After a smashing success in 2005, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction redefined the 3rd-Person shooter genre by merging it with a Grand Theft Auto-esque sandbox game. Did the sequel live up to the first game, or like many sequels out of EA did it tank?

When I play Mercenaries 2 I keep thinking to myself “this is the Vice City complex.” It has nearly identical graphics, except the game is brighter, and has more of a warmer coloring scheme. Mercenaries 2 looks good. not great, or bad, just good. It had respectable graphics for a next gen game but it is no Gears of War. I should note though that the explosions are incredibly well done and some of the best on the console.

The control scheme in Mercs 2 is actually pretty decent, though I have some complaints. When you aim down sights, you automatically duck. Should you be behind a small enough (well, big enough I suppose) wall, when you aim you duck behind it and can only see the wall, not the enemies. Then when you are getting shot at and need to duck you can’t unless you count hunching over. Secondly, when you use the d-pad to maneuver through the air support, you can’t walk or else you are thrown out of the menu. It can be kind of inconvenient when you are being shot at and need to throw down a beacon for the air strike.

The length of the story in this game is short, think Army of Two… but SHORTER. Yeah, you heard that… a game shorter than Army of Two. I’ll give you a second to gasp.
…
Second’s over. I honestly believe there are 15 missions (excluding races) in this game that you must complete, each taking 10-20 minutes, for a total of over 2 hours of gameplay. However, you have 50 HVTs (High Value Targets) across the map to capture (two shy of Mercs 1) and over 70 targets (buildings) to destroy. If you want to do side mission there are tons, but the main story missions do not offer much gameplay. This opens up the next review category.

This game may be short but I am on my second playthrough, and not once have I been bored. I almost never replay single-player in a game, but EVERYTHING can be destroyed (Buildings, Bridges, Vehicles, Scenery)… Not even in Battlefield: Bad Company can everything be FULLY destroyed. Plus, the HVT’s and demo missions allow for over 10 more hours of replay before you hit the new game button.

For those 15 missions, there are 3 objectives you get (defend something/someone, destroy something/someone, capture something/someone). That’s it. But it doesn’t get repetitive because it ends so quickly. The only thing that extends the story is traveling to headquarters without helicopters.

The entire game can be played in co-op and every mission (or at least side mission) changes while in co-op.

If you had to take a truck full of guns in singleplayer, there are now 2 trucks. If you needed to use a turret, there are 2. If you do a race, there are 2 vehicles. And let’s face it… this game is FUN with a friend. You can only be 400 meters away until you reach the edge of an invisible circle, much like in Skate. When you reach the boundary, the screen goes fuzzy gray until you backtrack.

Also, co-op is drop in/drop out. You can change your joinable settings from invite to friends to anyone. If you ever get bored, invite a friend and you WILL have fun.

Mercenaries 2 has its problems but it is still a fun game. The co-op is a blast and blowing stuff up has never been better. I don’t think you will be disappointed with this game.

FINAL SCORE – 8/10

Review by: Dave

XBL GT: Jexic

All images courtesy Electronic Arts/Pandemic Studios