Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

I came across Mercenaries 2 for very cheap in a second hand store and assumed that the low price meant that it would be an inferior game, but since I needed a game to play I just went for it. I was a little apprehensive about the negative reviews but once I started playing I was instantly hooked. They complained of glitches, but there really ain't any more than your average video game.

Since I only had the Gamecube out of the last generation consoles I never got to play the first Mercenaries game, but it matters not. This is a stand alone sequel. You play as one of three characters (I chose Marcus Nilsson) hired and betrayed by a Venezuelan leader called Solano. The rest of the game is your hunt to find and kill Solano, working for various factions in order to gain info and supplies.

The missions are all of the hunt/kill/rescue/deliver variety.I found some of them to be rather difficult but I never had to retry more than five times, so that ought to give you an idea of the overall difficulty. There are plenty of trophies too, but, annoyingly, a lot of them are rewarded for online play, which I am not really interested in.

There are loads of guns and explosives and vehicles for you to experiment with, and almost everything in the entire gaming environment is destructible. I loved demolishing a towering skyscraper with a C4 package, tank or even air strike.

Pros:

Bright, colorful graphics featuring loads of sunshine and blue sky. Good music by Chris Tilton. Great voice acting by Peter Stormare. Grim satisfaction in gunning down adversaries and getting paid for each one.

Cons:

Annoying long drives between destinations. Timer on bets with friends used unfairly. Fiona's repetitious dialogue got on my nerves.

The cheap price is not a reflection of quality. If you find this game don't hesitate to pick it up.

Graphics A Sound A+ Gameplay A- Lasting Appeal A-