One of the big features of Mercenaries is the use of various tools (which can be purchased with your hard earned cash) that you have at your disposal in the form of air drops, which can provide vehicles and much needed supplies on demand. More of these are unlocked the more you explore and complete missions. What is also highly cool are the numerous support commands that can be used at any time which include things like bunker busting bombs, carpet bombing and surgical strike craft. These can cost quite a lot of cash if they are not being provided free during missions but are crucial for certain objectives.
Mercenaries does a great job of giving the player as much freedom as possible, which means the game can be played in many different ways. Whilst mission objectives might be clear cut, the way in which you undertake these is very much up to the player. Also between missions you are free to travel the lands to do as you please. Being a major war zone means that there is always some action to be found and if you explore enough you might even stumble across one of the deck of 52 without “Intel” from a faction.
Combat is probably Mercenaries biggest draw; however it is also its biggest downfall. For a start there are too few weapons in the game and the ones that are available are the usual mix of rifles, rpgs and grenades. Actual combat with the enemies seems a little uninspiring, as the AI is questionable at times. That said with the plethora of support items that can be used means that it remains fun all the same. For an extra challenge and to gain more cash players are encouraged to take down the deck of 52 with non lethal means. This requires getting close to the target and cuffing them. Sounds easy, but in reality is not, as some of them are well defended and won’t go down without a fight. This added element makes the game a lot more tactical and offers something extra to try if you have already beaten the game.
Graphics:
Mercenaries is a multi format release and it shows as the graphics could be a lot better on Xbox. However what is available does look reasonable and conveys the war zone quite well. It seems that every thing can be interacted with including destroying any buildings (although you cannot enter these) that you see before you, which is rather cool. The character models do look rather bland but at the end of the day the game play is where it really counts for a title with such scale as this. It would be nice to have such a broad game with great graphics but unfortunately that isn’t going to happen on this generation of consoles. Either way the frame rate remains consistent throughout which is in Xbox’s favour as things can get a little intense.
Sound:
Sound is rather good as there are number of ambient sounds going on all over the map. These range from distant war sounds to foreign voices being spoken over a Tannoy system. There are a number of characters that are reasonably performed by decent voice acting talent however they won’t be winning any awards for their dialogue which remains what you would expect from a game such as this. Gun sounds and explosions are all catered for and sound as you might imagine them. On their own the overall sound in the game is pretty standard, however combined they do a grand job of creating some much needed atmosphere throughout.
Longevity:
Mercenaries is not one of these games that can be completed in a day or two and in this respect is one of its major plus points. With so much to explore and generally mess around with makes Mercenaries a game that will last the average player quite some time. There are many hidden items to find in the game and missions are good enough to warrant a second or even third play through. The inclusion of the factions and the non lethal takedowns also add a lot more replay-ability to the game as players can opt to try something different on subsequent plays. Whilst not really an issue as far as I’m concerned there is no multiplayer, although in retrospect an online mode could have been quite good for players to get stuck into either co-operatively or otherwise. Either way, it’s not included and at this stage is not really a requirement even though it would have been a nice inclusion.
Overall:
Mercenaries is a very good game and quite a departure from Pandamic’s other project Knights of the Old Republic 2. With game play very similar to the “Strike” series of old school gaming, Mercenaries is Grand Theft Auto military style. This approach works very well and makes for a highly entertaining title indeed. Whilst not necessarily looking as good as it should on Xbox, Mercenaries is a worthy title for your collection all the same. Whilst some elements could be considered repetitive the pacing of the game is such that it’s great to just pick up and play for while. I suggest renting if you are unsure of this title but at the end of the day I would say buy it as you wont finish it during the rental period; and of course you can never tire of hijacking helicopters and then carpet bombing unsuspecting troops from a vantage point. Solid, entertaining, a little repetitive but a great blast overall and worthy of your cash.
