Mercenaries 2

Mercenaries 2 (Xbox 360): An unbiased report for developers, the Good and the Bad For sake of simplicity, I’ll make categories for each part of the gameplay, then subcategories for “What was Good” and “What to Fix”. I’m going to go through everything, and I mean everything. It’s the most I can do to help with the next game. Fix these, and a guarantee the Mercs franchise will have a new name for itself. Controls: What was Good: -Controls were simple, easy to use, and followed the same basic structure as the Mercs 1 controls. -The in-seat camera for some vehicles. What to Fix: -In order to crouch down you are forced to hold down the crouch button. While this is not a very serious issue, it would have been nice to not have to hold down the button to fix it. -No button for getting out of a vehicle while leaving allies in it. This was a feature in Mercs 1 that was small but fun, allowing you to bring soldiers around the battlefield without worrying about them running off or dying when you didn’t want them to. Graphics: What was Good: Beautiful color scheme, real-time lighting/shadows, amazing draw distance, strong visuals overall. -Vehicles and building textures were very good. What to Fix: -Few in general. -A minute amount of texture pop-in, although acceptable for open world game -Some textures were weaker than others, such as some dirt surface textures, but not highly noticeable. -The option of turning motion blur off would have been nice, as to add to the visual effect. -GLITCHES GALORE. While I did not encounter all of them, I encountered a good deal of them. Game World: What was Good: -Large, expansive, size and scale was extremely impressive. -Wide variety of environments from cities to jungle, to islands -Good use of water/islands -Graphical effects/lighting were great overall What to Fix: -While the map was huge, much of it remained unused or unnoticed by the missions in the game. It seemed as if there were entire sections of the map that were avoided or

hardly used during contracts/and or side-missions. Introducing players to different sections of the map through missions helps during freeplay and for replayability. -Many key structures and landmarks are destroyed during main and mandatory missions. This leaves some areas unpopulated and/or destroyed (meaning you cannot destroy or fight near them in freeplay. -The second half of the map is locked for half of the game. While this is a good idea, in order to get to the second part of the map, you must trigger a huge shift in the map itself. This shift essentially ruins parts of the map such as Maracaibo and leaves many key locales in ruins. -Some areas, such as Caracas and Merida, are shrouded in eternal smog. What should be beautiful is then left to smother in reminiscence of the previous game’s fog-of-war. Caracas in particular was disappointing, having some of the largest structures in the game and what would have been the most interesting city environment—is dark blue, with no lighting effects and a dull color palette. This leaves the area looking as it should—like a warzone—but unfortunately the area is no longer very appealing to the eye. I did not find any fun driving around the generally depressing and largely abandoned city as I did with Maracaibo, unfortunately, Maracaibo is destroyed at this point in the game. The game was said to be a mix of civilian and military, and many gamers liked the idea of big city environments, however, the color scheme and smog in some areas ruins this. Its sunny Venezuela…come on. -Angel falls is inaccessible…this is very saddening. -Civilian boat populations essentially cease after the coming of the Chinese and Allied nations, while in real life this makes sense, it makes the water areas much more uninterestingly populated. Vehicles What was Good: -Wide variety of vehicles to choose from -Driving mechanics were great once you got to know them. -Vehicles physics were well tuned -Drifting is very fun. -Behind-the-wheel view in cars/boats was a great addition. What to Fix: -Behind-the-wheel view was great, but it needed a free camera rotation with the right thumbstick as in other games (the right thumbstick is unused while in this view). Also, the behind the wheel view could have been brought back a little further to show a little more of the inside of the vehicles. Don’t get rid of this feature, but do amend it! -***When you say “everything is drivable”—don’t make qualifications on that. There were at least 4 kinds of large boats that were undrivable (besides planes, which is acceptable in this case). Even if these boats are slow, they are still fun to drive around. Make them hijackable. Find a way and keep the promise! Also semis cannot be attached to trailers. This was shown in a demo, and then taken out. Why, I must ask?*** -Everything else was great, don’t change it! And make sure Ali Zandi gets a good pat on the back.

-A “unlock all shop items” cheat would have been nice though. It was too difficult to earn some things. Water gameplay: What was Good: -A brilliant addition to the game. -Boat physics were excellent. -Water was realistic and had realistic waves/wake effects -Boats were fun to drive What to Fix: -Some large boats were undrivable, which was sorely disappointing. It would have easily been possible to find a way to make them useable. -Soldiers of factions could not survive in water. This made it nearly impossible to call allies into your boat without having them instantly drown. It seemed like they were programmed to swim, but just…couldn’t. This seems like a major error. It also prevents enemies from occupying their own ships when under attack. (if you attack the pirate HQ, there will be at least 3 big gunboats unused because the pirates cant survive to go and board their own boats to defend themselves  -Some civilian boats had hardly any HP and would be killed in several shots, causing many unnecessary civilian deaths. Storyline What was Good: -Interesting cutscenes -Comedy in dialogue -Interesting hatreds between factions. What to Fix: -Short cut scenes telling little about characters, although the entrance cutscenes for recruits were good. -Very short campaign. There are only about 10 main contracts besides the beginning. -Very little choice in missions or which factions you need to work with. You cannot pick and choose which factions to support like in the first game. Also, each faction only has about 2 missions and only a few side missions. -The Pirates were not really a faction. They had no primary missions, only side-contracts, all of which did nothing to advance your place in the story. -The ending was somewhat anticlimactic, and the fact that killing Solano took place in a mini-game was kind of an action killer -Sometimes the story felt rushed and forced. The actual gameworld events, despite some cutscenes, seemed rushed and often random. Like, after taking the Blanco contract, suddenly everything goes down all at once. Actually getting to Solano’s bunker right away and killing Carmona on top of it felt like I had won long before the game really did making the rest of the game seem a little pointless. I cant get Solano because I need a bomb to blow up his base? Why not just bust down the door or something clever like that?

-There should have been a bit more Fiona dialogue during the actual movements around the game, telling you what to do (only once please) when new factions are introduced, etc… like in the first game.

Faction Bounties: What was Good: -Gave a freeplay aspect that was fun to have as an option. What to fix: -Most bounties were simple “destroy objectives” which left a lot of objects on the map destroyed indefinitely. -HVTs were hardly any fun to capture. A deck of 52 combo from the factions would have been better. There was no info on targets, so it seemed as if you were just capturing a nameless target—a log with info on targets would have been nice or some dialogue from Fiona when you get close to an HVT on what to expect in the form of resistance or who they are. Also, the HVTs were very easy to capture. They were hardly defended in most cases and all seemed to just be standing around. The monetary rewards for these seemed trivial also There really was no point in getting HVTs because it wasn’t necessary really with all the cash lying around. An oil refill would have been nice as a reward. I would like to see them return though, as this really is the basis of the Mercenaries game. Audio What was Good: -One of the best game soundtracks I’ve ever heard. Really, an A+ -Realistic sounds for everything A+ -More VO in the world makes it more realistic, including civilian dialogue (although not enough variation, and used too often) -The sound of artillery and explosions hitting objects in the distance is probably the most satisfying sound I have ever heard in a video game. What to Fix: -AI soldiers talk far too often and always the same lines. It because instantly repetitive and annoying. -“If you’re ever stuck or don’t know what to do, come back to the PMC and talk to me, I might have some suggestions” Enuf said. Guns/Combat: What was Good: -Wide variety of weapons -Weapon sounds was excellent -Combat was generally simple and fun -The “cover system” was a good implementation -Sticky C4 was fun

What to Fix: -Guns shot erratically even when fired in single shots. When firing a gun single-shot it should be more accurate, therefore rewarding the player for actually aiming instead of just strafing like Rambo which seems to be required method to victory the game. -The auto-aim was unnecessary and sometimes annoying. Since some people liked it and others didn’t, the option to turn it off would have been nice. -Small arms did no damage to vehicles like helicopters. This is not only unrealistic, but extremely annoying, as SAMs or Air Support options are rarely available to take out helicopters quickly. This led the player to almost always be forced to action hijack helicopters just to get rid of them—which in turn made the rest of said mission very simple except if shot down by other AA. Guns should do more damage to choppers. Action Hijacks What was Good: -A good idea overall, let me say. Some vehicles WERE too easy to get in Mercs 1, and seeing as how few units stand a chance against tanks and helicopters, they were necessary as a sort of balance mechanism to the game. -Hijacks were fun mostly and you learned them over time. What to Fix: -Most hijacks were repetitive looking, however this is a very minor point and could be easily overlooked if other changes were made to the game. I don’t consider this something I care about, I like the action hijacks. PMC What was Good: -A great addition to the game. This is a must-have for any future game. -Great center of command -The ability to watch your stockpile of oil/money/air strikes grow was fun. -The ability to actually talk and see Fiona and your recruits in the mansion. -The PMC building was beautiful, had a dock and helipad, and was fun to run around. What to Fix: -**Inability to store vehicles/boats on the grounds of your PMC** This was promised, but apparently cut at the last minute, to my great disappointment. Even if the number of vehicles was limited to a certain number like 10 or could only be stored in a certain place, this would have been very nice to have. -No ability to store weapons in your PMC. A room with guns would have been awesome, so you didn’t have to order them via support drops. -While this is definitely just a wish, a few private PMC guards would’ve been fun to have around. Recruits What was Good:

-The recruits thing was a good idea. Next time around it might be nice to just start off with them though. -Wagers were fun. -The abilities and support offered by the recruits is great. Also being able to hear them talk is fun as well What to Fix: -Possible PMC guard recruits?  Wishful thinking… Stockpile/Oil Acquisition: What was Good: -Gave a strategic element to the game. -Was fun to find things out in the world. -A strategic thing to blow up if in an enemy base. What to Fix: -There should have been the option to buy oil from factions for a price, instead of having to go find it all the time. It would make it easier for players on the high-end with lots of fuel storage. Factions: What was Good: -More factions -Factions fight other factions -Everything good about factions… -Outpost missions were very fun. What to Fix: -Faction control of the map (expansion via outposts) would sometimes block out enemy resistance, meaning less fighting in the gameworld. -Outposts missions should have gone further than the selective outposts of each faction. For instance, the PLAV takes over a base in Merida, lets say you captured many UP outposts in the north, now they want to expand and take outposts from your former ally in Merida, this will of course bring the two factions in close contact, allowing you to manipulate the map as you like to support one faction or the other depending on the alliances of each faction. Like the UP will not expand into the AN bases, but might expand into Chinese of PLAV territory. -It was far to easy to get back into a faction’s good graces. Fiona’s bribe was a good use of money---too good. It meant no repercussions with factions, and it meant you could go back and forth between factions with no real change in the story, which is uninteresting. Fiona’s bribe should have done the same as Mercs 1 and removed the “always hostile” trigger from the faction NPCs and returned your position with factions to neutral. Faction Shops:

What was Good: -Game the player a reason to travel to different locations/bases on the map to buy items. -Gave a strategic element to the game. What to Fix: -In order to acquire items from some faction shops you were forced to play through large parts of the game first, which was annoying. The pirate faction should have been able to sell you more items for a higher price earlier in the game -A cheat for unlocking shop items would have been nice. Random Battles, NPC fighting: What was Good: -There were at least one or two battles to be found out there on the map What to Fix: -A robust system of factions battling each other was promised, but hardly delivered, unfortunately. -There were no areas of the map where large battles formed that the player could always go to take part in. This was very fun in Mercs 1 and nonexistent in Mercs 2. -The only battles I saw were between units scouting on the roads. -Factions should have been able to move and attack eachother to some degree. -Most “battles” took place at roadblocks. Most roadblocks had recoilless rifles, meaning the battles would end fairly quickly Civilians What was Good: -Civilians had more skins so they looked different -Civilian dialogue in the world, unlike Faction NPCs, was great, and made them seem like actual people -The general civilian population was greater than in the first game. What to Fix: -***Civilians are un-killable. This is probably one of the dumbest ideas to go into a game, as it is very annoying and you still have to pay for their injuries regardless*** -Civilian death penalties increase over time in the game. This is very annoying. -Civilians were prone to running out into the street when panicking, probably the exact opposite of what normal human beings should do if a maniac is driving down the road. Obviously, this causes many unintended civilian deaths and as you progress through the game, sometimes a lot of money. Explosions/Destruction What was good: -Everything is destructible. -Good use of particles, smoke, and lighting in destruction -Buildings/terrain/vehicles show partial damage such as broken pieces, scars, and rubble.

What to fix: -Building destruction was not dynamic, everything destroys all at once, a contradiction to everything advertised in the game 2 years back on the drawing table. This really shouldn’t have been too difficult to make destruction in sections for all buildings. -Buildings could not fall sideways, and all destroyed in the same way all the time -When a car/vehicles exploded, it would fly FAR too high in the air, even higher than in Mercs 1, making it more unnatural looking than cool. -No terrain scarring decals as in Mercs 1. Call in a nuke on a grassy field…expect to see a grassy field when the smoke clears… -Destruction doesn’t make a game. BF Bad Company has destructible environments, but the game is not based around it. If I remember, destruction was not the bread and butter of Mercs 1; it was just an asset towards the game The PDA What was Good: -Simple system, easy to use and understand. -Map was easy to use, faction outposts and sections of the map clearly labeled. -Contact list/logs Disguise What was Good: -Disguise meter -Loitering near enemies would break disguise (don’t change this) What to Fix: -No Officers. Officers presented an obstacle and a strategic problem in Mercs 1 the player was forced to solve if he wished to remain unseen. You can literally drive through most missions in a disguise with no fear of being caught. What to Fix: -GPS system wasn’t very accurate and somewhat unnecessary. -The PDA should have logged a help screen as in Mercs 1 to log a reference/help guide if you got stuck or wanted to know how to use a feature. -Map wasn’t very detailed as to the locations of things other than roads Start Menu What was Good: -Covers most of the basics What to Fix: -***No LOAD option on the start menu***. This is something you MUST fix. It is simply far to difficult to quit a game and go under options>manage saved games to load a different game. Main Menu/Options

What was Good: -Simple menu system, very clever and animated What to Fix: -**No LOAD menu** here as well. It is a primary thing in any game, same as Mercs 1. -Auto-save -More options for game play control like Motion blur, auto-aim, hold-trigger crouch toggle would have been nice. Cooperative Multiplayer: What was Good: -Everything -Drop-in/drop-out. -Extremely impressive multiplayer, truly seamless as promised. (definitely one of the best parts of the game) What to Fix: -It is possible that in the games I played friendly fire was not on, but I think it was. I don’t recall being able to action hijack your ally’s vehicle. -While technical issues stopped it this time around, split-screen multiplayer would have been very awesome. I was unhappy to learn it had been cut. Health System What was good: -Actual hits on your character caused more health damage than before -When not in combat your health goes back up to 100 over time. What to fix: -Your health respawns even in combat -Its far too easy and you never die. -Falling in water makes you take damage as if your hitting the ground -When you get down to less that 8 health, you become invincible almost and your health goes rapidly back up to 30. Then the process repeats. -To date, no enemy unit has ever killed me without an RPG or a tank. -Health should respawn slowly when you get down to just 1-3 health back up to 20 like in the last game, and only start to respawn higher than 20 after 1 minute of non-combat.