20TH ANNIVERSARY of Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction! | ColourShed

[@Elatenl]

RIP Pandemic

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnbFdmacfMt5Y9E

[@cdjxman]

@@user-ne9sd4ow1oOh no you didn’t!🤩

[@OiCCaboose]

Looks like, after a brief google search, they were eaten up and destroyed by EA. What a surprise.

[@brandonislemons]

Star wars battlefront, mercenaries and destroy all humans. They were such a talented team. Just goes to show a developer can make great games that do well and still get crushed

[@EnyoTaiz]

One of my favourite PS2 games. So many features that you still rarely get in new open world games, still disappointed the third game was cancelled.

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

Just Cause series felt similar but was different enough. I wish the 2 could coexist

[@joshuaandrewson3091]

​@@user-ne9sd4ow1o Same honestly, considering how much JC 4 turned out to be would be nice to have a game that has a similar premise to it. Heck just imagine a crossover game between Just Cause and Mercenaries. The story potential, the interactions, and most importantly, the EXPLOSIONS! A man can only dream unfortunately...

[@danieldevito6380]

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this series. Pandemic was an awesome video game dev.

[@DEVILTAZ35]

Yeah I still have both Xbox versions of 1 on original then 2 on 360 which sadly is rough as they never finished it properly but still really fun. The company was running out of money by the 2nd game had our Govt helped it might still be around.

[@WllKiedSnake]

​@@DEVILTAZ35The PS3 version did get more updates and exclusive content over the 360 version.

[@CD-Gaming]

I didn't realise they'd done so much!

[@aaronworthing1023]

Mercenaries 1 had the ability to unlock a Han Solo skin because it was released by Lucasfilm for some reason Mercenaries two added in DLC that lets you play as Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and a third person by I’ll remember who the character was. I believe it was another politician. That was a bit of a frustrating sequel because a lot of it was an improvement, but some of it was a step backwards

[@MrJans3n]

This game was my SHIT when I was younger! One of those "you can't play GTA yet but you can get close" games. I remember figuring out a trick where you could shoot a rocket over a helicopter to slowly get it to come close enough to hijack on the ground. Many a session started that way

[@CD-Gaming]

I'd forgot about that trick, cheers!

[@bbboywaxr]

Og mercenaries was so good. The fact you couls run into random events while exploring the map was so cool. Really felt like youre a special mercenary creeping around the underground of the ongoing conflict. It was so sick. Would like a real recreation of this game nowadays only for the advantages of new tech and graphics but you already know it would be botched and ruined. Still happy i got to play it back in the days .... Merry Christmas and Happy holidays yall.

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

The grey/brown colour pallette made you feel like you were in a warzone in North Korea. The fire and explosions being the only colour in sight 🔥

[@ReverendTed]

I played as Mattias, and I followed a guide to picking up all the collectibles. My wife and I still joke about the sound clip "Well, well, well..." that plays every time you pick up one of the collectible types because we heard it over, and over, and over.

[@DEVILTAZ35]

The Colonel is voiced by Carl Weathers and Amy Lee voices Fiona not the Singer Amy Lee though. It looks like she only did 3 voice cast jobs up to 2015 sadly as she was really great.

[@Mister_Typo]

I played hours of this game as a kid. I sucked, so I conveniently found out that the cheats have absolutely zero consequences to use. With infinite money, weapons, vehicles and airstrikes thanks to the market in the game, it was an absolute playground. Full pun intended. Fantastic game - need to play it again

[@CD-Gaming]

The Street Sweeper and Portable Air Stirke! Can't remember the other one in that Crate, though... Althoug, I do remember the Street Sweeper's file explicitly called you a cheater!

[@_Braised]

Great to see Mercenaries getting it's just due. Don't get too excited for the sequel though as they really dropped the ball on that one. However, Pandemic really came through with their outstanding swansong The Saboteur- which feels much more inspired like the first Mercenaries. Mercenaries and The Saboteur- what an amazing pair.

[@CoconutMigrating]

I was going nuts that you didn’t have any fuel air bomb footage, until finally you used it at the end. The fuel air bomb was so damn fun as a kid. It’s why I still remember this game 20 years later. As for Merc2, it was a big tone change into a more GTA zany style.

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

I didn't like the sequel as much, would've benefited massively from a brand new engine - it was essentially Mercs 1 but with a HD texture pack That level of jank was acceptable on PS2 but they really needed to push it for the sequel, unfortunately it was just more of the same Mercs 2 was still fun - but it could've been _really_ special

[@KarmicXRestrictions]

I wish there was a secret option for North Korea like you make the south angry and then the ace calls you directly and gives you a "bad guy" route for alot more money but crazily difficult

[@radiationwow]

I've many times thought about playing this game, but this video finally convinced me to try it

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Play it!

[@CD-Gaming]

It's fun, you won't regret it!

[@ClellBiggs]

I only played this one for a couple of hours but had fun with it. I played the heck out of the second one and 100% it. People say the first one was quite a bit better so I should play it.

[@Dja05]

the first one had better atmosphere , characters and polish, 2 had better gameplay mechanics imo. A shame it was so buggy (and a bit cringe, writing wise), or it would be considered a classic as well.

[@SaiyanEuc]

@@ClellBiggs yeah I loved the second one too but the first was special, like at the time you could even consider it better than the competition, 2 not so much lol

[@Elatenl]

Back when games still took place in original settings, can't remember many other games that took place on the Korean peninsula

[@Baguenaudeur]

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Ghost Recon 2, C&C, Homefront, Overwatch...

[@Elatenl]

@@Baguenaudeur You just named 4 games lol, including homefront which takes place in the US, and Overwatch which is a fictional setting. but sure there is tons of games in this setting. You are totally right homie.

[@bigsmoke4568]

​@@Baguenaudeur Chaos Theory only had three missions on the Korean peninsula.

[@pickleman40]

There is a weird cultural blindspot regarding the Korean War for some reason

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

​​@@pickleman40 Because it didn't end. We are still in the "Korean war". It's still one of the 2 or 3 hottest political potatoes on earth and there is a LOT of subtext - regulation of software extends to context, not just content.. Governments can (and do) step in

[@cdjxman]

Dropping bombs in this game was THE BOMB!😎👍

[@AFpaleoCon]

Playing Army of Two with my friend in my teens was peak gaming. But most people probably don’t even know it existed.

[@SaiyanEuc]

I was a little older so It didn't stick as hard as this. Great game though too.

[@crumdrum]

I played the 40th day this year and loved it

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

One of those co-op games that genuinely strengthens bonds lol - loved AoT

[@Justin-Theobald]

I remember the tv spot. “You are mercenary.” “Hijack anything.” “Blow stuff up.” “Keep blowing stuff up. “Blow the living crap out of it.” “Mercenaries playground of destruction in stores now!

[@RTPJu]

"There is no PC port of Mercenaries". It's ported via emulator [insert a Victorian Era villain evil laugh here]

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Still limited by the controller instead of a proper mouse & keyboard setup (Yes it can simulate that but not with full accuracy)

[@RTPJu]

@@Duke_of_Lorraine Mercenaries is gamepad friendly. The only shooter up to now that I can't find a proper setting for the analog sensitivity is Freedom Fighters. EDIT: And Mercenaries have a good texture pack

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

This game needs a PC remaster, instead of having to rely on an emulator

[@WllKiedSnake]

Remaster Mercenaries 1,2 and The Saboteur for everything.

[@joeburch6754]

I replayed Mercs 2 recently and it's certainly not easy. It's got so many issues. Probably because it's the PC port and I'm not a kid playing it on his 360 (as god intended). I doubt we'd ever see a remaster but God DAMN I'd love a polished Mercs 2. So many hours spent finding out how I can go about destroying Venezuela.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@joeburch6754 the PC port of Merc 2 is quite awful indeed.

[@flippedoutkyrii]

I played the hell out of this, probably hundreds of hours between me and my brothers Xboxs. Recently went back to it after dusting off my Duke Controller and MAN it was rough at 30 FPS and 480p, so I'm legit surprised to see it so crisp and fluid in your footage! And Oh yeah, the music playing on the pause menu is a feature, not a bug.

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Its amazing how our memories gloss over things like resolution and saving when reminiscing about classics 😅 I've got a huge retro library and play it often; some games are best left as fond memories lol

[@flippedoutkyrii]

@@unbearifiedbear1885 Oh absolutely. For instance I forgot how bad the FPS was in Goldeneye and how unituitive the control scheme really is, not to mention the visual quality gave me legit eyestrain after just an hour even at most optimal settings. The game director for the Destroy All Humans Remake said it best with "We are not remaking the exact game it was, we are remaking the game *that you remember* "

[@no1DdC]

@@flippedoutkyrii There's an unreleased, but leaked, Xbox 360 remaster of Goldeneye. It comes with proper dual-stick controls and some slight visual enhancements, similar to the excellent Perfect Dark remaster that did release. It feels great thanks to the high frame rate and can be easily emulated in Xbox 360 emulator Xenia. Note that this is different from the recent re-release of the game for Switch and modern consoles - and it's also different from the good, but deliberately not faithful 2010 remake for Wii and later (visually enhanced, but without inventive Wii features) Xbox 360 and PS3. The leaked remaster is easily the best out of all of these, but do check out the 2010 remake as well if you haven't already; its Metacritic score of 81 is well-deserved.

[@wretchedslippage3255]

Nostalgia!! I remember being absolutely blown away by the detail in this game on Xbox. It really was a playground of destruction. The game really made me feel like I was part of a living world too.

[@CD-Gaming]

I remember when my mate showed me what happens when you hover over smoke in a helicopter, how the rotors blew the smoke away! It's not much nowadays, but 20 years ago, that was the sort of detail you wouldn't expect to see until the sequel!

[@BoxiesAU]

Such a fun game. Awesome calling in the strikes/air support etc. We don't get games like this anymore.

[@Axle0Bullitt019]

As someone who has played both the PS2 and X Box version on original hardware I can confirm that the pause menu really does just blare the fuck out of the main theme upon pausing. Thanks for the wonderful trip back with this game, it really is one of my all time favorites.

[@no1DdC]

Look, they paid Michael Giacchino probably half of the game's development budget for the five tracks he composed, so they might as well get the most out of it, whether you like it or not. /s.

[@princegroove]

This is a real Christmas treat, indeed. 👏

[@MalcomHeavy]

YES! You talked about it! I still think about this game all the time! This game is so underappreciated. The most slept on part of this game is the incredible soundtrack.

[@Muldoon93]

I remember when this game come out it was absolutely insane I loved it the feeling that you could destroy anything that the entire sandbox was your playground. I had so much fun and seeing this video brought all the memories back for me the nostalgia is unreal.

[@Belgar]

I used to love playing this game on PS2. And Mercs 2 as well, but on PC. I wish they would revive this franchise.

[@iamwrong2239]

Man, I played this game back in 2017-18 when Xbox games for gold service was still a thing. I had a great time with in on the xbox one through emulation. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the cheats to work but I will come back to it one day. I hope we cam get something like Playgrounds again in the future.

[@collymolotov]

I absolutely loved this game. I wish they’d remaster it and port it over to current-gen systems. Sadly, that’ll probably never happen.

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

Grappling cars with heli's consumed many hours of my childhood. They all had weight! So id use the lil NK jeeps as bombs 😂 This was the first game i did c4 jeep stuff too. Was good practice for Battlefield later

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

This game is single handedly responsible for sparking a generation of gamers love for the word "Havok" 😅

[@battlefieldnerd1002]

FINALLY, A RECENT REVIEW OF MERCENARIES 1!!! After watching minimme covering this and the second game back in 2022, i wanted moreee

[@pickleman40]

You really could complete missions in countless ways. I remember ordering vehicles and leaving them in strategic positions with soldiers in them before certain missions to give me back up, it was really fun just how creative you could get

[@Bigoleboi]

The tone of this game was always my favorite part. The "business as usual" take on war is something ive only seen done properly in Metal gear solid V

[@shawklan27]

Merry Christmas and a reminder that we lost an amazing studio 🎉

[@vitamc1213]

Giaccino also composed the soundtrack for the movie Speed Racer. He composed so many soundtracks I like, including this one

[@WllKiedSnake]

He did the score for a few Star Wars games. Pandemics last game The Saboteur. That score is stuck in my head.

[@SH1FTYSmokes]

Just unlocked a deep memory. My cousins had this on they're 360 and i always used to beg my parents for a copy but because they were "good parents" they didn't want me playing m rated games. Lost out on a ton of good experiences like la noir and a ton of others. Might have to take the 360 outta the closet and search ebay for a copy!

[@SaiyanEuc]

One of my favorite games of all time, i actually prefered this most of the time over gta and i was like 12 back then. Just something about calling in airstrikes and stealing tanks 🤘

[@skeetsofrage9517]

Merry Christmas Bro

[@larrymorand6481]

Glad you're still making vids

[@SynthLizard8]

Mercenaries was one of those games that legitimately felt like a action movie, high-jacking helicopters, tanks in a cinematic way, the grit and atmosphere of the world, it was simply awesome, shame about the sequel that just never hit right with me, it was just missing that essential ingredient, perhaps it was just too silly.

[@travisbickle2004]

I played the hell out of this at the time, such a fun sandbox, i used to stack helicopters on top of each other as high as possible and then call in a bunker buster strike. Pandemic was a great studio, i really enjoyed Full Spectrum Warrior and The Saboteur. A shame they’re no longer here. I hope all their games get some kind of re-release, maybe by Nighdive Studios…

[@theTF2sniper]

The theme song playing when you pause is not a glitch, i still play on original xbox and it did that on there aswell. Kinda annoying i agree.

[@aaronlaughter6471]

God I can not stress how much I love this game and its theme.

[@Midtable1881]

Excellent video! Can I recommend the Red Faction games for future videos?

[@Tacticooltaco9mm]

This game really needs to be remastered

[@Blaze1337]

Amazing game, honestly wished modders would have portered the game the Merc 2 game just so we could have some sort of a PC version.

[@ericdanielski4802]

Nice review.

[@ShortThrowShifting]

My favourite game of all time. Right up there with Seek & Destroy, Socom 3 and Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

[@ChaseMC215]

I enjoyed this game. I definantly loved the Indiana Jones costume

[@Robocop_1987]

Merry Christmas Spenny

[@codigoceropokemmo]

Happy Holydays Colourshed team!

[@WllKiedSnake]

Michael Giacchino of recent The Batman fame did the music score for this game.

[@isaiaslafon9329]

Nice video, as always!

[@colinchiero]

Such a sick game but mercenaries 2 was even better!!!

[@fearingalma1550]

Still my favorite open-world game. The level of shenanigans you can get up to is amazing. Also interestingly, depending on which platform you pick it up on, the draw distance varies, so this can affect tactics on missions like Omerta (where you need to pull off long range snipes to avoid losing a stealth bonus) and other things. I replay this every so often and I grow sadder and sadder that we never got another game like this since Mercs 2. About the closest we have now is Helldivers 2 but it's not the same. Also the ad campaign at the time was genius: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXSVeK2BbKaqasU Minor correction on the music: Michael Giacchino did compose the main theme, but the bulk of the composing work was Chris Tilton, who also worked with Giacchino on Black.

[@votekyle3000]

I was just thinking about this game last week! Wild

[@codigoceropokemmo]

I have the Mercs theme on my playlist since it was released, I burned the ost into a MP3 CD that I still have working, also I have For the Motherland, incredible song

[@codigoceropokemmo]

Music by Michael Giacchino and Chris Tilton, same for Black, peak military themes imo

[@ianray8823]

Oh nooo Ohhh nooo OHH NOOOOO OH NO YOU DIDN'T

[@ShootingStar1313]

16:32 Had me hooked, until I heard this part. 🧐 As it is, only a remake that ironed out the (frustrating) kinks could get me to try out this title. Until then... gonna keep watching ColourShed's videos! 😎

[@codigoceropokemmo]

Awesome review as usual good stuff (when do Mercs 2 please dont be that hard with it, the game has its charisma, try to check out how all the main missions work to see the entire plot because depends on how you finish the game you can see more or less scenes)

[@learkenciel]

I love Mercenaries. Is a shame the sequel feels rushed af.

[@WllKiedSnake]

The Saboteur turned out really well though which is odd. Especially the PS3 version which had better lighting and graphical effects and new form of AA called MLAA. Surprised they pulled it off before they were closed.

[@kubel83]

This brings back fun memories 😊

[@ardoronro6677]

I really wish there was an official re-release for PC. I'd buy it in a heartbeat just like I did all the other Pandemic games. The only other one missing is Star Wars: The Clone Wars (The hover tank one}

[@Staravora]

This was my favorite PS2 game by far

[@wickdaline8668]

Jennifer Hale sounds like she's using her Bastila Shan accent.

[@Mozzo18]

You should review the saboteur

[@scarecrowsnrX]

World in flames is one of my all time favorite games, even bought two copies just on the off chance that I could convince them to play co-op. It's flawed as hell in so many ways though.

[@tracphonevirtualmagazine]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

[@CD-Gaming]

I got this from Game, back when they were good, as part of their then "trade in 4 games, get a marked one for £1" deal, along with Dragonball Z Budokai Tenakai'ici 2 for Xbox and I love this game, it's jus a shame the 360 botches up and glitches out when you get to the Chinese HQ at the start of the game... haven't tried it on the Xbox One yet, but I do still have an Xbox to play it on, so it's not all bad, plus I did pick it up on PS2 a little while back, so there's that! A mate of mine did also pick it up on PS2 anyway and I remember when he started it up, he picked the one character who got both remarks and when asked if he was worried isnce the DMZ was "the most dangerous place on Earth, he, like Matthias, jus simply said, "jus wait til I get there"! And when she said "still... $100,000,000... do you think you could spend that much money in one lifetime?", I jus simply remarked, "I'll die trying", like Chris! So, guess who we each like to play as! Plus, my name is Chris, so... not surreal at all... Also, I have Mercenaries 2 on PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360, the PS2 version is... different to say the least!

[@pkemr4]

the source code got posted online, wish someone would make a PC port

[@DEVILTAZ35]

Hi mate, I still have my original Mercenaries for Xbox in near mint condition I can play on the OLED with a modded Xbox with HDMI converter I got from USA that even has the 5.1 sound via HDMI. One of my favourite games of all time this one. What many don’t know is the Xbox version always targeted 60 fps and the PS2 version was stuck at 30 fps. It was never boosted for series X just the resolution updates which I agree look amazing as do all original compatible Xbox titles on Series X. I didn’t know the deck of cards concept was based on reality though I just thought it was a brilliant idea for a game that I have never really sadly never seen reused.

[@WllKiedSnake]

It will likely come to PS5 at some point via the PS Classics. Hopefully with trophy support. It's already a PS2 Classic on PS3.

[@KiKisancz21]

I remember the trailer “oh no you didn’t” I downloaded that shot to my IPod

[@robmarsh6668]

The best Original xbox game IMO.

[@luciusdebeers6176]

"Masterchief? Yeah this guy right here"

[@robmarsh6668]

@luciusdebeers6176 Masterchief can't call in an arclight strike, but fair enough.

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

This game and cod 4 are the only games i bought on the xbox marketplace.

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

This is one of the coolest games ever released ❤

[@kennycalhoun2712]

Good review bro

[@FirepitGaming]

I expect Kim Jong has a deck of cards with a price tag on for all the dev team haha

[@nololol]

damn i just did a play through of this over the summer

[@nobel11]

I love this game, it's a masterpiece

[@12b_engineer]

Id love to see a revew ofthe second one too

[@kennycalhoun2712]

Your right Jennifer hale is one of the best voice actresses.

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

She sounds so good! I was usually cool mohawk guy, but played through as her Atleast once. I liked how they had unique passive perks too

[@JustWastingMyTimeGaming]

Appropriate for the times.

[@comradecrawdaddy]

I spent so many hours playing this game. I wish we could get a remaster or something but never gonna happen now

[@markmustermann1837]

Maybe we will see a Nightdive Remaster some day...

[@chrisdiokno5600]

God I remember this game

[@BionicSammich]

This game was so good.

[@NightmareNate7]

I played them both, the first is better than the second.

[@DJEylisium]

Auto Modellista next please!

[@timpeachey9394]

The other guy that does good reviews already did this one.

[@leonkenedy4616]

Thanks EA for shotting down Pandemic and a lot of other amazing game developers.

[@codigoceropokemmo]

Incredible but Mercs 2 predicted the future, I cant wait to see this game became reality aswell, we are not even that far!

[@Gendor64]

holy shit, johnny gat!?! 7:40

[@Mozzo18]

It's not a glitch when you puse the game I have the ps2 version

[@demonsaint1296]

What’s brown and sounds like a bell?

[@demonsaint1296]

Dung!

[@eurosonly]

I was expecting another review of gran turismo.

[@ColourShedProductions]

I’m RE-reviewing GT6 next! 👍

[@12b_engineer]

I havewanted a pc port and remaster for ages.

[@LeoJonathaVillanueva]

I tried to play this game on my 360 but it crashs all the time. Does it work better on series x?

[@SPECTRA_87]

Yes, it plays so smooth

[@user-ne9sd4ow1o]

Is it on disk? I got it on Xbox marketplace and it ran fine if I remember. I didn't get very far tho