Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Preview

For those of you who had played Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction back in 2005, you know as well as I do how unique of an experience it was. For those of you who didn't play it...well, go do that. It is available for the original Xbox and Playstation 2 consoles.

Naturally, as soon as I heard about the release of a sequel I was flooded with memories. Mercs 1 was set in Korea, with the player taking the role of a hired mercenary, completing contracts and side missions to make the story progress and also to make some money. Mercs 1 offered diverse vehicles, free roam game play, visually pleasing graphics, and of course- explosions.

Characters

Pandemic studios, developer of the Mercenaries series, has decided to one up themselves. In Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, the player will again assume the role of one of three (so far) mercenaries; Mattias Nillson, a guns first Swedish guy; Jennifer Mui, a swift and sneaky British mercenary; Chris Jacobs, the African-American "leader" type. No information has been released yet as to whether the characters will play differently or not.

Gameplay

Game play is also shaping up to outdo its predecessor. Players are given free reign over a large section of map. The official Mercenaries 2 webiste, found here , states that the map in Mercs 2 will be bigger than all of the previous Mercs 1 maps combined. And what is better still, there will be no loading in between sections of map. Contracts will be given to the player, who can then decide when to complete them and in what order.

Weapons

Let's get to the really important question: How much damage can I do? The short answer is a lot. In Mercs 2, you have such weapons at your disposal as pistols, grenade launches, rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, RPG's, and shotguns, all offering multiple versions of each weapon type. Of course, as in Mercenaries 1, the player will also be able to spend their hard earned money on air strikes. That's right, air strikes. One new air strike that was not previously available is napalm. Yes, you can use napalm!

Vehicles

Vehicles will also return in Mercs 2. Different versions of sports cars, tanks, helicopters, boats (in Mercs 2, the mercenaries have learned to swim), trucks, semis, and motorcycles. The official Mercenaries 2 website also notes that naval battles between battleships will occur, since almost one third of the map is water. The mercenaries will also be able to hijack enemy vehicles by responding to a combination of on screen button commands, allowing for cinematic, and really cool, take over.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is already shaping up to be one hell of a game. The official release date is yet to be announced, though some sources say it may not be released until August 2008 at the latest. The game will be available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Playstation 2 consoles.

Check out the Mercenaries 2 website for more information, screenshots, and videos!