Just think about it if you will, a world where you can shoot, kill, and blow up anything you want, all while stealing cars and flying helicopters. Is it another Grand Theft Auto?  A Driver sequel?  Nope.  LucasArts has released their version of a driving/shooting game inside where else, a war torn North Korea.  Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction is exactly what all fans of big explosions are looking for, and more.

 

The game itself is based in a modern style setting, where Allied forces have crossed the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) across the 38 parallel line into North Korea.  You play a highly trained, highly skilled Mercenary who must take advantage of the war in order to make some quick cash.  You can choose from three different characters in the beginning, ranging from a sassy British stealth specialist, to a rugged Swedish pyromaniac.  Once chosen, you are technically free to do whatever you want.  The word “technically” is a loose term however.  As you roam the decently sized chunk of North Korea, you must monitor your relations with certain factions that have deployed troops in the area.  Your relations will go up by cooperating with them, and by assisting their troops in battle, but will go down when you kill them, or are helping their enemies.  Once your relations go down, the faction will become hostile toward you, opening fire whatever chance they get.  You will even be denied the ability to work for them until you make amends by bribing them, or by doing other various tasks that can help you bring your favor up.  It’s sort of like Grand Theft Auto 2, only with much better graphics, and better firepower.

 

Completing missions for these factions will earn you cash that can be used for supplies, vehicles, or air-strikes.  All three of these things can be purchased through an easy to use “PDA” system.  Once selected through your “PDA” you can place a beacon as to where you want your supplies to be dropped, and a helicopter will come in seconds, dropping off your items in no time flat.  They are simple, effective, and handy when you’re under enemy fire.  The PDA also has a radar map of the area, all of your quests and stats, e-mails that you receive from various contractors, and even a list of North Korean Generals who need capturing.

 

Weapons and vehicles are as numerous as they are realistic. From APCs to Tanks, to Helicopters, they are all real military vehicles used by the armies that are represented in the game.  When you’re driving them, you can even honk the horn and allow friendly troops to fill in and assist you.  Pretty handy when your taking on a horde of troops.  Weapons are real as well, giving you the basic AK-47 to an Anti Tank rocket launcher.  Apart from actually shooting the enemy using small arms, you can bomb them with air support, artillery barrages, even bunker buster bombs.  Using air strikes are critical to you success in the game, and without them, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

 

The freedom that the game grants you is great, although not as good as the Grand Theft Auto series.  You can drive around, procure missions, steal cars, kill civilians, whatever you want really.  But the greatest aspect of freedom is that if you don’t like where a building is placed, or where a base is located, destroy it.  That’s right, destroy it.  There a city you don’t like?  Blow it up.  Of course it might lower your relations with the owners of the city, its still fun to watch an entire metropolis crumble to your might, simply because there’s a traffic jam. 

 

Since the area is currently under full scale war, occasionally you’ll come across small battles taking place at random times and places.  Participating in the combat and helping factions can help your relations go up with that faction, which is an awesome way to rack up some points with your enemies.

 

The Graphics in Mercenaries are quite decent.  They aren’t Half Life 2, but face it, what is?  I must admit however, that on the PS2, it sometimes looked as if I just ate an entire bag of cement, and threw up on the screen. This pertains solely to the terrain which at times is overly repetitive and boring.  Other than that, the character details are nice, and the weapon and vehicle models are excellent.

 

Sound is another important feature in any game that should be addressed.  I guess LucasArts skimped out on this section, because sound in Mercenaries obviously isn’t their strong point.  Although the sounds of explosions, music, and the voice acting is tremendous, I must say that the sounds of the guns are terrible.  I mean, the M4 carbine sounds okay, but when every other gun sounds like a twisted version of it, there’s got to be a problem.  I was also disappointed with the sounds of artillery, and cannons in the game.  Every shot is the same old WHEEE sound, followed by a big boom.  In some missions, you have to take out a giant cannon, the size of a building, but it makes the same firing sound as an anti-tank gun that you blew up the mission before.  Surely a cannon the size of an office complex wouldn’t make a little baby scream when it fired.  But alas, it does.

 

Mercenaries is a game that should be loved by nearly every fan of war, or violence.  How could you go wrong with a game that encourages you to blow things up for money?     Despite some small issues with the presentation, it’s a good game that shouldn’t be overlooked.  If you have the money, go out and buy it, it’s a load of fun.