Mercenaries?

[Drafter-T]

The OPM demo seems pretty solid. I've only spent maybe 20 minutes with it so far, but it seems to be a good game. Too bad it's not online.

Is this game in anybody's radar? Without online play, it's kinda hard to get too excited about it, but from the demo, it seems like it could be good.

Anybody played it yet?

[RobHardo]

it looked very good, now that you've said its not online i no longer will be purchasing

[Drafter-T]

it looked very good, now that you've said its not online i no longer will be purchasing
Yeah, Gamespot gave it an 8.8 (http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/mercenaries/index.html), but like you said, without online play, it's kind of a moot point really. I mean some games can be great without online play, but it seems to me that a shooter just about has to be online to be great these days.

It's too bad that there aren't more games that can compete with SOCOM 2. I mean alot of them try to, but nobody has come close yet, IMHO.

[Dactrius]

Grabbed me a copy of the demo today, been looking forward to it for a little while. After playing for about 45 minutes or so, I'm not entirely sure why Official Playstation 2 magazine say it's superior to San Andreas in so many ways. WTF? Combat is all over the place and your character doesn't feel as smooth when you control him/her. That said, it is a very good game. Loads of opportunities for some fun and the combat is pretty addictive. Like Halo you can only carry two guns which I like because it's realistic. The vehicles control and act just like the ones in San Andreas, which is a very good thing.

The demo was huge so anyone thinking about picking it up shouldn't hesitate to do it, I think the game is gonna be pretty special. And anyone shunning it off because it's singleplayer only, are missing out.

[Drafter-T]

Grabbed me a copy of the demo today, been looking forward to it for a little while. After playing for about 45 minutes or so, I'm not entirely sure why Official Playstation 2 magazine say it's superior to San Andreas in so many ways. WTF? Combat is all over the place and your character doesn't feel as smooth when you control him/her. That said, it is a very good game. Loads of opportunities for some fun and the combat is pretty addictive. Like Halo you can only carry two guns which I like because it's realistic. The vehicles control and act just like the ones in San Andreas, which is a very good thing.

The demo was huge so anyone thinking about picking it up shouldn't hesitate to do it, I think the game is gonna be pretty special. And anyone shunning it off because it's singleplayer only, are missing out.
It's definitely a good demo. I may get the game eventually, but the lack of online play is big for me. Guess I've gotten too spoiled to it in other games. It just adds so much.

I'll be looking forward to reading more of what you have to say about it when you do get the game, Dactrius. Maybe you can even talk me into buying it. :happy:

[pjb2006]

so there's no multiplayer at all, IDIOTS. oh yeah, is the single player just like GTA, i mean the huge environments to explore and all.

[Dactrius]

I'm not entirely sure why people are so bothered about Multiplayer in Mercenaries or even expected it. Amazingly (And I realise this comes as a shock to some of you) singleplayer games are actually quite good. No, really.

Mercenaries is free-roaming supposedly to an amazing extent. There's a huge environment, any vehicle can be stolen (Including tanks and helicopters) and tons of missions can be taken. You have a cash budget so you can buy weapons and vehicles as well as call in supply drops, weapon drops and vehicle deliveries (In the demo you could call in an anti-infantry vehicle wherever you wanted it).

[Dactrius]

Just to give people an idea of how good this game is, here's a run-down of how I just played the demo (And remember, this is only the demo)...

Started off outside the base, carpet-bombed the gate and ran through the now-gaping hole complete with dust clouds everywhere from the bombing. Got attacked by some infantry, a jeep and an APC. Took down the infantry with my carbine, then blew up the vehicles with my rocket-lancher (The explosions in this game are spectacular). Headed left for the first SAM, took it out with C4, then North to take out the second SAM with my second Carpet bomb. Stole the nearby tank (Since the driver was killed by the second bombing) and used it to sneak into the helipad to the East (Since I was disguised as the enemy in their tank).

Used the tank to destroy the SAM nearby, then back down the hill to take out the final SAM and some jeeps. Stole the helicopter and flew to the chemical plant, destroyed it with a bunker buster and then flew to the base again. Landed the chopper and made my way to the Queen of hearts. Stealth-KO'd some terrorists on the way and knocked out the Queen. Grabbed his body and headed for the gate I destroyed earlier. A jeep had arrived from the village so I killed the two soldiers, threw the body of the Queen into the vehicle and drove down the mountain into the village. Called in for an Evac and loaded him into the helicopter. Job done. And that's only one of 52 main missions.

Big? Try absolutely freakin' massive! I love this game! ^^

[Drafter-T]

You did all that with the Demo?? Holy crap! I haven't spent near enough time with it I guess, LOL. I will definitely get it back out and do some exploring.

Sounds like maybe this game could be good without multiplayer, kind of in a GTA sort of way. But to me, when I think of a shooter, I think of SOCOM and the hours and hours of fun I had with it online. Then I think how cool it would be to have some real competition for SOCOM for some variety or whatever. It's hard for me personally to imagine an offline shooter having alot of replay value, but you've got my curiosity up now.

Hey, thanks for the info Dactrius. I'm going to look alot harder at this game for sure.

[FATT47]

I'm not entirely sure why people are so bothered about Multiplayer in Mercenaries or even expected it. Amazingly (And I realise this comes as a shock to some of you) singleplayer games are actually quite good. No, really.

Mercenaries is free-roaming supposedly to an amazing extent. There's a huge environment, any vehicle can be stolen (Including tanks and helicopters) and tons of missions can be taken. You have a cash budget so you can buy weapons and vehicles as well as call in supply drops, weapon drops and vehicle deliveries (In the demo you could call in an anti-infantry vehicle wherever you wanted it).

Dactrius, don't take this personally or anything but it seems a little one sided or maybe thinkin with tunnel vision when ya say you're not sure why people are bothered by no multiplayer in this new Mercenaries game.

Some gamers me in particular have a lot of time on our hands and the online play of games is another form of instant entertainment.
Single player games are cool, to a point, then the replay value diminishes IMO and if online play is included in a game like it could have been with this one then a gamer gets the best of both worlds, if ya enjoy single player action ya got it, if ya like to practice offline in single player mode then go online to play with real gamers ya got that also.

Nothin wrong at all with wantin the most and best of both worlds, now wouldn't ya agree about that :lick:

I'm very interested in gettin my issue of OPM so I can check out this demo, thanks for the input here.

[Dactrius]

Dactrius, don't take this personally or anything but it seems a little one sided or maybe thinkin with tunnel vision when ya say you're not sure why people are bothered by no multiplayer in this new Mercenaries game.

I think you're missing my point. Let's take a look at this quote:

it looked very good, now that you've said its not online i no longer will be purchasing

So since it's no longer multiplayer, he'll no longer buy it? If a lack of multiplayer puts you off the game a little (Or even a lot) but you still may buy it, I'm okay with that. But because the game was designed for singleplayer only, he refuses to purchase? That's a little strong and he's missing out on a great gaming experience because of that.

Contrary to what you may think, I do enjoy multiplayer games. Mostly PC to be honest, but I'm as willing as the next person to have my ass handed to me on a plate. But a lack of multiplayer won't completely throw me off a game.

That's my point.

[FATT47]

I think you're missing my point. Let's take a look at this quote:



So since it's no longer multiplayer, he'll no longer buy it? If a lack of multiplayer puts you off the game a little (Or even a lot) but you still may buy it, I'm okay with that. But because the game was designed for singleplayer only, he refuses to purchase? That's a little strong and he's missing out on a great gaming experience because of that.

Contrary to what you may think, I do enjoy multiplayer games. Mostly PC to be honest, but I'm as willing as the next person to have my ass handed to me on a plate. But a lack of multiplayer won't completely throw me off a game.

That's my point.

Well I said in the beginin of my reply, don't take it personally, but I guess ya did because ya apparently misinterpreted my thoughts in that maybe ya think I don't think ya enjoy multiplayer games LOL, I have no way of knowin that so that conclusion of yours is not correct IMO

I hope ya do enjoy multiplayer games as I hope many gamers enjoy single player games, but, because another gamer doesn't and wouldn't buy a game because it isn't multiplayer doesn't mean one thing or another really, that's just that gamers choice, ya know, each monkey to their own rope I always say.
I persoanlly wouldn't at this time buy a non multiplayer game and that's because I have my reasons, online play would have to get pretty borin for me to buy a game that would only give me single player mode, but not to say I wouldn't either, I've bought many single player games over the years, but I just like the online scnario included and what it brings to that game.

Sorry if my replay upset ya.

[Dactrius]

Firstly, I said "contrary to what you may think", not what you do think. If I'm gonna be honest, I didn't once think you thought I didn't like multiplayer games. That's why I said "may". Because I was guessing. I didn't misinterpret your post, but that doesn't really matter at this point.

Your reply didn't upset me and I'm not really sure how it could have. You're fully justified to say anything you like, this is after all a public message board. What I was trying (But seemingly failed) to address was the fact that one member of this board refuses to buy the game because it's singleplayer only, and I simply wanted to say it's a shame. Nothing more. People are free to do what they like, I was just placing my opinion on it.

If singleplayer isn't your thing and this game doesn't appeal to you because of that, then I'll say the same to you, it's a shame you feel that way because Mercenaries is a good game. I won't tell you you're wrong, you buy the games you like. After all, that's what being a gamer is all about, enjoying yourself. :)

[FATT47]

Firstly, I said "contrary to what you may think", not what you do think. If I'm gonna be honest, I didn't once think you thought I didn't like multiplayer games. That's why I said "may". Because I was guessing. I didn't misinterpret your post, but that doesn't really matter at this point.

Your reply didn't upset me and I'm not really sure how it could have. You're fully justified to say anything you like, this is after all a public message board. What I was trying (But seemingly failed) to address was the fact that one member of this board refuses to buy the game because it's singleplayer only, and I simply wanted to say it's a shame. Nothing more. People are free to do what they like, I was just placing my opinion on it.

If singleplayer isn't your thing and this game doesn't appeal to you because of that, then I'll say the same to you, it's a shame you feel that way because Mercenaries is a good game. I won't tell you you're wrong, you buy the games you like. After all, that's what being a gamer is all about, enjoying yourself. :)

LOL, I can sure agree to disagree on maybe different feelins we've expressed here, no biggy.

Like I said, I've gotten single player games in the past with no online play features.
I in fact got Socom 1 when I only had a dialup, I couldn't even get the benefit of online play with that one and I enjoyed the game.
I had Ghost Recon also and I really enjoyed that game, but my circumstances just leans toward needin a different scenario for my gamin time.
I just have an urge more then not to play a game with real players and communicate with the mics, I think it adds a great feature to gamin and also for my personal activities.

Like I say, I'm really lookin forward to seein the demo of this game, who knows, as much as I enjoy online gamin, there sure are a ton of jerks online ya have to put up with at times, ya have to create a whole new mentality to deal with some of em, sometimes playin by yourself is less stressful LOL

Enjoy

[Drafter-T]

I prefer a good multiplayer online game over a single player game any day and it's always disappointing to me when I look forward to a certain game and find out it's not going to be online, like say GT4.

Having said that, if the game is good enough without multiplayer, like GT4 should be, I'll never rule it out. It's looking like Mercenaries might fit into that category, but I need to spend some more time with the demo first.

[Billyum7]

That game looks like the shit..

[Drafter-T]

That game looks like the shit..
So is that good or bad... bad in the bad sense, not the good sense... oh never mind... :scream: (lol, j/k)

Guys, I played the demo last night for about an hour and a half and this is definitely one of the top 5 demos I've ever played, maybe even top 2 (as far as demos go anyway). I pretty much agree with everything Dactrius said about it. This is one deep demo for sure, and the game looks like it's going to have alot of variety.

I read on Gamespot where you can even unlock the ability to play as either Indiana Jones or Han Solo. That sounds kinda cool.

I'll be getting this game for sure, maybe as early as today. :happy:

Man, if only it was online!! :S

[Dactrius]

I'll be getting this game for sure, maybe as early as today. :happy:

It's alright for you, I gotta wait 28 days before it hits here. I don't think I can hold on until then. My demo will have worn out! :scared:

Glad it picked up on you though, I doubt you'll regret it. Have a good go around on it if you buy it and give us the heads up. No spoilers please, just a general idea of what the game is like. Thanks.

[Drafter-T]

It's alright for you, I gotta wait 28 days before it hits here. I don't think I can hold on until then. My demo will have worn out! :scared:

Glad it picked up on you though, I doubt you'll regret it. Have a good go around on it if you buy it and give us the heads up. No spoilers please, just a general idea of what the game is like. Thanks.
LOL, at least you've got the demo to hold you over. Sorry you've got to wait though.

Yeah, assuming I'm able to get it in the next day or 2, I'll definitely make you even more jeaous with a report on it, lol. :sarcasm:

Anybody else that gets the game, feel free to beat me to it...

[FATT47]

LOL, at least you've got the demo to hold you over. Sorry you've got to wait though.

Yeah, assuming I'm able to get it in the next day or 2, I'll definitely make you even more jeaous with a report on it, lol. :sarcasm:

Anybody else that gets the game, feel free to beat me to it...

So how are the controls? are they basically like Socom, movement wise and all.
I like most of the button assignments for Socom, but like Splinter Cell, that game had some real strange feelin button action, for me anyway, I never could get use to the way it felt along with some of the button prompts, that pretty much ruined the game for me.

[Drafter-T]

So how are the controls? are they basically like Socom, movement wise and all.
I like most of the button assignments for Socom, but like Splinter Cell, that game had some real strange feelin button action, for me anyway, I never could get use to the way it felt along with some of the button prompts, that pretty much ruined the game for me.
Yeah, it's real similar to SOCOM, but not identical. You move around and aim with the analog sticks the same way and you fire with R1. You switch weapons with R2, and L1 throws grenades. It hasn't been frustrating to switch from SOCOM to Mercs, for me at least.

Up or down on the d-pad lets you do other stuff like call in air strikes or call for more weapons. You can even look up and see the helicoptor dropping in the crate, then you walk up to it and hit square to bust it open with your weapon, pretty cool stuff.

[Drafter-T]

I got the game today! I haven't spent enough time with it to really give it it's due, but I'm really excited about it from what I've seen so far.

One thing that sticks out to me early on is you take a much more active role in things that happen. When you call for extraction, for example, instead of just watching a cut scene, you actually have to pick up the guy you are capturing and take him to the helicopter.

The story line seems to be impressive so far. Could it be possible that this game is better than SOCOM 2?? I'm not saying that yet, it's way too early, but this game is really good, I know that for sure. :happy:

[Drafter-T]

Just a bit more, then I'll quit for tonight, lol.

This game has some innovations in it that I don't think I've seen yet. For example in the cut scenes... when you are getting your assignments, you can sit down, stand up, walk around... all while you are listening to what you are supposed to do next, lol. And at the end of the scene you accept the assignment by walking up to whoever is giving it to you and hit triangle.

Kinda small potatoes really, but the cut scene is somewhat interactive and that's a step forward as I see it. Much better than just watching a video and it kinda opens up some possiblities for some future games maybe?

The ability to drive vehicles is big and the whole feel of the game is solid, much like that of SOCOM. It's a bit different, but comparable, IMO. The only way I can think of to describe this game is to say it's a good mix of SOCOM and GTA.

[Drafter-T]

I've got a much better handle on this game today than I did yesterday. It's definitely set up just like GTA, in that you have can choose which direction you go and what you do.

The main object of the game is to capture the "Deck of 52" alive, starting with the "2 of Clubs" all the way up to the "Ace of Spades". You can kill them, but from what I can tell, it's best to keep them alive. You would think every mission would be geared towards capturing these people, but it's not. In fact, it seems that most of the time you just sort of happen upon them as you are doing other things.

You spend alot of time doing missions to make money, since it costs money to call for an air strike or for a weapons drop. You really have to think thru what you want to call for since there's money involved.

The hardest part of the game so far seems to be keeping the Factions that you are working for happy. Just like in GTA, you go work for this guy, then some other guy and you have a few people you have to please. Same situation here, like the South Korean faction wants you to go against the Chinese faction, well you have a decision to make because you do contract work for both of them.

The game is not nearly as structured as SOCOM is and that's a good thing, IMO. AWESOME GAME!!! Woooooo Hoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[Infernal Mass]

Great impressions overall, this game is highly recommended by me. Pandemic studiosdid a superb job with this project. If you liked the action in games like freedom fighters and the sandbox style gameplay of GTA this is an excellent game to try out.

[Drafter-T]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Mercs is better than SOCOM 2, but maybe it depends on how you look at it. If you compare the offline part of SOCOM 2 to Mercs... Mercs wins easily, IMO.

Now, SOCOM 2 might still be the overall better game just because of the online play. The jury is still out on if Mercs without online play can beat SOCOM 2 with online play, but it's looking good for Mercs, to me at least (so far).

I know it's only January, but Mercs has got to be a strong candidate for Game of the Year, IMHO. All I know is, I'm having a blast with this game. I highly recommend it to anybody that likes shooters... 3rd person shooters in particular.

[Drafter-T]

Great impressions overall, this game is highly recommended by me. Pandemic studiosdid a superb job with this project. If you liked the action in games like freedom fighters and the sandbox style gameplay of GTA this is an excellent game to try out.
LOL, sorry Infernal Mass, I was typing my post as you posted yours. Didn't notice your post until I submitted mine.

I agree with you, this game is superb. Funny thing is, it took me by total surprise. Can't count the times I've looked forward to certain games, only to be disappointed, but Mercs is definitely a diamond in the rough.