Sunday, July 6, 2008

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3

Genre: Action

Release Date: August 31

No blood for oil? Yeah, right. Take to the jungles of Venezuela as a mercenary-for-hire in this hard-hitting, free-roaming action bonanza. A political coup sparked by a crazed, oil-rich tyrant has turned the country into a war-zone, which means plenty of opportunities for career advancement.

Why It's Hot: Combining the open-world antics of Grand Theft Auto with the immense firepower of a small army, the first Mercenaries was a runaway hit on the PS2 and Xbox. This sequel is being developed by the same core team at original developer Pandemic Studios -- always a good sign -- and if our hands-on time was any indication, it sure looks like bigger, stupider fun than ever before.

Why It's Not: At its worst, "open-world gaming" also means "unfocused tech-demo." It isn't easy giving gamers the freedom to do anything while forcing them to follow a story. Pandemic has pulled it off before, but can they do it again?

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