LucasArts publishes
Mercenaries. WAIT, WHAT!?!? LucasArts!? Yup, you heard me right: LucasArts published a non-Star Wars game along with the developer,
Pandemic Studios. Pandemic did Star Wars Battlefront with Lucas Arts; Mercenaries is another awesome, fun, interactive game. Mercenaries features the same GTA-type town and huge roaming area, but it is a huge battlefield rather than a massive state. Vehicles exclude only the airplane with a range encompassing cars and trucks to helicopters.
Nothing comes close to this! Although it is similar, Mercenaries surpasses GTA. The 52 most wanted men in Korea are shown on a deck of cards and ranked by importance. Your goal is to capture the whole deck of 52. Throughout the game, you receive intelligence regarding the whereabouts are of these men allowing you to track them. You must choose between killing and capturing the targets with more money available for captures. Targets listed on face cards are contract missions assigned by one of the military forces.
You also face side missions and challenges to complete. While free-roaming, you will see constant battles around you. You may engage in these battles using the identity of the vehicle you are driving. You automatically assume the disguise of the vehicle you are in: American, Chinese, or civilian.
Your character can carry 2 weapons and 2 different types of grenades and C4. You can order from the "online store" (Your PDA connection to the mafia): vehicle, air strikes, supply boxes including health, different types of weapons, explosives and so on. The air strike function is cool, you can order air strikes on any target anytime and anywhere. If you destroy certain targets, you get extra money.
This game is as real as it gets. Each vehicle has a different feel with options to steal or hi-jack them. The only way you can hi-jack vehicles is if the gunner is dead. With air strikes, you have to choose the right weapon; there is an array of military weapons. After every mission you complete, you will be able to purchase new supplies and air strikes from the online store. The title "playground of destruction" is really what they mean. You can destroy anything and everything, even the biggest building in town. You want to blow up the whole city? Go ahead and do it. It's fun.
Bad things about this game. Hmmmmmmmm. Not too many, just minor things. Although the goal is capture all 52 targets, there isn't much of a backstory for your characters. You don't learn about your character at all. The AI characters in this game are very aggressive. Although they are not stealthy, they can kick the crud out of you. One thing I hate is when the AI guys run you over in a car. It’s funny but can get old after awhile.
One downfall is that the game is not online, The one player mode is good, but being able to team-up with others would make the game that much more exciting.
Overall I feel this game rules, the graphics are crisp and it makes the game feel like you are really there. With the vast number of missions, this game is sure to give you hours of entertainment. If you plan to get a new game anytime soon, I definitely recommend Mercenaries.
Overall Rating:
Games are reviewed on a 1 to 5 rating. 5 being the best and 1 being the worst.
