241w ago - Pandemic have announced that they will release the "Total Payback" update for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames on October 13th for Xbox Live and on October 20th for the PlayStation Network.

This update will allow players to create even more chaos in the streets and hills of Venezuela, offering: cheats, SIX new playable characters, cross-region Co-Op multiplayer SUPPORT.

Pandemic have also announced that they will Pandemic will release the first Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Downloadable Content (DLC) in November.

Press Release: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Payback Update Announced

The update hits Xbox Live on October 13 and the PlayStation Network on October 20.

Pandemic Studios will release the "Total Payback" update for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames on October 13th for Xbox Live and on October 20th for the PlayStation Network. This update will allow players to create even more chaos in the streets and hills of Venezuela, offering:

• Cheats - Unlock the total-payback power of all weapons, vehicles and airstrikes in Mercenaries 2, as well as everyone's favorite: Infinite Ammo and Infinite Health
• SIX New playable characters - From Blanco to Fiona, Ewan, Eva and more
• Cross-region Co-Op multiplayer SUPPORT - Tear through Venezuela...

245w ago - IGN has reviewed Mercenaries 2 on the PS2 and the sad thing is that it looks and plays worse than the original, which was released three and a half years ago!

It seems as if the developers watered down this version, perhaps because of their PS3/XBox 360 commitments. It's so bad, they scored it a 3.9/10 and that's REALLY bad coming from the usually high scoring IGN.

To quote: The original Mercenaries came out three-and-a-half years ago. But instead of giving us a game with more than three years worth of updates, Pi Studios has actually taken three steps backwards. Mercs 2 looks worse, plays worse and is just plain worse than the groundbreaking original.

Why this watered-down version was even published is a mystery. Were this game fun, with the missions structured in a way that made them enjoyable, thaen there'd at least be a reason to rent. But there's nothing here to recommend.

Mercenaries 2 on PS2 is a bad game. 'Nuff said.

248w ago - Special Features may be the reason why you buy this game, including:

- Work for the Highest Bidder: You decide which factions to work for and when. From one-off pick-up jobs to complex multi-objective missions your choices will decide how the game progresses and which faction wins the war.

- New Toys: Over 130 vehicles from civilian cars to tanks and choppers plus all the destructive weaponry you can handle from pistols to rocket launchers.

- Next Gen Destruction: Take down any building in the world piece by piece and see them crumble with fantastic effects. Not just cool to look at, destruction can be used to take out enemy forces and change the landscape of the battlefield.

- Build Your Own Private Military Company: Recruit other mercenaries to build out your arsenal and options until you have the ultimate array of options to play with.

- Playable Water: Fly over it, swim through it, race across it in boats. No longer just something to look at, water is an active part of the game.

- Landing Zones: Don't have time to make your way across the country? Go to one of your captured drop zones and instantly get transported to the next hot spot and right back into the action.

- Massive Open World:...

295w ago - It's been rumored for a while, but Pandemic Studios confirmed in an interview with IGN that Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be pushed back into the first quarter of 2008. Pandemic President and co-founder Josh Resnick had no shortage of comical quips for explanation.

"The easy answer is that we wanted to time it more closely to the movie. But then we realized that we don't have a movie, so we just said, 'Aww hell, let's just make the game better,'" said Resnick. "It's really that simple -- we don't want to slop out a game just to meet a deadline."

When asked what was left to be done in development, Resnick responded, "All of the features in the game are currently locked, so we're not taking this extra time to explore the idea of allowing players to hijack UFOs and visit Neptune." A slight, friendly dig at Will Wright's oft-delayed Spore? Maybe we're just reading too much into it.

"Our only goal," Resnick continues, "is to make gamers proud that they own a copy of Mercenaries 2 by making the highest quality next-gen open-world experience the world has ever seen." Them's fightin' words when a first-quarter 2008 release puts them in even closer competition with another recently delayed open-world action game, but Resnick says the only game that matters for the success of Mercenaries...

298w ago - What we heard: Ever since it was first announced, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has been the subject of many gamers' interest. The attention increased after Electronic Arts agreed to publish the title, which sees a trio of guns-for-hire renting themselves out during a Venezuelan civil war. Anticipation for the game skyrocketed in May, when developers showed off what looked like a near-final build of the game.

Today, though, comes word that Mercenaries 2 might be missing its previously announced holiday 2007 release date. Citing unnamed sources, C&VG is claiming that the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC shooter has been pushed back to 2008. While the move pushes the Pandemic title's free-roaming, over-the-top destruction further down the space-time continuum, it will free up funds for cash-strapped gamers to buy other titles. It also isn't unprecedented, since other AAA titles such as Splinter Cell: Conviction and the big kahuna itself, Grand Theft Auto IV, have been pushed back to next year.

The official story: "We've made no announcements at this time regarding a final release date for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames."--A recalcitrant Pandemic rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Leaning not bogus. As promising as Mercenaries 2 looks, it's not as high profile as many...