Mercenaries 2 Review - Xbox 360

8.5

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Audio: 8
Multiplayer: 9
Innovation: 7

When GTA IV hit the current generation of consoles, fans went crazy at the amount of possibilities in the open-world sandbox shooter that felt new but yet so similar to the previous games. It set a very high benchmark for games such as Saints Row 2, and, irrevocably, Mercenaries 2. The original Mercenaries game was a smash hit amongst the hardcore Xbox community but perhaps didn't receive as much praise as it should have. A free-roam game set on the borders of China, Russia, and the two conflicting Koreas, and yet it still worked great. Now, the mercenaries are back, and they're keen to show you what you've been missing out on, but this time in a more tropical location.

Gameplay

Mercenaries 2 is set in Venezuela, a very pretty location that is unfortunately war-torn by all sorts of rebel groups, not to mention an incompetent government and army.  As you start the game off you're familiarised with a character selection screen which has the same mercenaries from the original game. They each have their own personality but don't have any special abilities, so choose the one you like the look of the most and get on with it.

Once you've chosen a merc your adventure starts by taking over a mansion. Little do you know at the time that this mansion then becomes your base for deployment for the rest of the game. The mansion looks absolutely amazing and definitely sets the stage for a game jam packed with fun, war, and plenty of explosions.  You soon meet up with Fiona Taylor (India Dupre), an Australian woman with plenty of charisma. She is the voice in your head throughout most of the missions, and sits square in the middle of your mansion giving you advice on what to do next in the game. Your relationship with Fiona can't be changed, as opposed to the various rebel groups around Venezuela.

As you soon learn, the game works very similarly to its predecessor. You can disguise yourself as any of the rebel groups by jumping in their vehicles when nobody is looking, and it's up to you to maintain good reputation with each group if you want to receive missions from them.  It's very easy to get distracted in Mercenaries 2, maybe even a little easier than GTA IV. As you get further in to the game you find (unlock) more friends which join you in your mansion and help you in your missions. The helicopter guy will drop off vehicles and ammo, and give you a lift around the map, and the drunken Russian pilot will do all sorts of airstrikes whenever you call him in. Don't think you can just call these guys in whenever you want though, there's a price to pay for every deed.

Mercenaries 2's currency is fairly simplistic. It's dead easy to earn millions of dollars, and purchasing vehicles and air support doesn't cost all that much. The only thing you need to worry about is your fuel limit. You (continued next page)