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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%
Mercenaries 2 delivers the goods with 'Improvise' trailer
After what feels like countless delays, the new trailer for Mercenaries 2 rekindles our hope that the latest release date of Aug. 31 for the game actually sticks. The video gives examples of a couple different ways to complete missions within the game, from being all stealth-like to just going in guns blazing. There's something disturbingly satisfying about the idea that, if a mission goes south while trying to sneak through it, the option of just flipping out and destroying everything is still on the table. Check out the video after the break.
Mercenaries 2 developer walkthrough previews different 'approaches'
Those who enjoyed the economics-meets-explosions gameplay of Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction will no doubt get a kick out of the latest trailer for the title's upcoming sequel. The three ExOps personalities we came to know and love in the first Mercs are making a comeback, and in the above video, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames lead designer Scott Warner gives us a sneak peek at how these well-trained operatives, you know, operate.The gameplay looks solid, but for those of us too busy to watch a five-minute video on a Saturday afternoon, we'll briefly break it down using A-Team archetypes: Jennifer Mui is Templeton "Faceman" Peck, Mattias Nilsson is "Howling Mad" Murdock, and Christopher Jacobs is an amalgam of John "Hannibal" Smith and B.A. Baracus -- only he doesn't pity fools. He hastily shuffles them off this mortal coil using their own grenades.
Video: Let's have a Mercenaries 2 walk-through
Mercenaries 2 news has been lacking a bit lately, so we were rather excited to see a new trailer pop up on the old Gametrailers.com. Actually, it's a developer walk-through video with the game's lead designer Scott Warner who shows actual level gameplay but played three different ways with all three Mercenaries 2 personalities. There's plenty of tactical, covert and overkill gameplay to view complete with head butts, helicopter hijacking, button mashing sequences and explosive goodness that really doesn't look too bad. Both visually and gameplay wise, that is, if you're into that kind of genre. But how about that demo?
'Virtual Iraq' treats PTSD with modded Full Spectrum Warrior
If you're curious to see how the government is using video games to help war veterans – and not just turn them into killing machines, as some say – over at The New Yorker there's a rather lengthy piece on Virtual Iraq, a system in development that uses a modded Full Spectrum Warrior to help those struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition to the game, Virtual Iraq involves using a head-mounted display (i.e. virtual reality goggles), earphones and a scent-producing machine. The prolonged-exposure therapy involves having the user revisit and retell the traumatic story repeatedly to "disconnect the memory from the reactions to the memory, so that although the memory of the traumatic event remains ... are restored to insignificance." We look forwarding to hearing more about the program, and we wonder how the effects of it would change with a more visually-advanced war game like Call of Duty 4. Note: The above video is from an un-modded version of Full Spectrum Warrior and not Virtual Iraq.
Pandemic conquers Middle-earth with new LOTR title
Pandemic Studios is spearheading a new Middle-earth based game entitled: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. The team behind the Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II titles is tasked to breathe life into the Tolkien fantasy world with this new action game. Can they do it? Josh Resnick, co-founder and general manager of Pandemic Studios thinks so: "Our experience creating massive, rich, action-packed games means that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will give fans exactly what they want: full control of the blade, bow, and magic to fight its epic battles any way they want -- even if they choose to play from the evil side."Interesting PR-laced point there Mr. Resnick. We're sure intrigued about the "evil side" gameplay, though; the ability to play as an Oliphaunt, the Balrog, and Sauron do sound rather wicked (in a good way). Interested in more? Then check out the game's official website. The game is due for a global Fall 2008 release.[Via press release]
Mercenaries 2 demo and DLC confirmed
Pandemic Studios has just confirmed with Eurogamer that they plan on releasing a Mercenaries 2: World in Flames demo, but are "not sure of dates" for its release to the XBLM. Pandemic's creative director Cameron Brown also confirmed that they have Mercenaries 2 downloadable content in the works saying that they already "have it up and running on the consoles" and it is being seen as an "enormous opportunity" as far as the longevity of the title goes.Downloadable content already up, running and complete months before the game even releases? Something smells of EA shenanigans and it doesn't smell good.
Mercenaries 2 blows things up August 31st
IGN has revealed that Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is scheduled for a U.S. release on August 31st. And since a release date announcement is a big deal, Pandemic also supplied a new Mercenaries 2 "US Release Date Trailer" for everyone to enjoy. From what we can tell, things splode really, really good. We also get a feeling for why Mattias Nilsson is so hellbent on revenge ... his bum has a bullet lodged in it. Watch the trailer, take it all in and (potentially) add Mercenaries 2 to your ever expanding list of 2008 must-haves.[Via Game Stooge]
Mercenaries 2 blowing up August 31
We already knew that Mercenaries 2: World in Flames was headed for a delay, but now we know exactly how long we're going to have to wait. IGN is reporting today that the new date is August 31. We know! That seems like forever! They might as well make the date Nevervember the 37th. The waiting isn't made any easier by this new trailer, which caters to that facet of our personalties games so often ignore: The part of us that likes to blow stuff up. ... Listen, we're sorry we got so upset earlier, we don't know what came over us. Just, please, for our sake, no more delays, OK? Please? [Thanks, Jonah]
Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon announced
Alien adorers and destruction devotees will be excited to hear that THQ's latest chapter in the Destroy All Humans franchise will be crash landing on the Xbox 360 this Fall. Being developed by Sandblast this time around, Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon will see Crypto demolishing every single object in full HD with new and completely twisted weaponry. Yup, all those fancy next-gen features will be added including Hi-Fi sound, polished graphics, shaders galore and a beefier physics engine. And yes, there will be co-op as well. Check out the new Path of Furon trailer embedded above and take it all in. Things do explode, but ... yeah ... it's just Destroy All Humans.
The Wii is a gaming platform, and Pandemic likes those
In an interview with Next Generation magazine, Pandemic's Josh Resnick revealed the company's current Wii plans: to continue admiring it. Other than that, he offered the faintest hope of Wii games from the Mercenaries/Destroy All Humans developers (Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed is developed by Locomotive Games), with a blanket statement. "Pandemic has had a long-standing tradition of being multiplatform, and we're going to continue to do that. Other than that, we don't have any other big announcements. But we love the platform." While that noncommittal statement doesn't bode well for the near future, at least Resnick has the right idea about how to treat the Wii, saying "We're not going to make the mistake of just trying to port things over to it. We're going to do something from the ground up that really makes sense for that platform and that audience." This stance seems to disprove the rumor that Pandemic was working on a children's game last year. At the very least, it suggests that they're not working on it anymore.
Pandemic Studios developing new Lord of the Rings game
An EA analyst report and meeting (via ShackNews) has revealed that Pandemic Studios is developing a new Lord of the Rings title. The studio, which was recently acquired by EA along with BioWare, continues to work on the twice-delayed destruction-fest, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Little is known about Pandemic's journey to Middle-Earth, save for EA CEO John Riccitiello's announcement that it will release during the publisher's 2009 fiscal year -- somewhere between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. You'll know more when we know more.
