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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Tony
    Sep 1, 2008
    8
    If you liked the first game, you'll love this one. The graphics are nice, but they could be better. But who cares because this game is fun. The online co-op is a bit weird. You can't go off and do two separate things like Crackdown, but it's fun to either help a friend or get some help. The explosions and things that do explode are the highlights of the game. Things blow up If you liked the first game, you'll love this one. The graphics are nice, but they could be better. But who cares because this game is fun. The online co-op is a bit weird. You can't go off and do two separate things like Crackdown, but it's fun to either help a friend or get some help. The explosions and things that do explode are the highlights of the game. Things blow up in the sort of a way you see in movies. Big fiery explosions that actually catch fire to things around them. So like I said, if you liked the first game and you played the hell out of it, you'll love this game.… Expand
  2. BL
    Sep 2, 2008
    10
    If you like games where you get tons of weapons and can blow everything up, this is the best KABOOM for your buck.
  3. Lucas.W
    Sep 9, 2008
    8
    Awesome game. Sure the graphics aren't anything to write home about, and the physics may be buggy as hell, but to be honest, for a game that can be so much fun as to negate all of it's shortcomings through absolute mayhem and destruction, that's saying alot for me. (and believe me, I'm very OCD about game breaking bugs, or even minor bugs for that matter) Gameplay and Awesome game. Sure the graphics aren't anything to write home about, and the physics may be buggy as hell, but to be honest, for a game that can be so much fun as to negate all of it's shortcomings through absolute mayhem and destruction, that's saying alot for me. (and believe me, I'm very OCD about game breaking bugs, or even minor bugs for that matter) Gameplay and controls is almost identical to the original Mercenaries, but without the Deck of 52 thing. If they had just put it off for a little longer and ironed out all the bugs, this game would definately be a 10. I just love blowing the s*** out of everything with big guns and bombs!… Expand
  4. mikebare
    Dec 13, 2008
    8
    This game is definitely fun. You can play it the way you want, be it running and gunning like superman or staying back and calling in airstrikes to clear out hostiles like a special ops member. There isn't as much of a feeling of freedom as the Grand Theft Auto series, but i honestly take the Mercs game much more seriously.
  5. FroggyMojo
    Sep 2, 2008
    8
    More fun than the original mercenaries, with a larger map, more vehicles, more firepower, more missions, better graphics. However, the game is unpolished, with numerous bugs (out-of-place notifications, gettting stuck in boulders...) and bad coding (civilian AI, pop-ins). Coop (online only) works flawlessly and makes the game that much more enjoyable (drop-in-drop-out works like a charm). More fun than the original mercenaries, with a larger map, more vehicles, more firepower, more missions, better graphics. However, the game is unpolished, with numerous bugs (out-of-place notifications, gettting stuck in boulders...) and bad coding (civilian AI, pop-ins). Coop (online only) works flawlessly and makes the game that much more enjoyable (drop-in-drop-out works like a charm). Despite its flaws, the game is incredible fun: a good sanbox game of destruction and mayhem, mildly hampered by a few questionable program decisions and/or quality assurance.… Expand
  6. BibbyF.
    Sep 3, 2008
    8
    Does what it says on the tin. People were expecting a sequel to a 4 year old game and thats exactly what they have. Some of the scenery issues from the first have somehow made it into the second, (concrete bushes) but it doesn't really detract from anything. Its not how it looks, its how it plays and if you loved the first, you'll love this.
  7. Necrotaur
    Jun 13, 2012
    0
    Just writing this review to give a quick warning: Mercenaries 2 servers were taken down about a year ago, and the game will freeze your Xbox if you try to play while connected to Xbox Live. You MUST play offline. There is a workaround involving a demo for another EA game, but this ought to have been fixed by now. Way to go, EA, you've ruined an otherwise good game.
  8. JaceN.
    Sep 22, 2008
    4
    My advice to anyone is stick with the original as Mercenaries 2 seems to be suffering a "Just Cause" infection with a hint of EA-ism. The worst addition has to be the regenerative health as on its own merits...may make the game easier to cope with but in practical terms...made Pandemic think it was okay now to throw ten times the pain at you now players have regenerative health. Most My advice to anyone is stick with the original as Mercenaries 2 seems to be suffering a "Just Cause" infection with a hint of EA-ism. The worst addition has to be the regenerative health as on its own merits...may make the game easier to cope with but in practical terms...made Pandemic think it was okay now to throw ten times the pain at you now players have regenerative health. Most fights degrade into "get splattered with a rocket...hide while you heal...kill whoever dares come find you...rinse & repeat till bored and annoyed". The graphics are awful, skin displays a stupid radiactive red glow if the fake sunlight/HDR lighting hits it, loads of screen tearing, texture/object popup, friendly AI that forgets how to shoot until youre standing in front of them, enemy AI that can see through walls, millions of dollars to buy airstrikes but not a cent can be spent on clothing (you have to complete near impossible wager challenges with Fiona to UNLOCK them) and whisper quiet ill-timed dialogue that gets drowned out by any other noise. There may have been a market for this years ago but with so many alternatives around now youd have to both desperate and living in the middle of a software dry spell to buy this...factors which contributed to its initial sales.… Expand
  9. realgamer1
    Sep 2, 2008
    4
    Ok. As someone who played the first game years ago, i have to say i really don't see anything new add to the new one. oh yeah you can sprint now. the graphics are lame. not good enough for next gen. the bugs are ridiculous. you cant walk through a bush in a jungle???? bad guys aiming invisible weapons. what??? the physics are way off. you ram a huge vehicle into a motorcycle and Ok. As someone who played the first game years ago, i have to say i really don't see anything new add to the new one. oh yeah you can sprint now. the graphics are lame. not good enough for next gen. the bugs are ridiculous. you cant walk through a bush in a jungle???? bad guys aiming invisible weapons. what??? the physics are way off. you ram a huge vehicle into a motorcycle and nothing happens to the motorcycle or the guy riding it. everything looks the same. yeah i was impressed the first time i saw a building crumble to the ground, but that was on a playstation2 years ago. i didn't think it would look exactly the same in a sequel on a next gen console. once again, they fooled us all by putting out crap like this with a major marketing push. the best thing about this game is the fold out ads it had in gaming mags. TRUTH. those things looked fresh as hell. THIS GAME SUCKS!!!!… Expand
  10. JohnHrabovsky
    Sep 8, 2008
    1
    The graphics, gamplay, plot is horrible. If I had to compare ths to a first person shooter it ranks below arma and thats bad.
  11. DaveC
    Sep 14, 2008
    3
    Agree 100% with "Real Gamer1" comments above. I loved the first one, but if anything I'd say this second version is worse in some areas. I was worried when I saw it released on PS2 - that's what this game feels like on the 360, an old PS2 game. OK, draw distance is further so there's less fog than the first one. But the physics are indeed rubbish, especially after being Agree 100% with "Real Gamer1" comments above. I loved the first one, but if anything I'd say this second version is worse in some areas. I was worried when I saw it released on PS2 - that's what this game feels like on the 360, an old PS2 game. OK, draw distance is further so there's less fog than the first one. But the physics are indeed rubbish, especially after being treated to the quality of GTA4. There's a lot of loading screens; when you finish a mission, you get automatically transported back away with a black loading screen, which impacts on the overall feel of being open worlded and having to fight your way back out of the place you just trashed. While the vehicles and emplaced weapons are very cool and gutzy, the hand weapon combat and AI is rubbish. Shooting a carbine feels like you're shooting one of those toy cap guns. It's just about impossible to die, even charging in with no tactics, so there's no real incentive to be careful. Very disappointing for a next gen console game coming out years after the first.… Expand
  12. JonM
    Sep 20, 2008
    1
    Let me start by saying I would love to have given this game a far higher score; indeed I believe it deserving of at least a seven. The concept is good, there are some brilliant weapons and vehicles. However, the unacceptable amount of glitches and bugs, combined with some truly dreadful voice acting and very shallow and undeveloped storyline, personally lowers the score for me. The final Let me start by saying I would love to have given this game a far higher score; indeed I believe it deserving of at least a seven. The concept is good, there are some brilliant weapons and vehicles. However, the unacceptable amount of glitches and bugs, combined with some truly dreadful voice acting and very shallow and undeveloped storyline, personally lowers the score for me. The final straw was when the game refused to allow me to access my saves, meaning I had to restart the whole game. This has happened a second time, and quite frankly EA and Pandemic have a hell of a lot to answer for. This game is CLEARLY NOT FINISHED, so WHY was it released. Never before have I encountered such an annoying game, and I truly feel sorry for (most) of the people involved in the game, as they now are left looking at it and thinking … Expand
  13. ALLG
    Sep 5, 2008
    4
    Total dissapointment. Crappy physics, horrible bugs, and the graphics could be a lot better. I can't figure out why this was pushed back so long. They sure were not not working on the game during those months of delay. I'd much rather be playing the first Mercenaries. The game is actually thrown together so poorly that you can actually see some of the seams where they put Total dissapointment. Crappy physics, horrible bugs, and the graphics could be a lot better. I can't figure out why this was pushed back so long. They sure were not not working on the game during those months of delay. I'd much rather be playing the first Mercenaries. The game is actually thrown together so poorly that you can actually see some of the seams where they put together the game. Terrible. I want my money back.… Expand
  14. sullye
    Aug 24, 2009
    3
    Yeah this game isn't to be taken seriously, I'll give it that. However I'll be specific when i say this; WTF this game has a NUKE but by the time you get it you're so effing over blowing the same ol same ol that you don't even care to use it. Not to mention that collecting these little red boxes is a head ache and a half, or at least it was. Now that the game Yeah this game isn't to be taken seriously, I'll give it that. However I'll be specific when i say this; WTF this game has a NUKE but by the time you get it you're so effing over blowing the same ol same ol that you don't even care to use it. Not to mention that collecting these little red boxes is a head ache and a half, or at least it was. Now that the game glitched out and I lost every part I collected. Not to worry though if I come within a few cm. of the I get them back, so I'll just fly around this aimless map in a helicopter that averages 15 MPH, man I'm bored just thinking about it. This is a half game, for the guy who says "just rent it" yeah that's fine except that it'll only generate enough revenue from that (not to mention false demand) to encourage duplication, not innovation.… Expand
  15. DME
    Jul 15, 2012
    0
    Literally unplayable
  16. 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
  17. Tanner
    Sep 1, 2008
    9
    I bought this game yesterday and trust me, if anyone has this game and is bummed out (like i was at first), THE GAME GETS BETTER you need to do the story missions to get all the cool weapons and vehicles. I haven't even played coop yet and it might turn my 9 to a 10.
  18. BobN.
    Oct 4, 2008
    10
    Excellent game. The only bad thing about it is that its animated. Other then that its the best game i've ever played.
  19. NickB.
    Sep 1, 2008
    7
    Could have been better with more action animations like the first one.
  20. Brinan
    Sep 3, 2008
    10
    Truely amasing game, wasn't expecting much going in -- but i was impressed. So many weapons and vehs! Lots of 'mission' variation to keep anyone busy from boredom, everything is destructable.. airstrikes.. supply drops. Just so many options to complete each mission, no mission is really the same, and you can't use a single weapon and blow through the entire game -- you Truely amasing game, wasn't expecting much going in -- but i was impressed. So many weapons and vehs! Lots of 'mission' variation to keep anyone busy from boredom, everything is destructable.. airstrikes.. supply drops. Just so many options to complete each mission, no mission is really the same, and you can't use a single weapon and blow through the entire game -- you HAVE to use everything at your disposal. The Co-op just takes this game to the next level.. Double the destruction, nothing like blowing up entire cities with a buddy.… Expand
  21. 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
  22. Toltec01
    Sep 4, 2008
    8
    I can't believe Bad Company got higher rating than this game, seems suspicious to me! Mercs 2 was alot of fun and can't wait to get back to playing. My only gripe is that it takes wayyyy to long to purchase any of the cooler items, these items shoudl be available to the player from the start of the game. Don't hold back and don't be greedy devs it will bite you in the I can't believe Bad Company got higher rating than this game, seems suspicious to me! Mercs 2 was alot of fun and can't wait to get back to playing. My only gripe is that it takes wayyyy to long to purchase any of the cooler items, these items shoudl be available to the player from the start of the game. Don't hold back and don't be greedy devs it will bite you in the but. Give the player the tools asap; listen in a world where player attention span is 3 seconds going into 10, you better give them the goods!… Expand
  23. DonM.
    Sep 4, 2008
    10
    This game is perfect for anyone who loves to shoot and destroy. The story of the game is a little mixed up but it keeps you busy. It is a better more in depth version of GTA4
  24. 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
  25. DarrenM.
    Sep 12, 2008
    8
    Gamespot, are you serious ?, not much to do , this game is one of the best blow the hell everything up to kingdom come shooters ive played in ages, so what if there are a few clithches the action is fast paced enough to make you go ," who cares", you guys who scored the game less than 75, go play chess !
  26. 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
  27. StevenC.
    Sep 1, 2008
    9
    Its a fantastic sandbox game. I like the online co op. The Airstrikes are spectacular. Lots of fun
  28. DavidN.
    Sep 2, 2008
    10
    This game really worth it. It's realistic, beautiful, and awesome gameplay. If you need a game to wait for FABLE 2, GOW 2, spore or FARCRY 2, buy this one . You will never regret its awesomeness.
  29. BobT.
    Sep 2, 2008
    10
    This game is simply amazing and i believe that it will be one that i will be playing for a long time! love COOP!!
  30. 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
prev
Page:

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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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
See all critic reviews »