles will give you the challenge of correct button combination. Among the most annoying features is the loading of proper enemies while in a helicopter. It may take you four tries to get it right and when you do it will be a moment of champagne break. If the menu doesn't put you into the mood of wanting to punch a baby then try to figure out how to get one of your idiot A.I. companions through something as simple as a door.
There is only one escape from your torture of A.I. Through Co-op xbox live you can experience an easier time. This is not to say that it lets you wander apart as far as Crackdown or GTA. Unfortunately it does have a rather short radius and at times you may get rather sick from the stench from your fellow mercenaries lack of hygene. While help from a friend is better than an A.I. it proves pointless at times. The game will glitch and you may find you can't enter vehicles with your friend.
And that's about it. While Mercs doesn't do anything particularly new or interesting, the formula is inherently fun (as long as you enjoy blowing things up like I do). I can keep complaining about the quirks -- ridiculously repetitive voice samples from NPCs, a climax that consists of a trial-and-error button-pushing session -- but the wealth of smaller problems are insubstantial in light of the effective fundamentals. It won't light the world on fire, but this next-gen playground of destruction offers you tons to do (well, tons to explode), it's always enjoyable, and I dove right back in after the credits rolled.
After the Lovely trip from North Korea to Venezuela your explosion driven conquest can begin. With the thick jungles, Rocky Canyons, and quiet little towns it makes for a interesting journey. Probably the best part of the terrain is every piece can be destroyed. It will remind you of Battlefield: Bad Company, mostly because of the tree and wall destruction feature. While you can choose to mow down whole forests with bullets, I recommend you save your ammo for the battle soldier. Another great feature is the ability to plow through trees in your favorite vehicle, while running over trees is funny, it is better to do it with the consideration. You may find yourself deep in the enemies territory, which can be bad if your companions are A.I.'s.
As in the first game, you find yourself working for multiple people(the People's Liberation Army of Venezuela and Universal Petroleum initially, and eventually Pirates, the Chinese Army, and the Allied Nations). Your always having to deal with the rebel VZ Force, and trying to take down the Drug Lord Ramon Solano. Trying to keep the multiple factions you work for happy is less than easy, while working for one you can lose your favor with others. Fortunately their are side missions that make it easy to get back on the good side of your employers. You will meet some people who will join your crew as the game continues, a mechanic(who you can by better vehicles from) and a jet pilot(who will keep the airstrikes coming).
Mechanics have cool features and also some rather irritating ones. On the good side, you can grapple helicopters from the ground. A hacking system for vehicles will give you the challenge of correct button combination. Among the most annoying features is the loading of proper enemies while in a helicopter. It may take you four tries to get it right and when you do it will be a moment of champagne break. If the menu doesn't put you into the mood of wanting to punch a baby then try to figure out how to get one of your idiot A.I. companions through something as simple as a door.
There is only one escape from your torture of A.I. Through Co-op xbox live you can experience an easier time. This is not to say that it lets you wander apart as far as Crackdown or GTA. Unfortunately it does have a rather short radius and at times you may get rather sick from the stench from your fellow mercenaries lack of hygene. While help from a friend is better than an A.I. it proves pointless at times. The game will glitch and you may find you can't enter vehicles with your friend.
And that's about it. While Mercs doesn't do anything particularly new or interesting, the formula is inherently fun (as long as you enjoy blowing things up like I do). I can keep complaining about the quirks -- ridiculously repetitive voice samples from NPCs, a climax that consists of a trial-and-error button-pushing session -- but the wealth of smaller problems are insubstantial in light of the effective fundamentals. It won't light the world on fire, but this next-gen playground of destruction offers you tons to do (well, tons to explode), it's always enjoyable, and I dove right back in after the credits rolled.
