Title: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Platform: Xbox 360 (review platform), PlayStation 3, Playstation 2, PC
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Pandemic Studios
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a mercenary as one that serves for wages, or more directly, a soldier hired into foreign service. There's no question that living the life of a mercenary would not only be dangerous in the real world, but it would be adventurous as well. Hollywood, novels and video games have glorified this special "profession" to the point where these risk-taking protagonists almost become heroes in the eyes of viewers and readers - they certainly speak to the action-hero laying dormant in everyone. With that said, it's really a no-brainer why games like Mercenaries 2: World in Flames are so appealing.

But the sad, unfortunate truth about Mercenaries 2 (Mercs 2) is that the game's overall presentation deals with extreme highs and extreme lows. While it's not customary to give a final opinion so early in a review, the game utterly fails to connect with the player on an emotional level, offering an uninteresting story and buggy gameplay that ultimately brews up an awful experience. While Mercs 2 certainly offers many good qualities that should thrill every action-oriented gamer, there are just too many lows to justify any kind of recommendation other than a brief rental. If anything, Mercs 2 will bring out the sailor in any gamer.

The game's drawbacks are unfortunate given the vast amount of space players can freely explore. The numerous contracts and mini-games (challenges) definitely keep the player busy for a long time. But sometimes game content just isn't enough to keep players hooked, especially when sluggish controls and inexcusable engine bugs come into play.

Graphically, Mercs 2 is a mixed bag of good and bad. On one hand, the engine handles the vast terrain and architecture rather nicely. The lighting effects in many areas look fantastic. The early-morning sun casts an awesome wash of oranges and yellows on the pavement and the windshields. Palm trees waver realistically in helicopter downdrafts. Flyers drift in a graceful wind and butterflies flap happily over greener landscapes. Buildings, roads and vehicles look somewhat realistic as the game draws the player into its virtual environment. If anything, there's a genuine need to explore every street and river bank, if only to appreciate the massive amount of work put into the world's design.

However, the drawback is that Pandemic chose to use some type of glare/focusing effect that not only fails in its presentation, but it appears as some sort of ugly watercolor painting set in the background. There are also an enormous amount of pop-ups that distract from the suspension of disbelief (thanks Hillary for that description), from clumps of grass to actual trees and buildings. Textures jump across architecture faces as if someone forgot the glue. Objects will appear within other objects, sometimes popping though walls of buildings. If anything, the visuals look half-polished, appealing in some aspects while looking extremely rough in other areas.

While pop-ups and polygon collision could be deemed a minor issue, let's throw out a good example of why they kill Mercs 2 (spoiler alert). At the end of the main storyline, the game's current protagonist (Mattias Nilsson, Chris Jacobs or Jennifer Mui) breaks into Ramon Solano's bunker and attacks his helicopter. This usually happens by pressing a sequence of buttons at designated times. The problem here is that the camera becomes lodged inside the innards of the helicopter, in a void between polygon walls, and it is unable to rotate. The end result is a screen full of jumping shapes that not only obstruct the view, but rip away any visual closure that the game offers. What remains of the endgame scenario is the audio portion, and the actual on-screen buttons that offer the next step in the helicopter-takeover process. In a sense, this polygonal mishap probably serves as a benefit, as the action sequence is more a distraction during the button-mashing process.

Unfortunate as they are for the end-user, circumstances like the example above are inexcusable for what is supposed to be the final-release version of a game. Ultimately, the gamer is cheated out of his or her $60 since the end product is sub par. The sad thing is that errors such as this are frequent in Mercs 2. Players will find themselves stuck in walls and unable to jump out without committing suicide. Enemies can even shoot through walls at times, or you might see a leg or arm peek through a structure before the character moves away.

Still, all is almost forgiven visually once you are behind the wheel of a tank. Shoddy graphics become secondary once things begin to blow up, and frankly, the ability to destroy the environment is one of Mercs 2's highest points. Anything and everything can be destroyed, from mile-high skyscrapers to massive oilrigs standing in the ocean. In fact, many of the contracts offered to the main protagonist require the demolition of another faction's structures. But there's nothing better than getting behind the wheel of a massive vehicle and just plowing through anything and everything. Of course, that's a good way to tick factions off, especially when their vehicles and soldiers become wheel fodder, but when there are loads of cash stashed in the bank, who cares? Everyone can be bribed.

NEXT PAGE: Mercenaries 2 Second Opinion continued...

Join our discussion on this topic