Mercenaries 2: World In Flames Preview

Escalation

The single biggest enhancement and expansion to Mercenaries 2 though isn’t in the fact that it has bigger levels, more polygons or more explosions that you could shake a stick of dynamite at. It’s in the fact that the game will be launching for the PC too.

The original Mercenaries was a great game and I know I had an awful lot of fun playing it – but the one thing that always held me back was the nagging suspicion that the game would just play better on the PC and that so much more could be done with it there.

Just think of all the amazing mods you could build for a game like this – the possibilities are as endless as a starving ouroboros or Richard’s appetite for banana bread.

Most importantly though, the PC version is being promoted as a feature and content mirror to the console version…including in terms of the online co-op functionality, though that comes at the expense of competitive multiplayer unfortunately.


The co-op mode of the game is set to work very much like the co-op game in Gears of War – players can invite companions to join them in a singleplayer game easily and from there the two of you can work some advanced tactics out, making use of the advanced cover-system the whole time. Granted, it’s unfortunate that the multiplayer gameplay is still absent from the franchise – though people accepted that flaw from GTA for a lot longer – and the fact that the co-op is online-only may infuriate some, but the potential of the mode is too awesome to be down on it for long.

We can picture it already – one player chasing a target in a sports car, while another spots enemies from a nearby helicopter and provides air support and airstrikes, delivering new vehicles as required while Player One closes in on the prey. When you’ve got excitement like that, who needs teabagging and multiplayer modes we’ve all seen a thousand times?

The co-op mode though is just one part of the games focus on being quick to pick up and play the game quickly in all its glory. There’s a new grappling hook feature in the mix too that you can use to launch yourself up into the air and take control of enemy helicopters – a hell of a lot easier than trying to jump, let us promise you.

The grapple hook is another example of the freedom given to players though and it can be used for all sorts of things from scaling buildings to picking enemies out of crowds. We can already picture the Batman inspired interrogations now – you’re falling! Oh, I caught you! You’re falling! Oh, I caught you! You’re falling! Oh, whoops.

First Impressions

We’ve yet to have a chance going hands-on with Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, so we unfortunately can’t speculate on what is likely to be one of the most important aspects of the game – the controls and balancing. If the PC port ends up suffering from Sloppy Conversion Disorder then it could bring the only game crashing down.

From the face of things though and from what Pandemic have shown us, Mercenaries 2 is definitely shaping up to be a fun third person shooter and an essential co-op experience.

But, then again, we thought the same thing about the PC port of Gears of War, and that turned out to have all manner of issues, especially when it came round to the online functionality over the Windows Live service.

The good news is that Windows Live service has improved drastically as of late and is totally free as well now. If Mercenaries 2: World in Flames can work well within that framework then all should be Kool and The Gang and Mercenaries 2 could be a surprise PC-must have this year.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this September. Until then though, you can discuss the game in the forums.