Post by Revan on Oct 21, 2008 20:17:57 GMT -5
To summarize the whole game in one word: overkill. Mercenaries two places you in command of one of three special ops, either Mathias, the one I went with, whose hell bent on destruction. Mui, who is a covert agent, or your third and final option, Chris Jacobs, a tactical officer. The game begins full throttle, having you in the very first mission use air strikes and heavy tanks. The graphics are stunning... that is if you have a computer that can handle them (my brother needed to upgrade). The cut scenes are particularly satisfying because of their graphical excellence and they truly flesh out the characters and make them seem as real as they could possibly be.
Game play is straight forward. You play in an open world similar to GTA; however it doesn't feel like a GTA knockoff as many of these types of games tend to. You're free to roam the terrain as you please and get missions if you so desire. Weapons work well and there is a wide enough variety to keep you interested throughout the whole process. The major downside to the combat system is that if you hit next to '0' health, your screen merely glows red for a bit and as long as you stay under cover for a bit, you can fall out of a chopper from 300+ feet up and walk away fine.
Factions are a main point of the game. Although some of them are sensible and well placed, others seem to be a little ridiculous... take the Jamaican pirates for example. The developers seem to have thrown in as many factions as they could into the area, leaving absolutely no area greater than one city block without an army patrol.
The AI for this game is moderate. Troops appropriately react to situations in their area, however sometimes a troop from a bit too far off can try and interfere when they shouldn't. The real issues however with the troops are their barracks. Every now and then you encounter a barracks for a set of troops. Each barracks is equipped with 2 men armed with rocket launchers, meaning you're going to get hit and hit hard. These buildings are annoying to destroy because you actually have to level them, simply shooting the men inside doesn't work.
Vehicles in the game are appropriately balanced... for the most part. Each vehicle does what it is supposed to, jeeps are fast and weak, tanks are strong and powerful. The balance is truly shown however in the ease it takes to eliminate these vehicles. It demonstrates that even a heavy tank can be eliminated with a well placed rocket (or two). Helicopters are much better utilized than in the first Mercenaries game. There is a larger variety of them and they have different weapons on each of them, making them far more interesting.
The main down side in the new vehicle system is the extreme ease it takes to capture enemy vehicles. Rather than using the well designed system through which to purchase your weaponry, all of it can be found in or near the field. To capture a vehicle, even a helicopter, all you need to do is follow a particular combo sequence to remove the driver and hop in. It takes less than 30 seconds to take the hardest of the vehicles *if* you know the combo already.
The game also features air strikes and air drops. Air drops are well designed, once you recruit a helicopter pilot, you're able to call in supplies for weapons or vehicles that you have purchased from any of the factions. This system allows you to effectively handle any situation that could arise. Unfortunately, the air strike system was not so well designed. Most air strikes involve you throwing a smoke grenade to designate your target or placing a targeting device on a tank. Because of this, you need to get too close for comfort to tanks when you want to take them out and by the time that the air strike arrives, the tank usually has moved. If nothing else, the air strikes are real pretty. Personally, I think that the air strike system is almost entirely unnecessary, only forcing you to use it about 2 times and only having a good situation in which to use it about 10 throughout the entire game.
The plot is present but not all that interesting. Your goal: revenge. All you're trying to do is kill the man who shot you in the ass when you attempted to claim the payment for the job he never gave you. You spend the rest of the game allying with factions until you finally work for either the United States (called the UN army or something to that effect) or the Chinese in order to acquire a "nuclear bunker buster" to break into Solano's (the guy who shot you) headquarters and take him out.
Aside from the main plot, the mini-plots that introduce you to the members of your team are rather satisfying. Each member of your group has a unique personality that blends in well with the feel of the game. From your Irish chopper pilot, to your poverty stricken engineer, to your always drunken pilot (for planes) Micha, and finally your advisor Fiona, each character creates enough of an impact in the story to remain memorable. Particularly the cut scenes you squad mates are featured in are well designed because in some you can actually see the sweat on them, providing for another level of realism.
Overall:
The game is well designed for the most part but has a few major bugs. Vehicles are well implemented, aside from the easy access you have to them. The combat system provides a great variety of weapons for you to use allowing you to meet any goal you desire. The characters are memorable and generally display a distinct and welcome personality. Factions could use some work, the idea is 'ok', but it's a little easy to locate and then walk into the headquarters of each of them... besides, when is the last time you've heard of an entire country with every last city block being patrolled by soldiers?
Score: 80/100 -- It's highly amusing but definitely needs some polish
Game play is straight forward. You play in an open world similar to GTA; however it doesn't feel like a GTA knockoff as many of these types of games tend to. You're free to roam the terrain as you please and get missions if you so desire. Weapons work well and there is a wide enough variety to keep you interested throughout the whole process. The major downside to the combat system is that if you hit next to '0' health, your screen merely glows red for a bit and as long as you stay under cover for a bit, you can fall out of a chopper from 300+ feet up and walk away fine.
Factions are a main point of the game. Although some of them are sensible and well placed, others seem to be a little ridiculous... take the Jamaican pirates for example. The developers seem to have thrown in as many factions as they could into the area, leaving absolutely no area greater than one city block without an army patrol.
The AI for this game is moderate. Troops appropriately react to situations in their area, however sometimes a troop from a bit too far off can try and interfere when they shouldn't. The real issues however with the troops are their barracks. Every now and then you encounter a barracks for a set of troops. Each barracks is equipped with 2 men armed with rocket launchers, meaning you're going to get hit and hit hard. These buildings are annoying to destroy because you actually have to level them, simply shooting the men inside doesn't work.
Vehicles in the game are appropriately balanced... for the most part. Each vehicle does what it is supposed to, jeeps are fast and weak, tanks are strong and powerful. The balance is truly shown however in the ease it takes to eliminate these vehicles. It demonstrates that even a heavy tank can be eliminated with a well placed rocket (or two). Helicopters are much better utilized than in the first Mercenaries game. There is a larger variety of them and they have different weapons on each of them, making them far more interesting.
The main down side in the new vehicle system is the extreme ease it takes to capture enemy vehicles. Rather than using the well designed system through which to purchase your weaponry, all of it can be found in or near the field. To capture a vehicle, even a helicopter, all you need to do is follow a particular combo sequence to remove the driver and hop in. It takes less than 30 seconds to take the hardest of the vehicles *if* you know the combo already.
The game also features air strikes and air drops. Air drops are well designed, once you recruit a helicopter pilot, you're able to call in supplies for weapons or vehicles that you have purchased from any of the factions. This system allows you to effectively handle any situation that could arise. Unfortunately, the air strike system was not so well designed. Most air strikes involve you throwing a smoke grenade to designate your target or placing a targeting device on a tank. Because of this, you need to get too close for comfort to tanks when you want to take them out and by the time that the air strike arrives, the tank usually has moved. If nothing else, the air strikes are real pretty. Personally, I think that the air strike system is almost entirely unnecessary, only forcing you to use it about 2 times and only having a good situation in which to use it about 10 throughout the entire game.
The plot is present but not all that interesting. Your goal: revenge. All you're trying to do is kill the man who shot you in the ass when you attempted to claim the payment for the job he never gave you. You spend the rest of the game allying with factions until you finally work for either the United States (called the UN army or something to that effect) or the Chinese in order to acquire a "nuclear bunker buster" to break into Solano's (the guy who shot you) headquarters and take him out.
Aside from the main plot, the mini-plots that introduce you to the members of your team are rather satisfying. Each member of your group has a unique personality that blends in well with the feel of the game. From your Irish chopper pilot, to your poverty stricken engineer, to your always drunken pilot (for planes) Micha, and finally your advisor Fiona, each character creates enough of an impact in the story to remain memorable. Particularly the cut scenes you squad mates are featured in are well designed because in some you can actually see the sweat on them, providing for another level of realism.
Overall:
The game is well designed for the most part but has a few major bugs. Vehicles are well implemented, aside from the easy access you have to them. The combat system provides a great variety of weapons for you to use allowing you to meet any goal you desire. The characters are memorable and generally display a distinct and welcome personality. Factions could use some work, the idea is 'ok', but it's a little easy to locate and then walk into the headquarters of each of them... besides, when is the last time you've heard of an entire country with every last city block being patrolled by soldiers?
Score: 80/100 -- It's highly amusing but definitely needs some polish
