MERCENARIES 2 REVIEW | minimme

Mercenaries 2: Franchise in Flames

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music:
Onion - Lukrembo
A Night Alone - TrackTribe
Ocean - DeeTunez
Chill Day - Lukrembo
Back in Town - Silent Partner

video credits:
"Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction ... (PS2) Gameplay"
from YouTube channel 10min Gameplay

"Xbox 360 Longplay [124] Grand Theft Auto 4 (part 1 of 14)"
From YouTube channel World of Longplays
Played by: Frederikct112

[minimme]

correction: you can tag multiple fuel tanks and pick them all up at once. my bad! in my defence the game does not explain this super well. cheers :)

[DJDizzy]

I'll never forgive EA for destroying this studio and this series. EA is where great studios go to die, tragically.

[loganc]

When you’re a kid and this was rated T and the closest thing to gta, it was incredible. I absolutely loved this game just because of the driving and destruction it was peak childhood for many I assume

[Angrynood]

I think the only line I'll ever remember from this game is "WOOO Bumper cars!"

[OfficerBananas]

I played the Mercenaries 2 on PS2 and was so confused as to why pistols and motorcycles were in the cutscenes but not the actual game. That was how I learned demakes were really a thing.

[gogoteca]

I'm from Venezuela and remember how wacky it was back in the day to have my city represented in a videogame, downscaled to oblivion. Still feels funny being able to drive from one end of the country to the other in 5 minutes lol

[AShavedBeaver]

I loved everything Pandemic made, Mercernaries 1 & 2, Star Wars Battlefront 1 & 2, Lord of the Ring Conquest, Destroy All Humans, hell I even enjoyed The Saboteur. I still hold a grudge for EA and wonder what could've been if EA hadn't closed them down, what with Battlefront 3 and Mercenaries 3 in development at the time. And yeah that song commercial is still stuck in my head too "OH NO YOU DIDN'T"

[bagelfan]

the most vivid memory of this game was the Barack Obama and Sarah Palin DLC pack, it was wild to play those extra missions as them

[Joov]

I remember being so bummed out that the Deck of 52 was removed in the sequel. I've always had this hope that some day the Deck of 52 would marry the nemesis system in a modern game. Great video! Love this series

[TwigTheThird]

This is exactly how I feel about every Just Cause after 2. Yeah it’s flashier and bigger and dumber, but it never gels together the way 2 did

[ZXaber]

I loved Mercs 2, but even at the time I could tell that the game was unfinished. It needed another 6 months to a year in development. Which is what The Saboteur fees like: a more polished (though less fun) experience.

[brianblast]

I remember as a kid my dad surprised me with this game after school when I became obsessed with the "OH NO YOU DIDN'T" ad and since my dad never really gave super personal gifts it sticks out as a really sweet memory. Another banger video man keep it up

[TheWrathAbove]

I remember hearing "Oh No You Didn't" as a kid and thinking it was the funniest shit ever. I never really engaged with the game beyond that tho so it's cool to finally see what it's all about.

[IFIO]

As a kid, Mercenaries 2 on ps2 was my favorite game. When I enjoyed games like Metal gear solid V and Ghost recon wildlands, I realized i enjoyed them so much because they reminded me of Mercs 2. I didn't enjoy the gunplay necessarily, but rather what it allowed you to do made it stand out from any other sandbox game I played. It was the first time I really felt like I was in charge of something. It wasn't just like GTA where you get in gunfights in an open world, it was a game where you were constantly collecting assets and building a reputation, and it felt rewarding to actually go through with it unprompted. I made it a mission to collect 1 of every vehicle in the game and store it in my stockpile. I had connections with basically all the factions and would pit battles against each other just for the sake of it. I would put NPC's in the gunners seat of my vehicle to try to help them get the greatest killstreak possible. Exploring the map actually felt like being a pioneer because there were so many cool locations that don't even appear in the main story. For example, I was doing a class project about Angel falls in Venezuela for a school project, and I knew about VZ from playing this game, but I didn't know about the waterfall, so I booted up the game to see if it was included and sure enough, The game features the famous waterfall as an Easter egg, which was crazy to me that they would include it in the game but not turn it into a setpiece for the story, it was just something for a curious player to find.
I guess as a kid it just checked all the boxes for me, and pretty much every time I play a game that invokes that kind of exploration and faction conflict, to me it always harkens back to this. Although looking at this footage I can't ignore how unbelievably ugly it is lol

[faiebul]

I love all videos you put out, but I do just want to thank you extra for always having good subtitles! The accessibility makes the already amazing videos 10x better!

[HamanKarn]

Really like both mercenaries games. They are so much fun. It would be awesome to get a new one but I know that will never happen sadly.

[TheLonelyNobody]

I really appreciate how sincere you are. No memes or over the top references, just qualitycontent on unique obscure topics.

[toyotasera]

The first game hit the tone just right. The 'deck of 52' not only was 'of its time' in mirroring the supposed deck used during the war on terror in real life but the also created a lore to enemy forces. You felt each one had a job or role and their was a genuine hierarchy which elevated the badness of the main antagonist.

The location felt possible, combined with the story that the war was essentially won by the A.N but the missing nukes were literally a ticking time bomb adding a preassure to the story as was the deployment of Chinese troops which could have escalated the conflict. It had the hall marks of a realistic conflict. You could feel tension in the factions and the multiple ways you could play meant there was some desire to replay.

The second game seemed to miss the elements that made it great and confuse that with an inflated personality. A bit like someone telling one good joke then thinking their personality was what the group liked and not the quality material they produced. By making the tone jokey, the setting and story contrived and turning from a semi serious game with realistic setting and challenging missions into one with corny jokes, weak characters and a near consequence free environment, they made a fun but shallow playground.

On the plus side, the tanks did feel chunky and there was a reward in achieving the annoying quick time events on a high end vehicle. The push at the end to either support the A.N or China was the only real drama and food for thought outside of the game. I wish they would have had the opportunity for a third game that got back to that darker, slightly more serious tone the first game had.

[InhumanBaron]

Looking back on it now, it's funny how 2008 was chock full of games where you play as a merc. Mercenaries 2, Army of Two, Far Cry 2, STALKER Clear Sky could kinda count I imagine, likely a few others too. It's a very fitting setting for a video game, which makes me a little nostalgic for that period of time where every big game was about being a merc causing trouble lol.

[samz]

Definitely a wonky sequel. (Even if I still prefer it to alot of modern open world games.)
I do at least like the greater amount of weapons and the additions of pistols, even if they're kinda pointless. (What's weird is that with a controller, you have two different "Switch gun" buttons so why not make it so Pistols have their own dedicated slot and use the D-Pad weapon switch for that?)
I also enjoyed how there were giant ships and oil rigs you could raid and blow up in the world map.