Mercenaries First Look

Mercenaries is the latest title to come out of the pairing of Southern California-based developer Pandemic Studios and LucasArts. The original third-person action game offers a rather unique experience that's similar in spirit to Pandemic's upcoming Star Wars Battlefront in the sense that you're being dropped into a fully loaded sandbox and allowed to run amok. We had the chance to get an exclusive look at work-in-progress versions of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox games and are pleased by Pandemic's inspired madness.

Mercenaries tells a tale set in the near future that casts you in the role of--wait for it--one of three mercenaries. You're dispatched to North Korea's demilitarized zone after the political situation in the region takes some unpleasant turns that snowball into a rather nasty state of affairs. A military coup by some hardliners in the military leaves the country in chaos, which is admittedly already not a good thing. To make the situation worse, the country has medium and long-range missile capability as well as a nuclear weapon. Factor in that the one person with the launch codes for the missiles, which could potentially send the nuke on a destructive one-way trip, has disappeared, and you have a serious problem in need of a solution. You are that solution. Your goal is to go into the region, go through a UN-provided list of the most-wanted individuals--offered in handy playing-card form much like the system used recently in real life by the US military--and bring all 52 of them in, which should help restore order.

You'll be cast in the role of one of three fighters from around the world, each with unique skills. Chris Jacobs is an American ex-soldier and is the fastest of the three. Jennifer Mui is a British beauty formerly of MI6, and her specialty is stealth. Finally, Matthias Nilsson is a Swedish soldier with a keen eye for sniping. Regardless of which character you choose, your main goal is the same: to bring in the UN's most-wanted. However, despite your clear goals, your task is anything but straightforward. The volatile atmosphere of North Korea in the wake of the coup has made it a minefield, with feuding factions bickering with each other. As a result, you'll have to carefully choose your alliances between South Korean, Russian Mafia, and Chinese forces as the game unfolds. As you'd expect, trying to play up to three sides will have moments of unpleasantness, since, in the end, it's pretty tough to be all things to all people. One of your challenges is to figure out how to stay in good with all three sides while not alienating any of them.

While you'll have clearly defined goals thanks to the suite of 52 cards, Mercenaries is anything but linear. Pandemic lets you tackle your to-do list at your own pace. If you'd like, you can try to plow through the targets and focus on bringing them in and moving the story along. The card structure lets Pandemic work in minibosses to give you a sense of how difficult your target will be to bring in. For example, your ultimate goal is the ace of spades, but the assorted face cards you'll encounter will serve as minibosses, and they will grow in difficulty as you work your way through them. As engaging as it is to rope in the various most-wanted, the game's open-ended structure provides ample diversions if you're looking to get into trouble.

The game's open-ended structure is complemented by third-person gameplay mechanics that have few limits. The core gameplay features a solid base set of moves. You'll be able to run, jump, collect weapons, and blow up just about anything you see. You'll be able to carry two primary weapons along with explosives such as grenades or C4. The game will provide you with more than 30 weapons, including rocket launchers, grenades, and shotguns.

If your sidearms alone don't suit your appetite for destruction, you can call down air strikes that do a fine job of causing a boatload of damage. And if that still doesn't cut it, you'll find you have quite a few more options. You'll find roughly 20 different vehicles in the game that you can jack at any time. Tired of running? Help yourself to a jeep. Feel like conserving your gun's ammo? Go ahead and get yourself a handy tank or mobile artillery unit. But the best part about the vehicles in the game is that you're not limited to ground-based craft. You'll actually be able to get yourself a helicopter or even an airplane, which means you can do some wickedly cool stuff.

To access some of the heavier weapons, you'll need cash. You'll have to work up a sweat by taking on jobs and bringing in some bounties for money. The money you earn will vary depending on what your task is and how you complete it. For example, as fun as it is to shoot people, you'll want to ensure that your bounties are taken alive, since they'll net you much more cash if they're alive and kicking. That's not to say you can't rough them up some, which is some consolation. You'll also be able to earn some cash by selling items you find over the course of your work.

Another cool aspect of Mercenaries' gameplay ties in to the freedom of choice the game offers you as you play. The game will recognize if you're playing as above board as you can or are simply basking in evil and cutting through everyone you encounter like a swath of death. Such behavior, while extremely fun, will affect the ending you earn when you finish the game. While LucasArts and Pandemic are pretty tight-lipped about how that's going to work exactly, we do know there will be at least two endings to the game.

In order to bring the dark, troubled world of Mercenaries to life, Pandemic has crafted an all-new 3D engine that is impressive on both the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. The game will take place across two massive "maps" that are expansive and highly detailed. You'll be able to walk to virtually any place you see off in the distance. The trip takes about 15 minutes on foot, and in some cases you'll even experience a unique weather pattern during the jaunt. The game will also feature an impressive particle effect and weather system, which does a fine job of creating the game's atmosphere. You'll see fires burning and smoke that disperses as helicopters zip about.

Both versions of the game are looking sharp, although you can expect the standard differences between them. The Xbox version will offer a higher frame rate, sharper detail, and a few more effects. However, the PlayStation 2 game is anything but a dog. The visual experience compares favorably to the Xbox game and actually ends up packing a bit more of a punch. Realistically speaking, getting eye candy on the Xbox is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but working the kind of magic Pandemic has on the PlayStation 2 is a testament to the developer's coding prowess. The whole package is beefed up by the use of the much-vaunted Havok physics engine, which is being used for more than just making things blow up good (and they certainly do). You'll actually have to use the destructible environment to your advantage in many cases. For example, while making enormous cranes tip over by using C4 is cool, it can also be useful if the crane happens to smash stuff like enemies or other structures.

The audio in the game is currently coming together, and it should offer a solid accompaniment to the action. You'll hear a broad selection of the expected explosions and weapons fire tailor-made for the action. At the same time you'll hear a dense collection of ambient sound to add to the game's atmosphere. The actual soundtrack will be handled by Michael Giacchino, best known for his work in film, such as the upcoming feature The Incredibles from Disney and Pixar, and in games, such as Secret Weapons over Normandy and the Medal of Honor franchise. Giacchino's impressive background should ensure that Mercenaries will have a rousing sound palette.

Based on the versions of the game we saw, Mercenaries is shaping up to be an engaging new title from Pandemic and LucasArts. The gameplay is coming together nicely, and the open-ended elements offer a lot of opportunities for some inventive mayhem and work well with the more-structured aspects that revolve around your main quest. The impressive visuals are an excellent complement to the action and create a rich world for you to explore (and blow up). While the main content is the same on both platforms, Pandemic is looking to add some bells and whistles for each of the platforms, such as HD support and downloadable content on the Xbox. Mercenaries is currently slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and LucasArts plans to officially announce and reveal Mercenaries to the world at a UK press event next week. Look for more on the game in the coming months. Until then, check out an exclusive interview on the game, along with the first footage of it in motion, on our media page.