Mercenaries-2-World-In-Flames
Latest
Mercenaries 3 footage gives taste of canceled game
When Pandemic shut down last year, it took several projects with it. Kotaku has obtained footage of what was to become Mercenaries 3: No Limits. It would appear this game is not related to the announced Mercs Inc., which is currently on assignment in Limbo. The showreel is rough, giving an idea of new game concepts and revealing a character who sounds a little like Uncharted's Elena after swallowing bad-girl pills. Head on over to Kotaku to see the Mercenaries that once upon a time you may have been able to eventually pay for.
Mirror's Edge and Mercenaries 2 fail to excite Japan
Anecdotal evidence suggests that neither Mirror's Edge nor Mercenaries 2 took off in Japan. This picture shows stacks of new copies of both games on sale for ¥1,980 ($21). Mirror's Edge was released on December 11 in Japan, and Mercenaries 2 followed one week later. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are marked down, so the blame for poor sales doesn't fall solely on 360's lowly reputation in Japan. Japan has no rental services, so people tend to buy games, complete them immediately, and then sell them back to stores asap, before the prices are slashed, leading to a precipitous drop in used prices of popular games. Even that isn't the case here -- these games are new, and retailer Sofmap's website shows used copies of Mirror's Edge at ¥4,780 for PS3 and 360, while new copies are marked down to a mere ¥1,980. Would Mirror's Edge have benefited from a lead character redesigned for Asian audiences? Maybe, if that redesign had also encompassed not making the game a first-person shooter.
Mercs 2 Blow it Up Again DLC available for free
Releasing a day earlier than expected is new Mercenaries 2: World in Flames downloadable content. Available for 0 Microsoft points (that mean it's free), you can own your very own Blow it Up Again DLC and be the talk of town. The 377MB download adds four new missions to the mix along with some patriotic characters. The bigger question remains ... will it be grenades or TNT?
Mercenaries 2 is ready to Blow It Up Again
Because they're aware your interest in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has probably dwindled, EA and Pandemic Studios are set to release a new bundle of Blow It Up Again content pack joy. It's destructive DLC. This expansion content is scheduled for release on Tuesday, December 16th and will be 100% FREE throughout the rest of the year. Included will be four additional game modes as well as a few "patriotic characters" to wreak havoc with. Per the Blow It Up Again teaser trailer, we're moderately impressed, because it looks so darn boom-riffic! [Via TeamXbox, Thanks Lightsout565]
EA: 'There will be a Mercenaries 3'
EA boss John Riccitielo is the latest company bigwig talking up more sequels, just as his publishing megalith struck gold with Dead Space, one of the best original titles it's had in years. This time it's Mercenaries, which Riccitielo confirmed will see a third installment developed by series creator Pandemic. "There will be a Mercenaries 3," Riccitielo said during an investor call, adding, "and, if I have anything to do with it, there will be a Mercenaries 10." With nearly two million copies sold worldwide, a sequel to the open-world action game was a given ... but another seven beyond that? Mattias will be 'jacking other residents' wheelchairs at the mercenary retirement home by that point.
EA boss says to expect more Mercenaries
According to EA boss John Riccitiello the Mercenaries series will see another installment. During an earnings call, Riccitiello confirmed that Mercenaries will join Dead Space and the upcoming Mirror's Edge as continuing franchises for the mega-publisher along with Will Wright's latest, Spore. Released in late August, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has sold 1.9 million units across four platforms. Riccitiello made the announcement when asked if EA's recent releases were considered "sequelable" by the publisher -- who has posted a $310 million loss for its second quarter fiscal release. The EA CEO also stated that each of the mentioned titles were not likely to see annual releases. [via Kotaku]
Mercenaries 2 'Total Payback' update is M.I.A.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames fanboys who were excited to get their hands on the new Total Payback title update will, sadly, be dissapointed. Pandemic Studios has yet to release the new update, which was supposed to release on October 13th. The Mercenaries 2 forums are abuzz with angry gamers, so much so that forum moderators have been deleting threads that make mention of the Total Paypack update being delayed. We aren't sure what Pandemic's reason is for the delay or when it'll finally be released, but we've contacted them for comment and will update when we hear back.[Thanks, Chris]
Mercenaries 2 receives Total Payback on Oct. 13th
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be receiving it's first ever title update on Monday, October 13th with the release of a "Total Payback" update that's aimed at connecting gamers from around the world, adding more variety and enabling cheaters to, well ... cheat. The Total Payback update will add an additional six characters to the Mercenaries 2 mix, give players the ability to enter cheats and (this one's a biggie) enable cross-region support of Xbox Live multiplayer. Huzzah! Again, this is an update, meaning it'll be applied instantly and for free come October 13th.Also, Pandemic revealed that they'll be releasing the first set of Mercs 2 downloadable content sometime this November. So, keep an eye out for that.[Thanks, Fox]
Mercenaries 2 demo now on Xbox Live
So, are we posting about a demo for Mercenaries 2 (that just arrived on Xbox Live) solely so we can have an excuse to share "Oh No You Didn't," which somehow, mysteriously, has eluded our grasp for weeks? Possibly. We hope you can forgive us. If you came here for actual demo information rather than hilarious song stylings, you should know that it only pays out 20 minutes of fun before it shuts the whole operation down and kicks you to the dashboard. If you're looking for a really meaty taste, you may want to turn to renting.
Mercenaries 2 demo NOT on the Marketplace
Last night, Pandemic sent word to the internets informing everyone that the promised Mercenaries 2: World in Flames demo was released to the Xbox Live Marketplace for download. And even though they sent word, it doesn't mean it's true, because it simply isn't there. We're sure the Mercenaries 2 demo will eventually make its way to the XBLM (probably sooner than later), but right this moment we aren't seeing it. Keep your mercenary eyes peeled and your mercenary ears perked ...[Thanks, Rob]
Mercs 2 gas giveaway causes 'chaos' in London
While a similar publicity stunt in LA went off with relatively little drama, it appears the Mercenaries 2 petrol giveaway in London was "irresponsible and dangerous," according to local residents. The BBC reports that traffic was gridlocked as drivers waited to get their £40-worth ($70) of gratis gas. The promotion started at 6:30AM and ran until police apparently shut it down. Local residents were quite upset about the traffic and honking the stunt caused in their neighborhood. Lynne Featherstone, MP for the district, stated that while a lucky few got free gas, "hundreds of residents have faced misery." She's demanding an apology. We're sure that EA is real sorry about all the free publicity and we're positive those people with tanks full of free gas are even more sympathetic. [Thanks to all who sent this in.]
Play with Mercenaries 2 devs, 'catch' an Achievement
One of the more ... interesting Achievements in the Xbox 360 version of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the 50-point "Everybody Wants Some," which is earned by playing online with one of the game's developers, or someone who's already played with them. Yep, it's contagious. Actually, it's sort of like the STD of Live Achievements, if you'll pardon the icky analogy. We think it'd be pretty cool to hear the 360 "Achievement Unlocked" sound in real life every time we came down with a cold or other ailment. Hear that Microsoft? Get on it – after all, you were all about "Live Anywhere." Mercs 2's devs will be playing September 5 through 12 using special easy-to-grok Gamertags, which we've listed after the break. Now, go forth and expose yourself to viral goodness.
GameTrailers compares 360, PS3 versions of Mercenaries 2
Considering the inflammatory nature of these little side-by-sides, we're not even going to weigh in an opinion on which version of Mercenaries 2 comes out ahead in the GameTrailers comparison video we've put just after the break. Suffice to say: They're both better than the PS2, and that's as far as we're willing to go. Even if we wanted to express some opinion (which we don't) we're not sure if we could even pick a side, as they seem pretty darn close to parity. Do you have a preference?
Metareview - Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
No doubt your eyes have already darted to that score at the bottom, recoiling in shock at the sight of a number so low, it actually manages to spell something: catastrophe. Five out of ten? What happened? Well, it seems not everybody is blown away by Mercenaries 2 and its highly delayed destructive, open-world gameplay. Most reviews think the game accomplishes what it set out to do (i.e. set charges and blow the world to smoldering smithereens), but there's an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the supposedly shallow combat, dubious AI, the adherence to the previous game's formula and, of course, the bugs. 1UP (B+): "While Mercs doesn't do anything particularly new or interesting, the formula is inherently fun (as long as you enjoy blowing things up like I do). I can keep complaining about the quirks -- ridiculously repetitive voice samples from NPCs, a climax that consists of a trial-and-error button-pushing session -- but the wealth of smaller problems are insubstantial in light of the effective fundamentals." IGN (79/100): "For every time I cursed the stupid AI, I cheered at the demolition of another building. For every bug that got me stuck in some bushes, there was an attack chopper waiting to be jacked. If Mercenaries 2 had more polish, it would have been a great game. As is, it's still worth playing – and enjoyable – but falls far short of its promise." WorthPlaying (76/100): "Cars will flip for no reason, your character's legs will get stuck in the environment, things will explode for no reason, etc. It's impossible to play without encountering bugs on a regular basis." Eurogamer (50/100): "We'd now go a little further than that: apart from some cool explosive effects and solid controls, Mercenaries 2 is utterly mediocre in almost every sense that matters. From the initial sorties onwards it's bogged down by the worst kind of brain-dead cannon fodder enemies, lead-you-by-the-hand level design, arbitrary boundaries, and some technical howlers."
New games this week: Mercenaries 2 edition
We hate to be the ones to break the news to you, but, with the season still three weeks away, the fall onslaught has officially begun. The biggest release is the oft-delayed Mercenaries 2, sure, put you've also got a new Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise, and Facebreaker, which ... well, at least it has Snoop Dogg in it. See the rest of the week's releases right after the jump. %Gallery-1961%
Mercenaries 2 gets a Flash version
If you find yourself unable to wait until the Aug. 31 release of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, we may have the perfect soothing balm for you: Armor Games and EA's Mercenaries 2: World (Nearly) In Flames. It's exactly like the console versions of Mercenaries 2, except it's free! (And it's made in Flash. And it's two dimensional. But other than that? Exactly the same.) OK, so maybe it's not as technically impressive, but we could think of many worse ways to kill some time until the real release than with this solid, old-school diversion. Enjoy.
Mercenaries 2 co-op developer walkthrough
We'll be honest: most of the staff at Joystiq has a serious medical condition that makes us physically unable to resist good co-op gameplay. We can't do it. It's a serious condition. There's only two known treatments: 1) massive amounts of mind-altering pharmaceuticals or 2) co-op video games. Sometimes, we're forced to seek out the former when there aren't any co-op games on the ol' release calendar while other times there are games like Mercenaries 2: World in Flames that would appear to provide enough co-op gameplay to keep us drug-free for a long time. Above you've got another Mercenaries 2 developer walkthrough, this time sharing the wonders of the game's co-op functionality. Don't mean to brag, but we've already played it. That means you'll want to pay attention, lest you miss things like "drop-in," "drop-out," "campaign," and "explosion." Say, does anyone have an early copy of Castle Crashers, we're really hurting over here ...
Joystiq hands-on: Mercenaries 2 online co-op
Click to enlarge blow up So many things in life are just that much better when enjoyed with a friend. Ice skating, canoeing, inline skating ... grappling a helicopter to escape the blast of a nuclear bunker buster strike you've just called in. That last scenario – and more! – is exactly what we experienced during a recent game of Mercenaries 2 online co-op with developer Pandemic Studios. Unfortunately, there's no "Hi-Five!" peripheral (yet) for the 360 or it would have gotten plenty of use during our brazenly over-the-top cooperative mass destruction of a virtual Venezuela. %Gallery-29596%
A look at how Mercenaries 2 does co-op
IGN has a pretty decent writeup detailing their hands on time with two player co-op in the explosive Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Online co-op is presented pretty standardly, allowing two players to connect seamlessly where one player enters the others' world a la Crackdown. Meaning that any progress made during co-op only counts towards the hosts' game, but any weapons or money earned by the other player can be taken back to their game. What's nice to see too is the fact that the game doesn't "scale" the action based on co-op, which means that having a co-op buddy by your side makes dishing out the destruction a whole lot easier. Make the jump to get Mercs 2 learnified.
Joystiq interview: Mercenaries 2 senior producer Jonathan Zamkoff
We spent some time with the eagerly awaited Mercenaries 2: World in Flames at Electronic Arts recently, and we can safely say that it's a lot of fun blowing crap up in this game. In fact, if they dropped the storyline (you're chasing a druglord) altogether and called this game Blowing Sh*t Up!, we'd still buy it. Senior Producer Jonathan Zamkoff answered several of our questions about the game after we took a breath to check for scorch marks and shrapnel wounds. We'll be spending a lot more hands-on time with this one at E3, so look for more coverage next week. In the meantime, check after the break to find out why they hope driving won't suck in this one... although they don't explain why this screenshot looks like Motorstorm 2: Save Your Own Ass. %Gallery-27307%
