Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Critic Reviews

Mercenaries 2 is absolutely fun in spite of its quirks and should be at the top of everyone’s must buy list.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is as perfect as sequels come. It takes everything that was good with the original title and polishes it to a mirror sheen perfection. Nevermind a few enemy AI annoyances, World in Flames is undoubtedly one of greatest modern sandbox-shooters.

A souped-up return that delivers pyrotechnic perfection but lacks the depth of other games.

Small gripes aside, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is a title for anyone who’s ever stomped on a sand castle, mashed together Tonka trucks, or blown something up. It’s big, it’s bad, and the thrill of demolishing everything in sight never gets old.

Mercenaries 2 gives you a big environment to explore (and destroy), tons of vehicles and weaponry, and varied missions, making it a great step up from its predecessor.

The ability to approach missions as you want to or just cruise around town in a tank, blowing stuff up is something you can't get anywhere else and simply must be experienced.

A must play game. It’s not a story-driven masterpiece experience like "Grand Theft Auto IV," but it is genuinely fun.

It won't light the world on fire, but this next-gen playground of destruction offers you tons to do (well, tons to explode), it's always enjoyable, and I dove right back in after the credits rolled.

Occasional hiccups or no, having this much open-world freedom to come at the enemy any old way you see fit is just too much damned fun.

The sequel adds considerable depth to the original's plus points, without turning it into a serious economic simulation of trying to work out how to get the right amount of Snickers bars to feed your hungry mercenaries.

Mercs 2 is a largely successful effort that will literally give you more "bang" for your buck than most games out there.

The design and concept behind Mercs 2 is fantastic. Some of the artistic ideas and especially the music are totally top notch. It’s just a shame the entire experience doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

A heap of fun.

A satisfying amount of destruction, whether you blow up an oilrig with a well-armed helicopter or bring down a building with C4 and gas tanks. It's engaging and exciting, especially if you play co-op.

Mercenaries 2 is a lot of fun if you don't get bogged down by its rough-hewn minutiae and relish the simple pleasures of blowing things up.

Certainly not as good as GTA IV, the similarly playing Mercenaries 2 still is enough of a blast romping through the jungles and cities of Venezuela with hot and heavy gunplay.

All considered though, Mercenaries 2 isn’t a complicated game to assess. It’s a stupid action game in a long and storied tradition of stupid action games.

While a disaster on the PC, this game shines on the next-gen consoles. It's a back-to-basics title that allows you to destroy pretty much everything around you, and you'll have no end of fun doing so.

Let down but not ruined by quirky AI, dodgy physics and some bland design, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames still manages to deliver childish fun for grown-ups - and if you don't regard it with too critical an eye then you'll see that there really is a hidden gem beneath the buggy mud.

The game in general though is just a whole lot of fun.