@Heliophage: Huh. Well is there a Japanese version of Merc 2 that you can import or is this a NA/European release only?

sarcasmOD

Thanks for posting this Brian! It was a real pleasure getting to show you the game at EA3! Can't wait till August 31st!! :D

Ali

@LordMaim:
Since EA took over, the game went from being a PS3 exclusive to a multi-plat release (and I think that the lead platform might even be 360 now - judging from one of the clips that came out over the past couple weeks). I know that some companies can do multi-plat ok - but in most cases it just shows a lack of focus on the final product. Personally, I don't see this being much different in the end than Army of Two.

StupidityTries

@sarcasmOD:

Playing Soul Calibur with Japanese voices made it feel like there was an imaginary dimension of depth that allowed me to appreciate the game even more.

It's a quirk I picked up around the release of the Dreamcast, I suppose, for the small part of me that is actually serious.

Heliophage

Yeah this is definitely a purchase I will be making next month. I just hope it isn't as repetitive as the first game. Something tells me that won't be the case though.

Guttlesswonder

@StupidityTries:
Wow, one two minute vid that shows no more differing gameplay style then the annoucement-teaser before EA bought Pandemic and now it's all generic...way to jump on that bandwagon.

Lazlo

@Heliophage: ???? You want Merc 2 to teach you a foreign language?

sarcasmOD

@SiN13: He was actually complaining about being "the white guy" or an (what HE calls) "Oreo" in a video. He was amazing as Vamp anyways.

slomo788

@ray89: Yeah, you can just pirate those guards with a keygen after downloading them with BitTorrent. :)

sarcasmOD

I had a lot of fun with Mercenaries, but I'm worried at what this sequel is lacking. The explosions are there, the vehicles are there, the destruction is there, but I found that much of the appeal of its predecessor was in its educational value.

I left Mercenaries with an understanding of the Korean language. I was only as fluent in Korean as a random anime junkie is 'fluent' in Japanese by their own standards in their frequent vociferations of the word "kawaii" and their subsitution of typical transcribed laughter with a series of w's, but that is something that I came to appreciate from the series.

It just won't be the same anymore.

Heliophage

@StupidityTries: One of the first games that sport fully destructible environments (the other one was published by EA btw) on consoles, with co-op, in a sandbox setting, the sequel to one of last-gen's most praised games GENERIC? Not enough shiny stuff for you? Or maybe you want more dark? Jeez.

slomo788

Good old Phil Lamar always there to fill in the roll of "the black guy".

SiN13

"If you wanna take the silent approach, use your sniper rifle...or THE TORRENT UP THE HILL", yes, very silent, Solid Snake..eat your heart out.

Still looks great, gonna be buying it.

ray89

@StupidityTries: ...Except EA has very little to do with the game. It was essentially finished before they bought Pandemic.

LordMaim

I haven't played a real blow-shit-up game in a long time. Plenty of shooters, but not enough destruction to make that perverse little part of your brain smile. You know, the part that laughs when an old woman falls down.

sarcasmOD

"I'm beginning to like Venezuela!" Totally making fun of the controversy surrounding the game's setting. Nice. I'll be picking this up on launch day for sure.

DaveKap

Looks very generic - in an EA sort of way.

StupidityTries

Oh dear. Now I'm all excited.

DaPress

This game's idea of 'covert' is a bit fucked, I think. But nice asplosions.

wild homes is being recast!

Il take the nuke approach.

Tom Clancy's Samuraidino

cool cool...

looks good. I'll be buying it.

udiie

@wild homes is being recast!:
To me, it's the same in that it looks like it's another shoot-shoot-kill game that seeks to take everything "to the extreme".
And don't rule out "butt patting" just yet for this one...

StupidityTries

Tactical nukes?

Pre-order CONFIRMED.

exkon

i don't know much about this sequel, but as long as it has the gotta catch 'em all-esque card/assassination system, I'm all for it.
Woo.

inbetweenphase

oh man...this is gonna be so great

like not revolutionary, but exactly what a second game in a series should be...everything you love about the first, with minor tweaks and improvements...

for example, destructible environmeny...and swimming ability...cuz seriously i got so tired of just drowning in water

canfezplay

@StupidityTries: How would it be the same as Army of Two? It's a completely different game. It's non-linear to the extreme, doesn't feature characters working together, and has (I believe) no grown men high-fiving and playing grab-ass with each other.

wild homes is being recast!

I like their idea of stealth. Kill EVERYONE so that no one's left to notice. :)

Lancehead

I cannot wait for this game, Mercs 1 was one of my favorite games.

GiantEnemyCrab

Mercs 2 is one of the few last gen games I still play. t actually looks better on my TV cause of the widescreen support on the 360.

If Pandemic makes this games as much fun as the original but with prettier graphics and bigger assplosions then I'm all in. The promise of Online CO-OP is gravy; if they pull it off with minimal lag, I'll be very impressed. Destructible enviornments in an open world it pretty impressive when many developers can't even do it in linear games single player. One of my most anticipated games of 2007 and now 2008. Hopefully wont be waiting til 2009.

BTW The Orig. Mercs. was published by Lucas Arts not EA as someone stated

dnez

@StupidityTries: Yeah, but ou're taking it beyond the logical extreme. It resembles less other EA titles than it does the first game in the series, which was made, released, and forgotten long before the EA deal was even conceived of. I think it's unfair to try and criticise EA or Pandemic about this one. The game is what it is, but it's not anything different now than it was before the deal was consummated.

wild homes is being recast!

Only one single thing I don't like about this game.

The game's primary fun point is blowing shit up. Then why do we receive more money if we do things quietly?

It's understandable in games like Hitman, where you have more fun doing things all quietly than going gun-ho on everybody. But in a game that has total and complete destruction as its primary appeal? Nah.

Ashurahori

Mmmm, buildings go boom and fall over.

Quilt

@StupidityTries: Looks to me like a prettier, more destructible version of the first game... not that that's a bad thing.

And that was published by LucasArts.

Oyn

Still looks like good 'ol Mercenaries. I really loved the original game, so I'm looking forward to this one. Maybe I'm just a sucker for blowing stuff up, but you really can't beat the ridiculous amount of firepower at your disposal in Mercenaries.

I still have found memories of fuel-air bombs, laser guided bunker busters, and carpet bombs that could level an entire block in the first game. Oh, and of course, there were the helicopters, tanks and other fantastic vehicles. Yeah, this game rocks.

In the meantime, I'll stick with Battlefield: Bad Company, as it's pretty 'effing awesome as well. I must admit, I'm totally addicted to the multiplayer!

DugDawg

@ray89: or the what? the torrent? what the hell is that?

are you retarded?

red

Been playing the first one for some time now. It seems that they fixed the major problems like boring vehicles and bland setting. I'm really looking forward to this one. Too bad Lucas Arts don't publish this. It would be fun to play as Han Solo or Indiana Jones in this one.

ZagZagovich

i cant wait to nuke the hell out of everybody

Vectortuff

@LordMaim: @slomo788: @Lazlo: @wild homes is being recast!: Do I detect the unfamiliar sound of forum posters actually defending EA, or at least a reduction in the number of voices clamouring to the tune of a bit of EA bashing? Oooh, it gives me chills!@StupidityTries: You got told off, nur nur nurnur nur!

ThursdayNext

@Ashurahori: If it's anything like Mercs 1, you don't get more money for being quieter, but you do get double bounty for taking the target alive. So doing it quietly (i.e. not nuking the place) leads to a bigger payday as well as lower costs (not having to buy the nuke in the first place.)

SkaGoblin