Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 164 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 99 out of 164
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 164
  3. Negative: 32 out of 164
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  1. msherry9
    Jul 10, 2011
    5
    This review is several years late and I purchased the game for a mere $8.00 recently with my friend, seeking a new game to grant me another two week haven of decent entertainment. Overall, despite it being an extremely low cost, I can BARELY say that it was worth it. At first, the novelty of open world roaming game and awesome explosions did its job, mesmerizing me in my first few hours ofThis review is several years late and I purchased the game for a mere $8.00 recently with my friend, seeking a new game to grant me another two week haven of decent entertainment. Overall, despite it being an extremely low cost, I can BARELY say that it was worth it. At first, the novelty of open world roaming game and awesome explosions did its job, mesmerizing me in my first few hours of gameplay. But as with all novelties, it eventually wore off, leaving nothing more than its barren, uninspired, bland carcass. To start, there's a glitch before you even get to the main menu, where if you have Xbox Live but are not connected to the EA servers at that time, you're game will freeze at the main menu. It's rather embarassing that to this day, there has not been a patch to fix this. The storyline of the campaign is something you would expect out of a subpar action film, where you're a mercenary who has been stood up and betrayed by one of your contractors, and you seek revenge. There is no story arc and the entire tale is extremely bland and boring. I literally could not care about the story less, and all of the main characters except Mattias are total idiots. What you eventually come to realize is that there are no real main storyline missions. To progress in the campaign, you must do all of the sidequests and jobs available from all of the various factions and eventually a random cutscene will advance you in the story. At first, all of these side jobs are exciting and quite fun to blast through, but as I was sitting there, escorting the same damned executive to the same damn building for the 6th time, I realized that every single side mission from every single faction winds up being the same repetitive, mind-numbing garbage over and over again. Blow this building up. Defend this structure. Escort this d-bag to point X. Capture this building. There's an absolute abundance of missions to do, but as mentioned earlier, are all essentially the same, merely adjusting the difficulty and amount of enemy resistance to appear different. Sure, as you progress you unlock new weapons, vehicles, and airstrikes, but when you look at it from afar, it really doesn't add up to much at all, and certainly wasn't a very good incentive to keep progressing. All of the airstrikes pretty much function the same, save for a few, and the vehicles have horrible handling as well as generic weapons. Every .50 caliber machine gun on every vehicle is the exact same, and the sound effects in general aren't very good. Cars have the most unrealistic damage that they can sustain before exploding. If you drive over a slight hill on a road and your back bumper grazes the summit, you will take 15% damage of your starting 100% health. It gets old, fast. The graphics are actually not bad, and the explosions on this game still never cease to amaze me, consisting of amazing smoke textures and fantastic effects. It's always entertaing to "paint" an area with a nuclear bunker buster and watch as an entire outpost of enemy soldiers are obliterated amidst a glorious mushroom cloud of death. The co-op is pretty decent, featuring solid drop-in and out mechanics, but it also erases the airstrikes of the non-host as well as all of his vehicles. If you complete a mission in your friend's lobby, it does not count for you at all. The characters in the campaign are likable enough, and voice acting is mediocre at best. The dialogue is hilarious at times, especially for the jet pilot you eventually recruit. Every game has its glitches, but this game features a ridiculous amount of them, ranging from regular game crashes all the way to disappearing characters models. They happen much more often than is tolerable, and quickly spoils much of the small amount of fun remaining in this already mediocre game. The guns are not satisfying to use, save for explosive weapons, and they shoot essentially the same. Overall, this game is probably one of the most uninspired and repetitive games out there. The side missions are grueling and sometimes ridiculously hard, and you never feel a sense of accomplisment no matter how far you progress in the game. Cheesy storyline (as if one mercenary can push an entire military presence out of a country), and a glitchy mess sums this game up. The only incentive that kept me going was achievements, and I even had to settle for those. Not recommended, unless you can get it for less than $10.00.… Expand
  2. NickB.
    Sep 1, 2008
    7
    Could have been better with more action animations like the first one.
  3. JerryC
    Sep 3, 2008
    6
    I am giving this game a low score even though i waited for this to come out since the first game which i played countless times. There are just too many flaws with this game to ignore. The enemy AI is something not everyone will be mad about but yes they are extremely dumb, taking over the same turret after i just shot 4 guys in that same turret is not good. Also, later in the game there I am giving this game a low score even though i waited for this to come out since the first game which i played countless times. There are just too many flaws with this game to ignore. The enemy AI is something not everyone will be mad about but yes they are extremely dumb, taking over the same turret after i just shot 4 guys in that same turret is not good. Also, later in the game there are vehicle that no matter how hard you try you can't steal. Yes, the give the fun mini-game of the button presses but in the middle of the grappling part, no matter how fast you press the button, you always lose and get kicked off the vehicle, and this happens on several different models. Another thing is that there is little challenge like the last game, in Mercs 1 you had to actually find the HVTs and in Mercs 2 they are found for you, not only this but they also have nothing to do with the story. The graphics look good in some places but there is a horrible amount of pop-in and they use a load of questionable really low-def textures. Explosions look pretty and it is always fun to light a fuel tank on fire just to watch another pretty explosion. Co-op feels tacked on as they don't add more units to fight and most vehicles have you or your buddy just sitting in the passenger seat with nothing to do. All of this plus the fact that you and your buddy can't be seperated by more than 450 meters before the game lags you off. The game has some fun moments but overall, after I wanted this game to work so much, I will be going back to playing GTA4. For everything they got right, they got something wrong, something that should have been easily fixed.… Expand
  4. JeffL
    Sep 1, 2008
    7
    Frankly, the game looks unfinished or potentially faulty at the core. The single most annoying aspect of the game is the horrendously terrible pop-ins. Driving a motorcycle at full speed down the road is nearly impossible. You are driving along and then *poof* all of a sudden you are mid-crash with another vehicle sending you flying in the air. Several other annoyances follow in line Frankly, the game looks unfinished or potentially faulty at the core. The single most annoying aspect of the game is the horrendously terrible pop-ins. Driving a motorcycle at full speed down the road is nearly impossible. You are driving along and then *poof* all of a sudden you are mid-crash with another vehicle sending you flying in the air. Several other annoyances follow in line including terrible dialog, sub-par graphics, ridiculously stupid AI, and glitches galore. However, as most reviews have had to admit... it still has moments where it is insanely fun. Spending nearly 20 minutes completely leveling a fortified bunker in co-op mode was one of the funnest moments I have ever had on Xbox Live. And I applauded the foresight in turning this co-op because it saves an otherwise poor game. In the end, the game is a bit of a shame because its overall quality is laughable though there was clearly some great people involved, just not enough to complete the whole package.… Expand
  5. FPSMaster
    Sep 1, 2008
    5
    This is easily the worst looking and worst playing game of this generation and it looks like Eurogamer is the only reviewer to put this game in it's place like it should have. First thing you'll notice is how bad the graphics are. It's obvious this was made for PS2 then just ported right over like 360 launch titles in 2005. No textures on anything, just flat painted on This is easily the worst looking and worst playing game of this generation and it looks like Eurogamer is the only reviewer to put this game in it's place like it should have. First thing you'll notice is how bad the graphics are. It's obvious this was made for PS2 then just ported right over like 360 launch titles in 2005. No textures on anything, just flat painted on surfaces, the water looks like oil and something from a first gen PS2 title, the pop-in is as bad as GTA3's from 2001 and the animations are of the lowest PS2 quality. Unacceptable. The enemy A.I. is awful and either stands there or runs away. Friendly A.I. will not usually help you, but instead do the exact opposite of what you want them to. Shooting feels completely useless since you don't feel you're hitting anything until the enemy is dead. Driving feels like it came straight out of American Chopper on PS2 and you get stuck on everything. The destructibility is canned and looks worse then Mercs 1's destruction. The sound is annoying and grates on your nerves very quickly. The only saving grace is dropping bombs and seeing the decent explosions of which the fires go out after 5 seconds. Killing civilians costs you money, but they get up 15 seconds later and walk away. It just looks and plays awful and there are really not enough negative descriptive words to describe a game looking and playing this bad in 2008. There are too many glitches for this to be beyond a planning stage, much less finalized. There's no excuse for anyone to play this game like there was no excuse for it to take 3 1/2 years to make a game that looks and plays worse than the original. Where is the online multiplayer Pandemic promised for the sequel when it was announced in 2005? I don't know if EA having published this ruined it, but it's pretty sad that a game made by the developer of Full Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars Battlefront and the first Mercs could put out a game that makes Just Cause from 2006 seem to look and play better. Skip this turd, for the love of all things gaming. Please.… Expand
  6. KhristianR.
    Sep 29, 2008
    7
    I really liked Mercenaries on the Xbox. It was about fun, doing what you want at your pace and also, making explosions, BIGGER EXPOLOSIONS, EVEN BIGGER, That ad was catchy. I really was hoping this would be more of the same and an advancement, but sadly part of it seems a step back. There's a decent amount of missions and vehicles to use, different approaches, there is a hell of a I really liked Mercenaries on the Xbox. It was about fun, doing what you want at your pace and also, making explosions, BIGGER EXPOLOSIONS, EVEN BIGGER, That ad was catchy. I really was hoping this would be more of the same and an advancement, but sadly part of it seems a step back. There's a decent amount of missions and vehicles to use, different approaches, there is a hell of a lot of fun that can be had...but it seems that its drained with the sometimes slow-responsive controls. Also the animation in particular parts is very stiff. The graphics, in certain parts looks really good, whilst in others looks like its been rushed and its a mix-mash of good and rough. If a bit more time had been spent. I honestly think this would have been as polished and slick as the first title. Its a good game, but there's better out there. I'd advise for a rental. Its decent and most implemented well, but its nothing special...which is a shame. SCORE : 75%.… Expand
  7. JonathanW.
    Sep 5, 2008
    7
    Lots of fun. Not anywhere near as buggy as people are saying. Not being able to walk through bushes is annoying but not a game breaker by any stretch. The save system is absolutely stupid though. I've played the "blow up 3 airplane pieces and rescue airmen" mission too many times now - each time just dying assault the wreckage on the ship. I more forgiving save system would make this Lots of fun. Not anywhere near as buggy as people are saying. Not being able to walk through bushes is annoying but not a game breaker by any stretch. The save system is absolutely stupid though. I've played the "blow up 3 airplane pieces and rescue airmen" mission too many times now - each time just dying assault the wreckage on the ship. I more forgiving save system would make this mission much less annoying.… Expand
  8. MattB
    Sep 8, 2008
    7
    I was unsure about the quality of this game, so I rented it instead of buying it. Renting it was definitely worth it, but I wouldn't buy it. My first impressions were that the graphics are on par for today's standard, and that why did they have to fill the game with one liners and solely bothersome action hijacking animations. At first I was using the AK and picking up other AKs I was unsure about the quality of this game, so I rented it instead of buying it. Renting it was definitely worth it, but I wouldn't buy it. My first impressions were that the graphics are on par for today's standard, and that why did they have to fill the game with one liners and solely bothersome action hijacking animations. At first I was using the AK and picking up other AKs for ammo, but every time I did so, I had to listen to my character say one of 2 or 3 one liners time and time again. The hijacking seemed silly to me because you had to button mash a certain button at the right time in order to take the vehicle, but I could never get it down on the first try. The end result was memorizing what buttons to press, and when for each vehicle which isn't fun or a good challenge; Its just annoying. I did however like how the money for contract rewards were scaled with the money needed to buy support from stores which you can now buy from any faction, although each faction has a number of unique support options. I would find my funds steadily declining at a rate close enough to my income to keep me keen for the many capture, kill, or destroy mini objectives from each faction to bolster my income. While that was all fine and nice, the problem came down to these 3 things; 2 of which were in Mercenaries 1 as well. 1: The AI soldiers are still idiots. Now in Merc 2, the programmers made them sound smarter and fight a bit smarter, they are still idiots. They know how to look for you, re-man any emplaced weapons or vehicles (including tanks and helicopters), and use their melee attack, but they still stand out in the open just waiting for you to shoot. 2: Your only real weakness is explosive (weapons). Tanks, RPG's, and grenades are the only things that will devastate you 9/10 times. The other 1 time is the occasional SAM or HMG. Other soldiers barely scratch you. 3: The game turns into a repetitive grind of Capture outpost after outpost. But I'm not saying I didn't have fun with it, I'm just saying it gets old. Hence the 7 out of 10. Rent it now, or buy it when its available for cheap in the distant future. Oh, and although I never tried the coop, I just know that has to be fun. You+A friend+destruction= Win. Overall verdict, nice enhancements, but still has many unresolved problems from the original. Rent it, and if you do love it, go ahead.… Expand
  9. TomP
    Sep 1, 2008
    6
    Okay, the running is just ridiculously bad looking, the collisions are hokey, as are the cheesy rag doll effects when you fly off a bike, (Or when hitting a person) the trees get destroyed like legos when ran into by a motorcycle, the water/swimming effects are downright terrible for any system after the N64, and to top it all off the gameplay really doesn't offer that much fun. Okay, the running is just ridiculously bad looking, the collisions are hokey, as are the cheesy rag doll effects when you fly off a bike, (Or when hitting a person) the trees get destroyed like legos when ran into by a motorcycle, the water/swimming effects are downright terrible for any system after the N64, and to top it all off the gameplay really doesn't offer that much fun. Seriously, if I had a game that came out looking like this after years of development, I would've scrapped the whole thing, or set it back another year. Anyone who plays games will realize this as a substandard excuse for GTA4 (An infinitely better game) - only mercenary style. Very unflattering comparison. Get that, don't waste your time with this. (It's only redeeming feature is building destruction).… Expand
  10. LBoyd
    Sep 1, 2008
    7
    M2:WiF has all the polish of "Earth Defense Force" (not entirely a good thing). I am playing as I write this and I must say,it's a bit of a let down. Yeah! You can blow crap up and all that, but it comes off a bit "last-gen" in the area of graphics quality and game-play. In fact, the first Mercenaries did a much better job of creating a sense of atmosphere in its maps! I know you may M2:WiF has all the polish of "Earth Defense Force" (not entirely a good thing). I am playing as I write this and I must say,it's a bit of a let down. Yeah! You can blow crap up and all that, but it comes off a bit "last-gen" in the area of graphics quality and game-play. In fact, the first Mercenaries did a much better job of creating a sense of atmosphere in its maps! I know you may be reading this and thinking I "must be crazy", but compared to other "blow-em up" titles and you'll see what I mean. "Quake Wars:Enemy Territories" has more polish! How is it that the characters can bump into a destroyed section of building and it flips into the air, there is no offline co-op, and very glitchy: characters holding pistols as if they are shotguns, boulders that fly about with the slightest touch, etc. How long have the developers been working on this one? Not very polished, not very polished at all.… Expand
  11. DavidW.
    Aug 31, 2008
    6
    This game is very much like the first with arguably better graphics(more detail, but not as clean looking) but because it does not have off-line co-op I give it a 6. I returned this game the same day I bought it because what good is a game if you can't invite your freinds over and play it with them. I guess there is no money in that.
  12. Slate
    Jul 15, 2011
    5
    The funny thing is it looks some people review this game without even playing it! Although a great concept for a game it lacks far too much. Guns are far too inaccurate, vehicles handle like garbage, graphics tend to flicker a lot, a ton of bugs from what I have came across. Poorly scripted in a lot of aspects, like I say a great concept for a game it would be fun if it matched up withThe funny thing is it looks some people review this game without even playing it! Although a great concept for a game it lacks far too much. Guns are far too inaccurate, vehicles handle like garbage, graphics tend to flicker a lot, a ton of bugs from what I have came across. Poorly scripted in a lot of aspects, like I say a great concept for a game it would be fun if it matched up with the integrity of games such as GTA etc. But lacks so much and seemed rushed into development. They are no longer a developer on top of that so that says something. I'm just glad I got this game out of a bargain bin for $8.00 but even then I don't think it was worth my $8.00.… Expand
  13. kenosando
    Nov 14, 2011
    5
    EA ruined this game. I think they got too involved in Pandemic's workings and made this game borderline cheesy. The single saving grace to this game (and why it received instead of 0) was the open-world aspect. Vehicles galore. Weapons galore. The map is very large, would take you several hours to discover every nook and crannie it has to offer. The addition of boats is awesome. I haveEA ruined this game. I think they got too involved in Pandemic's workings and made this game borderline cheesy. The single saving grace to this game (and why it received instead of 0) was the open-world aspect. Vehicles galore. Weapons galore. The map is very large, would take you several hours to discover every nook and crannie it has to offer. The addition of boats is awesome. I have never had so much fun speeding down a river in a jet ski or speedboat, and the terrain is very well designed, a step above the prequel. This is a much more fun open-world experience than that of the prequel, and that is where the positive stops. The story is terrible. The dialogue is terrible. 99% of the missions are terrible, no where near the difficulty that the original had. The entire game can easily be beaten in a hour, which is pathetic. There is no real reason to side with any particular faction, because the story ends the same nearly every time. The story is terrible (sounding like a broken record). It is such a shame the open-world momentum was halted by a storyline so sappy and flooded with sidekicks, it is amazing that this game was written by adults. Think of cheesy Saturday morning cartoons that are forced into a T-rated game, and you get this. I have spent about 100 hours playing the open-world experience of the game, and about 3 beating the game twice. My advice is to get into the game, get past the awful opening scenes, play just enough of the game to get your chopper pilot and bomber, and then activate all the cheats. The Fuel air launcher and anti-material rifle are the best weapons in the game. The line of luxury cars you can receive is pretty awesome. Before you get too depressed by the story and dialogue, go have fun first, and then forget there is a story to this game.… Expand
  14. Compi24
    Jun 25, 2013
    7
    The world is not very noteworthy, and some of the gameplay is kind of insignificant, but the destructibility and action of 'Mercenaries 2: World In Flames" is really all you need for an entertaining action experience.
  15. Rox22
    Sep 12, 2013
    7
    It is more or less exactly the same as the first game, just with better graphics, a few new additions and a different location.

    There are a ton of glitches and bugs in the game, but luckily I managed to bypass most of the serious ones, so my game went mostly problem free. Overall: While it is more of the same. That isn't a bad thing. The first game rocked and so did this one. Just a    It is more or less exactly the same as the first game, just with better graphics, a few new additions and a different location.

    There are a ton of glitches and bugs in the game, but luckily I managed to bypass most of the serious ones, so my game went mostly problem free.

    Overall:
    While it is more of the same. That isn't a bad thing. The first game rocked and so did this one. Just a real shame they weren't a bit more daring. Also, the game could have used a bit more test before release.    … Expand
  16. Alex_Pilgrim008
    Sep 11, 2023
    7
    "World In Flames" is not as good as the original "Mercenaries", but it does provide lots of mindless fun. Unfortunately, this is a very bug-filled game that can be quite repetitive. The big new feature is the two player co-op mode that I never did play. Fans of the first game may like it or be disappointed. This is one of those "try before you buy" games. I would give it a 7.4 out of 10.

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2008
24
#24 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2008
28
#28 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 69
  3. Negative: 2 out of 69
  1. Gamer 2.0
    77
    The game is worth a rental and a purchase if you want to keep your destruction going. So if you’re looking for a fun game, check out Mercs 2.
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  2. IGN
    79
    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.
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  3. 1UP
    83
    It won't light the world on fire, but this next-gen playground of destruction offers you tons to do (well, tons to explode), it's always enjoyable, and I dove right back in after the credits rolled.
    Read full review
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