Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (Xbox 360, 2008)

This is a fun game but there are some things that make the fun factor go a little down.

First of all one of my major upset is that there is no parachute, so if your helicopter explodes in midair your going to have to wait until you fall down helplessly, then miraculously survive a 800ft fall with 1 health left literally. The AI is seriously dumb as rocks they'll just stand around and get shot, sometimes they wont even notice the guy next to him got shot, it doesn't matter who you face they all have the same symptoms. Weapons are cool in my opinion although there is a ton of variations of the assault rifle but they don't differ other than magazine size and looks, pistols are useless they take up a weapon slot they're weak and not much ammo and why use sub-machine guns if you have assault rifles? sniper rifles are like pea shooters the hit detection is off so it will take about a whole clip so the bullet can actually hit a person. Grenades would be useful if the Merc's didn't throw like little girls. So all in all you only really need an assault rifle, missile launcher and some C4 and you can do any mission in the game. Sprinting is a joke, you sprint as fast as Usain Bolt on steroids, don't even get me started on melee when you melee someone they die in one hit but it takes about 3-4 bullets from an assault rifle to kill a guy so whats the point on using bullets? Finally, we come to the factions. There are five factions in the game(technically six, but the VZ is always hostile toward you) and staying friendly with them is important to complete the story missions and buy supplies. What is absolute balls though, is that even a single stray bullet can turn an entire faction against you, impeding your progress greatly. When you do accidentally shoot someone, a countdown clock appears on the screen counting down to when another soldier will call in your dastardly deed. Kill him in time and everything's cool…except when another soldier across the map starts to call in, then the soldier that spawned out of thin air behind a rock, then etc, etc, etc. You can bribe factions who become hostile to you with millions of dollars to make them become friendly again, but come on, this is needlessly stupid.

And now the good things, sadly the list is kinda short. first I gotta say wow to the destruction they put in the game you can destroy everything from a simple tree to the giant skyscrapers in Caracas. Controls are very solid and smooth. The graphics are beautiful from the water looking so rich and blue to the steam coming from the hot jungles you can tell they paid attention to all the details. There are 150 vehicles in the game ranging from a civilian pick up truck to war tanks and gunships which can all be hijacked, the hijacking game is very fun to watch all you have to do is mash the button on the screen as fast as you can and your character performs some pretty cool moves in order to take it for themselves this is always fun to me. The main missions are varied and you have either 2 choices go in guns blazing or call in a nuke which is pretty cool too. But the best part is co op because what better than blowing things up? blowing things up with a buddy! you can do mission together or simply screw around this is very fun and will make some good memories. Replay value is good since there are 3 characters with unique dialogues to complete.

So to sum it all up this is a very fun game! but sometimes I feel like its not finished, very poor execution

This game is basically a Huge Frikken sandbox for blowing things up at your discretion… In other words; A Pyromaniac’s Dream Game!

It has a single HUGE map that preloads everything, so there’s no load time when you cross a bridge or enter another faction’s territory.

You start off as a mercenary under contract of a Venezuelan Entrepreneur who intends to use his seemingly endless financial and military resources to take over the nation and eventually all of South America. After your first mission with him, he double-crosses you by paying you with a bullet up your @$$ (litterally), instead of cash, thus setting the plot for your character to go on an Ultimate mission for Revenge.

As you meet the different factions in Venezuela, you do mercenary work for them and they supply you in literally every way you can think of. You get all kinds of weapons from simple firearms, to dive-bombs, artillery, laser-guided bombs, Huge Bunker-Busters, the list goes on & on! Towards the end of the game, one of the factions rewards you with a Nuclear Weapon (Yes, you even get Nukes), which is required to beat the game.

Personally, in all my 26 years of gaming, I cannot remember any console game that actually allows you to use Nuclear Weapons. This alone is well worth the price of the game.

You also get Vehicles, Boats and helicopters with all kinds of Goodies mounted onto them. From mini-guns, to rocket pods, Anti-Air missiles, Anti-Tank missiles, and more!

Since everything in the game can be destroyed, there’s no need to worry about getting stuck behind a wall. Just blow it up! If your driving a Tank and an enemy truck is blocking the road, just fire the main cannon and blow it away… Road Clear!

The co-op experience is totally awesome! You can jump into your friend’s game and help him and leave at your discretion. Whatever money and fuel you have in your saved game will port over into your friend’s game. All the money you make while in your friend’s game will port back into your own game, so it‘s possible to earn over $1B over time in Mercenaries 2. Another Super Awesome feature that makes the game worth its price.

Mercenaries 2 is a game of exploration and combat. We own 2 copies. It is a good team game. 2 players do have to stay within a certain distance to one another but you would be surprised how far apart that distance is. Drive cars, motorcycles, tanks, boats jet-skis and helicopters. Command airstrikes, pick-ups and resource drops. Blow-up Everything! Just don't run over civilians, you don't go to jail but the fines are hefty. Save your team-mate in time and you don't have to start the mission over. We bought this second copy so we could play this game together on xbox live. He runs in for the kills I wander around find money, fuel, bomb runs and hidden parts for vehicles. I stay close by to revive him when he goes down. We can attack objectives from 2 sides and finish the objective quickly. Keep in mind which factions are your friends and which are your enemies. This game can be played over and over.

Sunscreen? Check. Jungle-strength bug repellent? Check. Nuclear missiles? Check. Time for a working holiday in Venezuela. Mercenaries 2 takes the Grand Theft Auto sandbox-game formula — story-based objectives surrounded by lots of nonlinear side missions — and gives it a soldier-of-fortune twist, arming you with a massive array of weapons, vehicles, and airstrikes that can flatten an entire city block of this deliciously destructible virtual Venezuela.
The seamless drop-in, drop-out online co-op play shines, though. Not only is it a lot more fun to demolish fortresses with a buddy by your side, but it also makes the game’s challenging multipart missions significantly easier, and it opens up creative strategies that aren’t possible when going solo.
This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is almost necessary to make Mercenaries 2 as rewarding as it ought to be. It’s a giant, busy sandbox full of all kinds of fiery and destructive toys, but you have to get a firm handle on the game’s uneven tempo and immersion-breaking little quirks to fully enjoy the amount of freedom it offers. Are you prepared to work for fun instead of just for money? If so, flame on.

I got this game for my boyfriend's anniversary present. The game caught our eye mostly from that epic commercial (the one with the song). What's great about this game is all of the different obliterating options to choose from. You can call in all kinds of different air strikes, vehicles, weapons, etc. There are also many different jobs you can get with different organizations. Money isn't typically a problem so you can always buy new cars, tanks, bombs, and so on. You can also choose between two other players, not just the norse fellow. The action and testosterone-fueling is great but what brings it down a little bit is that I think the graphics could have been better. With what Xbox 360 can do these days, you just expect more out of that department. But for some that's only a minor draw-back.