Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

[RogueIce]

Has nobody bought this game yet?

Well, I have, and it be fun. Running around North Korea in the Korean War take two is a lot of fun.

And, soundtrack guy that I am, it just gets bonus points.

Alas, I am not that far along in it (haven't even done the first Chinese mission yet), but from what I've played I have good vibes.

Just some questions on those who have played:

1) The assault rifles. They all look like AKs but I'm guessing they're not, because it makes me want to exchange weapons when I run across some of them.

2) Those ammo crates. What's the deal? Even in the Allies Supply drop, which should ben giving me M4 ammo, I have to cycle through my weapons a couple times before my Merc will finally pick it up.

3) RPGs. Can I really only carry three rounds max for this? And then I just have to leave any others I find unless I want to waste the remaining rounds?

[YT300000]

Has nobody bought this game yet?

Well, I have, and it be fun. Running around North Korea in the Korean War take two is a lot of fun.

And, soundtrack guy that I am, it just gets bonus points.

Alas, I am not that far along in it (haven't even done the first Chinese mission yet), but from what I've played I have good vibes.

Just some questions on those who have played:

1) The assault rifles. They all look like AKs but I'm guessing they're not, because it makes me want to exchange weapons when I run across some of them.

Screencap, if you can.

[Elheru Aran]

Buncha Soviet/Chinese/KorCom rifles are basically just mods of the basic AK design. Don't sweat it-- as long as it goes bang-bang, and hits what you shoot at (you hope!), what's to complain about?

[Enforcer Talen]

anyone have a copy of the ad for it? its hilarious.

[Hotfoot]

I like the one of the various characters describing what they do.

"I will use two grenades for the job, when one will do just fine."

[RogueIce]

Screencap, if you can.

Nevermind. They're the same, I just hit the max for the weapon loadout. Wasn't paying attention.

*goes back to the mission where you take out the Mafia bosses*

[Mr Bean]

Yes I have this, Yes I started playing strait, then changed my mind used the unlock everything in the shop cheat and the 1million cheat a few times

Why?

Cause nothing says loving like Sat Guided Carpet Bombing, And Cluster Bombs, Tankhunters, Fuel Air Bombs

And the cheat crate is good for a laugh(Streetsweeper, Pocket Atillery and the Def-Gun)

[Mr Bean]

1) The assault rifles. They all look like AKs but I'm guessing they're not, because it makes me want to exchange weapons when I run across some of them.

Same gun "Assult Rifle" is the AK-47 "Carbine" is the AR-15 however you CAN carry two of the same gun, sometimes useful(RPG's Stingers ect)

2) Those ammo crates. What's the deal? Even in the Allies Supply drop, which should ben giving me M4 ammo, I have to cycle through my weapons a couple times before my Merc will finally pick it up.

Ammo crates give you ammo for whatever gun you have out and then give ammo for the second gun if the first is full

3) RPGs. Can I really only carry three rounds max for this? And then I just have to leave any others I find unless I want to waste the remaining rounds?

You can carry two RPG's or just keep reloading the one you have

[Chardok]

XBOX, PS2 (PC?)

Ha! Well, Chardok has gotten a new game, and, as per tradition, I shall now review in my own inimitatable fashion. Also, He will refer to himself in the third person because it makes him feel important.

I will switch reference points during the course of this review. To keep everyone confused. Just know that "him" and "I" are interchangable.

So. *Picks up game* Chardok is lost in his own thoughts as usual. Lucasarts, eh? Wow. I cant wait to try out this flaming bag of shit game. *Copmelled to the register, game in hand* Why do I continue to buy this shitstorm of a game? It's as if...something is....guiding me...Cant stop.....swiping...debit card....

*Drives home*

This is....cutting into his WoW time. *Turns on xbox* Why...do I....want to play this Lucasarts piece of crap?
*Trust your feelings, Danny.*
WHAT?! Who said that?!
*Let go, Danny.*
Okay. My feelings tell me to ignore this crap game and go play WoW.
*Wrong feelings, Danny.*
No. You said trust my feelings, so I am putting this down and going to play WoW.
*No, wait, I meant to sa-*
Shh!
*But I*
ZIPIT!
*Y-*
ZIPPAAAAAHHHH!
*Fine.*
Just kidding. Okay. I'll give it a shot.

So, from the first two notes of the intro music, I knew this wasnt your typical Lucasarts crapfest. In this game, you play the part of a Mercenary (Umm...Duh?) in a fictitious war zone, where several factions are fighting- Get this- North Korea. HA! Okay, so The North Korean Government has been overthrown, General Song, Nuclear proliferation, Blah blah blah. Russian Mafia moves in, China, The UN (Called the AN or, allied nations here.) and South Korea.

*ahem*

The Russian mafia runs a webstie, accessable from your PDA, where you can order neat things like HUMMVEES, and...umm...ROCKET LAUNCHERS...and.....MACHINE GUNS....stuff like that. And when you order them, they cost money, right? No Problem. Simply complete contracts, collect bounties and you gots CASH! Oh, yeah, did I mention that in this game, there are no less than 52 "Bosses". Called the deck of 52. (Just like in Afghanistan.) Each boss is worth a certain amount of money, you capture him alive, you collect the full bounty. Dead, half the bounty. But...you do not know where the guys are at. In order to find the guys, you gotta complete missions for various factions. Lets say....the Russian Mafia (My personal favorite faction) Now, their missin may be to assassinate a high level chinese official. So you do the mission, kill the official, and they tell you where one of the card guys are at.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Let's say, hippotheticalliy, the chinese spotted you killing him. You are not the 1337 snipzor you THOUGHT you were. Now the chinese hate your guts. Poor you, dipshit. Now they wont give you contracts and intel on where the card guys are located! DOUBLE YOO TEE EFF?! Well, it just sucks to be you, find em yourself.

Just kidding. there are certain piddly little challenges you can do to raise faction standing enough to get missions from them. Okay. So that's the basic premise of the game. Seems simple, right? It is. Just that simple. But it's easily the most fun game I've played in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time for several reasons.

1. Hijack every vehicle in the game.
a.Helos, tanks, It dont matter, If you can get close enough without getting killed, it's yours. like that tank over there? Pesky NK in it trying to shoot you? Now worries, jump up on the tank, open el-hatch-o, toss in el-grendade-o, watch spray of blood and fire from the hatch, enter tank, drive away. Helo giving you a headache? No problem. Let it swoop low, Grab a skid, toss out the pilot, and Awaaaaaay you go!
2. Blow up everything.
a. I dont know how they did it, but it seems every vehicle, building and box has a crash model. If you can see it, it can be blown up.
3. Variety of weaponry.
a. From SAMS to Type-90's, to AK-47's to PKM's, this game has it all.
b. Oooh! Oooh! Support! Let's say, Hippotheticaly, there is an assload of guys congregating near a place you need to be. And say..these particular guys don't like you so much, and you cant really handle them by yourself. Pull out your PDA, Take that purdy liddle laser pointer, and call for....oh, I dunno...So many to choose from.....Stealth bomber attack, AC-130 run, cluster bomb, or good old fashioned artillery. (Artillery requires that you mark the target with smoke, though, requiring you to get uncomfortably close.

This game is GTA3's Big brother. All grown up, joined the marines, and won the medal of honor for chewing the treads off a T-90 with his teeth to save his platoon. It is that badass. Get it. Now. Stop reading, go

GET



IT.


NOW




Do not listen to GI's lukewarm 7.5 rating for this game. If you liked GTA3, VC, SA, You MUST have this game. Or your testicles will fall off.

[Vympel]

LucasArts piece of crap? You blaspheme.

What is this game, and is it coming out for PC?

[Coalition]

Haven't gotten it , but the commercials were interesting:

daytime:

"Blow the snot out of it."
"Blow the snot out of it again."
"Blow the living snot out of it."

nighttime:

(replace snot with crap)

[SylasGaunt]

What is this game, and is it coming out for PC?

Essentially it's Grand Theft: North Korea.

The former president of North Korea starts taking steps to make the place a democratic nation and generally return it to the international community. His son takes exception to this, offs his own dad, then shuts the borders and makes like Kim Jong Ill with the monument building and armaments program.

This all goes down the toilet though when the Australians board a freighter floundering in a storm and find the crew trying to scuttle the ship. Lo and behold it's got a hold full of nuclear weapons the Song regime planned to sell to terrorists. Long story short, everyone goes apeshit and the allied nations storm north across the DMZ.

You play the part of a mercenary drawn to North Korea by the prospect of the 'Deck of 52', members of Song's regime who all have bounties on their heads. But to do this you're going to need cash, and you're going to need intel. You get these by doing odd jobs for the various factions present.

Factions in North Korea-

Allied Nations- US and UN forces basically. They're the ones offering the bounties and most of the jobs you do for them are actual card captures, and they also give you the contracts for capturing the Aces in the deck.

Chinese- Here for a piece of the pie as well. In addition to paying you for doing missions for them the Chinese will give you a bounty on any South Korean listening posts you take out. They'll also give you extra cash for recovering the national treasures looted from North Korea's museums so they can take them back to china.

Russian Mafia- They have perhaps the most amusing leader of the bunch. Same deal basically as the chinese in that you get money for odd jobs. In addition the RM runs a chop-shop in each of the two provinces you'll visit. Hijack a vehicle and drive it into the garage and they'll give you cash for it.

South Koreans- Here to help liberate their bretheren to the north and getting some aid from the CIA. Usual odd jobs and they also give you a bounty on recovering the blueprints from Song's WMD program, not to mention 10 grand every time you blow up a monument to the 'great leader'.

North Koreans- The only faction you can't take jobs from, and they're generally hostile to everyone.

There's a ton of drivable vehicles throughout the game that you can hijack, steal, or purchase ranging from top of the line Chinese tanks to Blackhawk helicopters to public buses. In addition you can make use of a russian mafia website to order certain vehicles, supply drops, or call in air and artillery strikes on anything that so much as looks at you funny. Too many NK troops around your target? No problem, front the cash and shine that laser pointer and Puff the Magic Dragon will put in an appearance and make your problems go away.

Of course you don't even have to really do the missions if you don't feel the urge to. Like Grand Theft Auto the world of Mercenaries is a digital sandbox.. and a very lively one to. If factions that are hostile to each other meet they'll start a firefight on the spot. Kinda took me by surprise the first time I came around a bend in the road in the H3 hummer I'd ordered from the ruskies only to run smack into the middle of a firefight between Chinese mechanized infantry and a small pack of NK jeeps backed by a mobile AA gun.

There's also plenty of humor, and easter eggs..

"We've got a C-130 loaded with so much ordnance it's like one of them Star Destroyers from that space movie."

In short: Go buy it.

[Mr Bean]

XBOX, PS2 (PC?)

So. *Picks up game* Chardok is lost in his own thoughts as usual. Lucasarts, eh?
*Drives home*

Mistake number one, Lucasarts mearly was the producer tech help here, the folks who made the game were my good friends

And I'm not just saying that because I know some of the Pandemic Studios staff personaly

[Seggybop]

This has perhaps the most awesome concept in the history of video games.

PC version!! where are youuuuuuu

[Mr Bean]

This has perhaps the most awesome concept in the history of video games.

PC version!! where are youuuuuuu

PC version is TBA, but it acutal makes a fine console shooter, never wished I had a mouse once

[YT300000]

*snip*

LucasArts = crap? I'd recommend you immediately administer 20 CCs of the Monkey Island, Dark Forces, X-Wing and KOTOR series(es).

[Tasoth]

I may be a cheater, but the Street Sweeper is worth it. *blows away tanks with his little gun*

[White Haven]

Slight nit, they had dick-all to do with KOTOR, aside from gumming their label on it. Sorta like Atari these days, only not QUITE so whorelike.

[Chardok]

LucasArts = crap? I'd recommend you immediately administer 20 CCs of the Monkey Island, Dark Forces, X-Wing and KOTOR series(es).

I'll see your X-wing and Dark forces and raise you a Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Clone wars.

and just for shits and giggles, I'll toss an Obi-Wan into the pot, and while we're at it, a SW:G

[YT300000]

LucasArts = crap? I'd recommend you immediately administer 20 CCs of the Monkey Island, Dark Forces, X-Wing and KOTOR series(es).

I'll see your X-wing and Dark forces and raise you a Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Clone wars.

and just for shits and giggles, I'll toss an Obi-Wan into the pot, and while we're at it, a SW:G

Those were made by the evil Pod People (TM) at LucasArts. Different branch, like the Eidos guys who made Daikatana.

[Executor32]

LucasArts = crap? I'd recommend you immediately administer 20 CCs of the Monkey Island, Dark Forces, X-Wing and KOTOR series(es).

I'll see your X-wing and Dark forces and raise you a Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Clone wars.

and just for shits and giggles, I'll toss an Obi-Wan into the pot, and while we're at it, a SW:G

But SWBF was actually good, IMO. Plus, you're forgetting that they didn't develop it. It was (SURPRISE!) Pandemic, the same team that developed this game.

[jcow79]

I'm just wondering how many people here played GTA:SA as well?
I picked this game up because everyone likened it to GTA:SA and although it's fun as hell I still feel like it's a step down. There's just not as much content. Blowing the crap out of everything sure is fun though.

[RogueIce]

I'm just wondering how many people here played GTA:SA as well?
I picked this game up because everyone likened it to GTA:SA and although it's fun as hell I still feel like it's a step down. There's just not as much content. Blowing the crap out of everything sure is fun though.

Own both. It's a different feel. Apparently you will open up more of North Norea or somesuch the further you get along. Maybe that'll be better than where you start off at.

[Captain tycho]

Just got it today. Kickass.