5 reviews
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn world. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone. But for you, international crisis is all upside: You are a mercenary, and you profit from chaos. Mercenaries 2 ...
Details
- Released
- August 30, 2008
- Developer
- Behaviour Interactive, Pandemic Studios
- Genres
- Shooter
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
Similar Games
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
Mercenaries 2 is like a newsstand; it has a lot of issues. Still, I can’t deny that there were some hootin’ and hollerin’ moments. For every time I cursed the stupid AI, I cheered at the demolition of another building. For every bug that got me stuck in some bushes, there was an attack chopper waiting to be jacked. If Mercenaries 2 had more polish, it would be a great game. As is, it’s still worth playing -- and enjoyable -- but falls far short of its promise.
Pandemic has constructed a whole new "playground of destruction" from the ground up, fully stocked with the hottest vehicles and weapons. Set in a new exotic hotspot, you can be your own boss in a wide-open world with only one rule: everybody pays.
Once you start blowing things up with massive explosions there's a game here that is worth a look, but it's criminally unpolished and as such will leave many gamers rather unsatisfied.
For all the above criticisms, there is something strangely compelling about Mercs 2, but I suspect that’s the psychological pull of an open-world map with lots of untapped activities rather than anything more substantial. As soon as you realise that each of those glowing dots inevitably leads to the same tired action, the draw to explore becomes non-existent. There is room for a Mercenaries-flavoured experience in the gaming canon, but this isn’t it.
It was Edwin Starr way back in 1970 in his timely classic that asked the age old question, “War, what is it good for?” Fortunately for us, he actually answered it as well, but we suspect that when he gave his classic, “Absolutely nothing” line, he had never played Mercenaries 2. We’re adamant that if he had, the appropriate answer to that question would have been, “To blow shit up!” but I’m not quite sure it has the same ring to it. That is essentially what Pandemic’s latest...