MERCENARIES PLAYGROUND OF DESTRUCTION | minimme

more like Mercenaries Playground of Deceptively good open world design featuring peter stormare and lots of explosions am I right haha hehe I never know what to write here
Support the channel on Patreon! / minimme
Check out my Twitter if Twitter still exists: / minimme
Check out my 2nd channel: @micromme
Check out my cool web 1.0 website: www.minimme.com/
music:
A Night Alone - TrackTribe
Back in Town - Silent Partner
Onion - Lukrembo
Chill Day - Lukrembo
Ocean - DeeTunez
Affogato - Lukrembo
DeeTunez: / deetunez / @deetunez
Lukrembo: / lukrembo / @lukrembo
video credits:
"Red Faction: Guerrilla ... (PS3) Gameplay"
• Red Faction: Guerrilla...
"Mercenaries 2: World in Flames ... (PS3) Gameplay"
• Mercenaries 2: World i...
Videos by KZbin channel 10min Gameplay
/ @10mingameplay1

[@mrsundaymovies]

I love this game. I remember trying to save money on a helicopter by ordering something cheap and shooting the helicopter delivery pilot when they were closest to the ground so it might “crash” safely. Worked about 1 in every 10 times

[@mrsundaymovies]

Oh and great video thumbs up and all that

[@TonightsSpecialGuest]

When I did the Blackhawk Down extraction mission where they want you to get a copter and fly out under fire; I ordered a 4 door generic Volvo and me and the crew just carpooled to safety.

[@orzen_the_orzo933]

Didn't expect to see you here

[@ODD17Ymusic]

Litterally love you both so much, it's awesome to see you all on eachothers comments ❤️

[@Roger44477]

In the speedruns, they've gotten it pretty much perfectly consistent

[@killer1one1]

A straight-up miracle of a game. There are entire systems-based games being released right now that barely have a quarter of the raw ambition that this 6th gen game had. Blows my mind every time I think of it.

[@thewarriors3048]

I would love a modern remake for PS5/PC. It would be so sick.

[@ryeguy7941]

These days for just about everything it's pay more get less.

[@joshjonson2368]

@@ryeguy7941 but the graphics!

[@PlasticSorcererTheOriginal]

But muh graffixs

[@Dylan-ce8wz]

😂​@@PlasticSorcererTheOriginal

[@FoxInferno13]

Got my first job because of this game lmao. I spilled some soda on my PS2 during a rather intense mission when I was 12ish and in a panic took it over to my local flea market which was chock FULL of video game sellers. One dude in particular sold modded Xboxes so I figured he could fix up my poor soda bathed fatboy PS2 and sure enough he did! Sadly I was broke as shit being all of 12 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thankfully dude was just like "Well I do need some help around here. How about you come and work for me for the next two weekends and I'll hand this over to you right now?" "DEAL." Don't know what happened to that dude after all that but I hope he's having a good day right now lmao

[@Gatorade69]

That's awesome. Sounds like a good dude.

[@lunaticberserker5869]

Bro of the century.

[@griimey7787]

Lol funny story 😂😂

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Gamerbro

[@ethanvanallen7567]

Absolute legend that man is

[@Sciencef1ction]

13 year old boy in 2005 here, this game was a breath of fresh air at the time despite all the air in game looking beyond contaminated. A real shame this series died out but than again what beloved franchise hasn’t amidst this modern hell-scape

[@270eman]

Yeah gaming became a snake oil selling con-man.

[@WaffleHouseBBWs]

Thank you 🙌 as someone that played Siphon Filter back in the day (lol) I can also appreciate the game for what it was during the time period.

[@TheOGNoName]

You know.... you have a good point. All the good game series that I enjoyed are gone now. I mean, I guess i still have Nintendo at least.

[@Phreno_Xeno]

When disguised as an enemy faction you can honk your horn (works in all vehicles including helicopters) to show your true colours to nearby allied troops.

[@Odium515]

you can honk in a chopper too. Its an air horn

[@DaisyBunnyVR]

I forgot about that, I know it would reveal you to the enemy but I guess it's only logical it could reveal you to your allies too.

[@Odium515]

@@DaisyBunnyVR you HAD to honk near allies because if you were in a NK vehicle, they shoot at you until you blow your disguise

[@DaisyBunnyVR]

@@Odium515 riiight, yeah! fun times

[@Phreno_Xeno]

@@DaisyBunnyVR Yes. You can also honk the horn to call allied soldiers to fill your vehicle, Warthog style. Bring a journalist and have him witness you fighting the NK, and you'll score points with all factions for each kill.

[@LeadingMole058]

Still among my all time favourites. Also honking your horn removes whatever disguise from the vehicle you’re in.

[@tragicallyfunny]

I have a vague memory of doing this, but I only ever got to play the demo version of Mercenaries from Playstation Magazine

[@LeadingMole058]

@@tragicallyfunny in my opinion it’s a bit of a forgotten gem. Definitely rough when compared to modern stuff and I don’t expect those first timers to play it through to completion but yeah I still love it. Heck it was among the first games I re-downloaded when I got my Series X

[@tacomas9602]

@@LeadingMole058it might be an old game but it plays smooth

[@PeepOhTay]

Honestly the fact that this game came out on the PS2 released in 2001 is really impressive. Aside from San Andreas, this game may have the most content of any open-world game on the system. If only the second one wasn't so 7th-generationy

[@some-replies]

One of the few games that the sequel was even better.

[@NotCharAznable]

The second game was a very good update.

[@DeadManSinging1]

The second one was way better. It plays like a weird version of MGS 5 that has a more open world

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

@@DeadManSinging1 I disagree. Second game had some cool ideas, but wasn't exicuted as well. Like it gave you a nuclear bunker buster at the end of the game but almost every building could be brought down with just a normal bombing run or two. Bases were also a lot easier to take out, with no tank spawning tunnels. Really could have benifited from a new game+ option. Still fun though, planning on beating it a 3rd time after I finish my 3rd run through the first game.

[@Ratchetti]

Ps2 nor this game came out in 2001

[@EthonMullins]

I loved this as a kid. Pandemic really were the chosen ones of game design.

[@OzonesElbows]

It’s also worth noting that the composer for most of the music was Michael Giacchino who worked on the recent Batman soundtrack, ratatouille and other massive titles. It’s like getting Hans Zimmer or John Williams to compose music for your game, it’s amazing!

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

I actually love the combat in Mercinaries, the fact that bullets all have a bright glow and move relatively slow turn mid-long range firefights into a bullet hell game. Just Cause tries to do similar things, but even with the added speed of the grappling hook, you don't so much dodge as quickly pull yourself behind cover.

[@krorook9221]

the game had some impressive smoke effects and physics ( smoke is reacting to your chopper etc.) . This is basically the engine Pandemic used for Full Spectrum Warrior and Battlefront

[@darnelwashinton1295]

This game gave you so much freedom, it was incredible. Every piece of equipment took real work to get and you could get a heart attack just at the thought of landing your heli wrong or tipping a truck over or whatever. Absolutely LOVED this game, and the intro mission was so damn cool. Yeah it's depressing in atmosphere but that makes it even cooler, those who have played know. Loved the card labels for valued targets too, just a very cool game.

[@PCGGC]

We really NEED a next-gen version of this series. Such an amazing game ahead of its time that got two lackluster sequels which weren't as complex or awe-inspiring

[@Odium515]

even a remaster with a newer engine would be amazing... Just Cause has the proper platform to start with

[@PhantomLordOG]

Wait... 2 sequels? I only ever remember mercenaries 2 from 2008

[@evanrogers1825]

@@PhantomLordOG could be referring to one of two things: 1) there were two versions of Mercs 2 (PC/PS3/Xbox360) and (PS2/XBOX). They were both “Mercs 2” but very different. 2) there was a third game in development which even had some gameplay/concept trailer developed. But before it could go any further, the market crashed in 2008 and EA consolidated its teams, closing Pandemic’s doors in the process. - Mercs 3 exists in the same way Battlefront 3 exists. There technically “was” something but never a full game.

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Yeah I've wanted a modern remake of this series for 2 generations, now 😪

[@OzonesElbows]

I would accept a remaster or even just a rerelease! Loading times would be impeccable

[@kenpetrini1461]

Mate, cannot tell you how much I appreciate the effort and time you pit into what you do. Your reviews are always so insightful and relatable, thanks for being consistently one of the best KZbinrs on the entire platform ❤️

[@nicholsliwilson]

Great video. Definitely do Mercenaries 2, it’d be fun to compare & contrast.

[@minimme]

definitely think I will at this point - and the PS2 port!

[@clutchless_pilot]

@@minimme I played a lot of the ps3 version of mercenaries 2 and I’d love to see the review

[@Simplebutsandy]

I still have that "Oh no you didnt" song seared into my brain.

[@McRibs]

@@minimme Don't forget to dig into Mercenaries 2's marketing campaign. that song was a viral hit back in the day.

[@Roger44477]

@@minimme Heads up the PS2 game is just a different game all together (and honestly I think a better game overall) with several differing mechanics and most of the juice of the game being in side contracts

[@Zcrub]

"Yes, the mercenary. The one piece in this game that moves where I want and strikes as I need"

[@NativeOfTheLand97]

I hated how they made everyone a quirky caricature in the 2nd game. Especially colonel peng.

[@RayceYams]

Working in a retro game shop, this really helps me. I've been looking at this game for years, and this really helps me be able to recommend it to people. I love your videos because it helps me find smaller, more overlooked games and give them a chance for people who I think might like them. Your videos fuel me with inspiration for the history of video games and the ones that have been overlooked by the top dogs of whatever age they came out in. Please keep it up, your videos are invaluable

[@minimme]

Glad my work helps you out and thank you for the lovely comment here :)

[@joetroutt7425]

Another great game that never got a sequel is Freedom Fighters. It's basically like the movie Red Dawn. The Russians invade and take over America but the setting is in New York. The redo of Red Dawn has a lot of similarities as the Freedom Fighters game. It's a squad based fighting game from the PS2 era. I love that game. I have played it multiple times and it never gets old.

[@radicalthestral8210]

I like how each HQ had one random thing per mission brief you could interact with. Like Sergei's lamp in the mafia HQ in one mission, or the radio equipment in the SK HQ in a different one, and the mission giver would usually have something to say about it when you did.

[@ryeguy7941]

The chair🤣 and Buford saying "my lord what are you 8?"

[@ZombiePotatoSalad]

"You could fry an egg on that thing."

[@bagelfan6]

It's that one game with Han Solo and Indiana Jones!

[@minimme]

It is! And I'm annoyed I forgot to mention them lol

[@Pr00ch]

The complexity you outlines is exactly why Just Cause was never really a substitute for Mercenaries for me, though I do enjoy JC regardless. Same thing with the open ended mission design. Honestly you articulated so well what is great about Mercenaries. Hope you'll review the sequel too, it was not widely liked but I absolutely loved it and still do. It didn't deserve the hate. If I ever become obscenely rich, I am setting up a studio and releasing a game to capture Mercenaries' spirit. Pro bono.

[@icyjiub2228]

Michael Giaccino didn't have to go that hard with the main theme.

[@jacksonbauer5199]

I loved this game as a kid! Also, as a US Veteran myself, I thought the “deck of cards” was brilliant! We had them when I was deployed and let’s be honest, grunts aren’t really there for their wit, so the cards were an easy way to get them familiar with potential targets without a need for protracted briefings. Combat is not what you see on TV or in the movies, there’s an actually a fair amount of “downtime” for the average enlisted even in theater. Hell, Bagram had a Pizza Hut and coffee shops and shit. Anyway, just thought I’d share that the cards weren’t meant to be all “black ops Vietnam, leaving aces of spades on corpses”, they were purely a “visual aide” combined with something almost everyone has access to to pass time.

[@alejandrogorgal]

I've been replaying MGSV:TPP and it's amazing hoe many similar mechanics already existed in this game, from requesting airdrops to loading people in choppers, I wonder if it was used as inspiration.

[@1r0zz]

If it was an ispiration, they only took the minimal elemens. That said, is probably just similar ideas for similar situations. What I hat in mgsv, is that you really have no reason to play it as an open world or have much “play” with the enemies as mgs2,mgs3 or mgs4.

[@emulation2369]

Ofc it was

[@1r0zz]

@@emulation2369 Ehh… Kohima is not the kinda guy playing much games outside his very specific taste… he never played Silent Hill and Castlevania (I assume “modern” releases) games that he was called to direct or help production…

[@susfringgaming4018]

Definitely for mercenaries 2 extractions, side ops and resource management

[@budyll1]

At least in Mercenaries you could have as many airdrops etc. as you wanted as long as you had money. I hated MGSV because of it was blocking that.

[@CYPH3RsD0M41N]

Ah, yes. Dominic "Family" Toretto and Tony "Do a Kickflip" Hawk. The "other" mercenaries.

[@walkerwhited]

Best game of all time🤘 The tone and ambience is so brilliant. Played countless times as a kid and still pick it back up every now and then…

[@Zcrub]

I managed to find it pre owned for £1 myself, definitely worth the money for such a unique sandbox game

[@JukemDrawles87]

It has a unique charm feel to it, I love the world

[@Jam-xg3qx]

I AGREE I AGREE!!

[@mineer-pg5sv]

It was a tragedy when I finished this game a few days ago😭

[@davidwillis5044]

this was my absolute favorite game. I would get home from school and go straight to the Xbox to play this until I couldn't stay up any later. always loved the fuel-air bomb effect. it was my go to just because of how cool it was. I always kind of hoped for a remaster

[@zenoohshit5498]

This game was so underrated it’s crazy, NO ONE I know that games has ever heard of this before. Which is just a damn shame because this game back in the day was top tier shit and still has fun mechanics that have aged very well. Gonna be downloading this on an emulator, thank you for making a video dedicated to this hidden gem.

[@fanofnathandrake]

I remember coming back from Grade 5 camp, my parents taking me to JB HIFI and with leftover birthday money/camp spending money let me buy this game and GUN on PS2. They were the first "mature" games my parents ever allowed me to buy (went to Sovereign Hill, so for GUN I convinced them it was "research" for cowboys and the wild west lol). Summer of 2006 was truly the best.

[@thomassmith4467]

Gun was great. Hard to believe the folks who only worked on pro skater came up with that on the fly.

[@blakesby]

Forgot to mention how, being a LucasArts game, there were cheat codes which reskinned your character as Indiana Jones or Han Solo! Great retrospective though, as always. Keen for a feature on Mercenaries 2 too, of course. Don't know why, but it just popped into my head that I'd love to hear you do one on the xcom series (moreso meaning the recent few games than the retro ones).

[@lisbon1492]

I love the art style of Mercenaries! I feel that the darker Earth tones work well for the sober war setting.

[@Nickallsopp92]

Well war is depressing, and this game captures the atmosphere of what a war zone looks like more than most. Thats what made it so awesome.

[@TheLoos3Goos33]

Games like this that I grew up with are exactly why I'm so sad for gamers who've only started playing in the last decade. No DLC or anything and it has more REAL content than most games nowadays after a year of DLC.

[@Wolfkaosaun]

I absolutely loved Mercenaries when it came out. I played it for almost a month straight and while I only touched it a few times since, I have a lot of fond memories playing it

[@zentran2690]

I just bought both of these off amazon literally last month. Wish we could get a remaster or at-least for them to put them back up for sale on Origin. These games don't deserve to be forgotten. Also nothing like the feeling of breaking into a military base in Mercenaries, Just Cause or Grand Theft Auto and then clenching your asshole hoping and praying you can fly out of there without being shot down.

[@kushmaster6517]

This game was an absolute blast as a kid, and Merc 2 is one of my favorite games

[@TheCaptainSquiggles]

God what a throwback. I forgot how dark and gloomy this game was, because I was a kid and I used cheat codes. My dad and I bonded over this game, with him playing right and me leveling the world with a cruise missile cheat Launcher lol.

[@mixnmatchflavourbleach2313]

The game: set in a war-torn region with multiple active warzones and occupied cities "It's depressing to look at"

[@minimme]

I'm getting a good handful of comments along these lines so sorry to single you out specifically but I feel I should reply to one - my point here was how, from a marketing/outside perspective looking at the game, it's a game called PLAYGROUND of Destruction starring a too cool for school mohawk dude and explosions, yet when you play it it's super subdued and depressing. That's surprising at first. But it reveals itself to be good thing! I love that it looks depressing, really. It tonally works considering the setting, like you said, and it helps keep the game grounded which is a strength Mercs has over games like Just Cause. I'm really not complaining about it at all, quite the opposite. Cheers

[@mixnmatchflavourbleach2313]

@minimme honestly I didn't mean it in a bad way I actually thought the comment was funny! The game is different layers of gray lol

[@minimme]

ya no worries! it definitely is - sorry just kinda like saw a bunch of comments in a row about this and picked yours to reply to haha. take care

[@91mrpogi]

Looks like a gta game in a military setting

[@Rustyfingaz]

The destruction in this and the second one is top tier

[@nukedukem614]

I LOVED THIS GAME GROWING UP

[@olympian3]

I love how the game’s filter makes your screen look like it was slathered in oil. I played this game every weekend for probably a year or more. Was great when I finally took down the ace of spades and got the big payout. Such a cool game. I bet Kim Jong un loves it as well.

[@KomandarmKnuckles]

One of my favorite childhood games. Used to love placing C4 and kicking it over fences with the melee attack

[@AUGLTN]

My little brothers and I played this when we were kids. (Im 31 now) Sadly, one of them passed away 2 years ago. Thank you so much for the trip down memory lane. ❤️‍🩹

[@EnyoTaiz]

The timing of this review! I just went back and played both mercenaries games this week. They really don't have any competitors even in 2022. I know some people don't like Mercs 2 since the atmosphere is a lot more goofy, but the gameplay is still the same with lots of little improvements that makes me love it just as much as Mercs 1

[@Eirik_Bloodaxe]

I remember liking 2 a lot too. But I guess a lot of people hate it.

[@putridscene]

For anyone interested in checking this out, the original XBox version is playable and available for purchase on X Box One and Series S/X.

[@Idontknow-cm5py]

i have it on 360 sadly it freezes in part of the map

[@flippedoutkyrii]

Must have put a good 1000 hours into this on my OG Xbox all throughout High School. I always remembered how bleak the tone was in the open world AND the sheer volume of air strikes you could call in short of a nuclear strike lol.

[@derderde1]

side note: you can constantly honk your horn in the NK vehicles so allies wont shoot

[@FCV0511]

Glad to see this game given a look. I've only ever played Mercenaries 2 on the PS3 and I ended up loving it - I'll have to go back and try the first sometime. Damn shame that EA shut Pandemic down years ago, and that nothing has been able to really capture the magic of the first game since. Here's hoping that you give its sequel a look too! The fact that the entire campaign could be played via online co-op was always impressive to me.

[@Dr_Sheeda]

I played this when i was 14, i LOVED the sad violin while driving, made me appreciate the war and destruction around me while quietly driving around.

[@DaisyTheSadboi]

Absolutely brilliant game, I played it so much as a kid. I used to love destroying buildings and bridges with the air strikes. The game may be ugly, but so is war. I always loved the aesthetic of the game.

[@hunteriii8253]

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was ahead oh it’s time. It’s been almost 20 years since it was released and there hasn’t been anything like it. The game is banned in South Korea because it depicts a war between the two Koreas. The whole idea that you are in an open world with one of three choosable protagonists is great. I personally like to think that Mattias Nilson was the actual mercenary sent for the operation given how crazy the mission was and how insane he was. The physics were a little buggy even back then, but the realism was nice. Piloting a helicopter is incredibly difficult and dangerous let alone in a warzone. Whenever you were on a contract for a specific faction they would give you a few free airstrikes, but yeah while not on a contract airstrikes costed alot because if this was remotely a real scenario airstrikes cost militaries alot of money so imagine the cost for one person. That goes for military vehicles too. I like that you weren’t invicible and when your health got really low you went into survival mode. Don’t even get me started on the alternate endings. I would like to say that the South Koreans reunite the two Koreas, but given that you are hired by the Chinese Army Colonel in the second game it appears that didn’t happen. Really fun game I wish they had released it on PC. I almost want to get a PS2 just to play it.

[@onedeadsaint]

I know I have this game and I know I played the hell out of it when I was a teenager (I was definitely the target demographic), but the details are lost to time, so this was a fun refresher for me.

[@Skiivin]

This game’s been sitting on my Xbox hard drive for YEARS and this video finally made me try it out. Battlefront 2 was my favorite game when I was a kid and this game is like a deeper take on the same style of shooter. Really good so far

[@SkullMan---]

Always love minimme's war stories, waiting for more!

[@allenharper2928]

Most modern military games allowed you to participate in campaigns and went a long way showing the massive amounts of strategic planning and threat assessment that go into them. Mercenaries allowed you to use a whole ass A-10 Warthog strafing run on a lone guard having a smoke break just because you felt like it.😂

[@Aussie_Tom]

This is one game I've always wished would get some kind of remaster. It definitely sit up there as one of my favourite open world action games.

[@potawatadingdong]

I loved this game as a kid. I remember liking the sequel better though.

[@pickleman40]

The soundtrack is SO GOOD. The composer is a famous Hollywood composer now

[@AHeroAlmost]

The amount of hours of enjoyment my cousin and I got from this game will never be matched … The freedom it gave us back in the day was insane … Thanks for bringing back some good memories …

[@user98xp]

Everything about this game - and forgive me for being so cliche - was at the time fully amazing. I have been playing video games my entire life and very, very few games are/were more fun than Mercenaries.

[@NewDesignVinylGraphics]

Still to this day the only games that allow you to purchase air strikes. People say just cause is a successor but without air strikes it will never be as good

[@TruckerMike089]

This was one of my absolute favorite games back in the day. You touched on everything pretty well.

[@Kodasa_Sinclair]

The progression in this game truly is incredible. I was replaying it recently through Xbox backwards compatibility and I still, to this day, felt the same joy I did as a younger me, the first time I found a T-62 I think it's the 62 in game. It's the heavier tank that the North Koreans use. Up to that point the heaviest armor I had found was the lighter NK T-54s and the BMPs and K2000s. The sheer delight I felt on learning a T-62 had a cannon that one tapped T-54s was just... ah, what a rush. It's a progression system that had me genuinely excited the first time I found things like the Abrams, the Chinese Type-92, the Bradley IFV, and so on.

[@Knux84]

Absolutely adored this game as a teenager. My favourite strategy - albeit not an especially effective one - was the strap a load of C4 to a civilian vehicle, drive it at high speed towards enemy bases, and bail. Then detonate it as it rolled through the front gates

[@I-02]

Anyone remember sniping the pilot out of the helicopters flying above the Allied MASH in the Northern Province just to get your hands on that sweet YAH-56 Gunship? Or stealing the M1 Tank from the Mafia mission to breeze through all the other missions? This game was basically my entry into the military genre. So many fascinating details of warfare shown off in this game like how some hardened structures can only be damaged by bunker busters, and the animated "vacuum" effect of the fuel air bomb, radiation being resisted by NBC-protected vehicles, etc. And man that Type 07 Supergun was like the 8th World Wonder to my 10-year old autistic brain. Truly a game of all time.

[@InhumanBaron]

Looking back after this vid now, I find it kinda interesting that you rather enjoyed this game yet didn't like The Saboteur, which I felt was a bit of a spiritual successor to the Mercenaries games by the devs. To each their own, of course! The sadly ironic thing is, Pandemic were working on a Mercenaries 3 after Saboteur but then they got the typical EA treatment and closed down.

[@minimme]

I've been thinking about this too, like all signs suggest I should've loved The Saboteur but I really didn't! I think just comes down to how it's all balanced - The Saboteur, moment to moment, feels a lot more mindless to me. Cheers for the comment

[@McRibs]

This game was absolutely the best about letting you just do whatever you wanted. 2/3rds of the way through the game carpet bombed the Russian Mafia HQ just to see what would happen and it ended their line of missions and put at full hostility for all Russian forces for the rest of the game.

[@MrShanolog]

Mercenaries was one of THE biggest and one of the most loves of my childhood. Thank you for posting this beecause it has brought back so many memories and how I would absolutley wreck havoc in it

[@sirensongss]

the americans avoid targeting civillians, it really is a fantasy game then

[@Joov]

It makes me so happy to see this on my homepage. Mercenaries POG was ahead of it's time. The deck of 52 was fantastic...it had to have influenced Shadow of Mordor's nemesis system. Rewarding side content, replayability, NG+, constant action in the open world, rival factions, tons of collectibles and cosmetic unlocks and pretty tough challenges....Capturing Ace of Spades alive was near impossible for 13 yo me. Top 5 all time game for me. The sequel wasn't bad, but it missed the mark for me. This series would be a smash hit if it came back with the depth of the original

[@EscargotGaming]

There's a fairly active speedrun community and Discord server for Mercs if anyone is interested! Totally underrated game

[@We_Are_Borg_478]

6:39 If you honk the horn of any vehicle, it ruins your "disguise" and the factions won't attack you. In short, honk your NK helicopter horn every 10 seconds or so, and you will never be mistaken for an enemy.

[@carlosnieve1225]

The jingle in the commercial for mercenaries 2 lives rent free in my head

[@hunterhawkins5565]

It was an amazing game for its time. Really got the war zone atmosphere down. 10 year old me loved it and I still occasionally will do a run through to this day.

[@baldygrey2779]

You can slag it now but you don't have the context of the time. Mercenaries was a fantastic game and it gave me great hope for Pandemic Studios. It had promise and the open world approach to a faction based military game set in an uncommon theater of war was a breath of fresh air.

[@olivercharles2930]

You don't need context to realize this game is mediocre at best.

[@xi-deadshot-ix5838]

I loved this game so much. A modern reboot would be awesome

[@RogersGirl88]

I want a new mercs game to be set in the US during a “time of civil argument” haha. You actually get to choose which if the two factions is the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, and then the other factions are china, UN, and cartel. The 4 mercs you choose from are a former delta force, navy seal, marine raider, or air force spec ops with associated abilities for each.

[@NashvilleUK]

Worth mentioning that this game is still available on the Xbox store and playable on Xbox One + Series if you want play it without faffing about with either PC emulators or getting an original disc copy.

[@DevilNeverKnows]

this game looks amazing. I'm getting into emulation again because I miss when games were simple, and this is the perfect fix

[@Rifer0]

I remember when I was a kid, we went to a shop to see if they had GTA San Andreas, but they didn't and instead I saw Mercenaries there. I read some articles about it in the PSM2 magazine before and it seemed really cool. So my GTA money went into this and I did not regret that decision at all. Loved the game, planning on buying it again on Xbox some time soon.

[@r8r_ray384]

This game is so nostalgic I remember waking up in the morning before going to school to my friends house and playing that game on the OG Xbox when it first came out

[@dinodamo9752]

This game was amazing. It's Grand Theft Auto 3 in a Warzone. It's the first Open World War game.

[@shanecunningham305]

From what my dad told me, this was the first game that I ever picked a controller up for. Really enjoyed this game growing up

[@ed-edd-n-eddy]

My sister got me this game for my birthday. We never heard about it, but she saw the cover, while at Best Buy, and thought it looked interesting. Man, I thanked her so much after I started to play this.

[@GarrettRay77]

Mercenaries is easily in my personal top 5 games ever. You're right that it's one of a kind in what it pulled off. This game really made me feel like Matthias was single handedly destroying an army lol. The take on North korea overall was also very convincing. And like you said, it's not a breeze so my progress feels 'realistic' and rewarding, without being balls hard to beat either. Very few games are balanced so well.

[@mrtangojazz]

I'm happy to report that I think Helldivers 2 is that successor to Mercenaries. Airstrikes, big risk reward, and the escalation of power really scratched that 19 year old itch

[@isoesuper]

I played this in university because I couldn't afford a PS3 like my housemate, so I bought a ton of cheap secondhand PS2 games that seemed like they had at least a cult following. Really loved just how many ways you could take on missions; I liked to either buy a civilian helicopter and land it on a nearby mountain before sneaking in to knock out a Deck of 52 target, or in the missions where you had to assault a base I would force a tank up a hill and precariously park it on an incline so I had a clear shot down there and start shelling the enemy while they ran around panicking. One of the early games that got me to play with terrain to get an advantage that maybe I wasn't meant to have.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

Similar situation with me only in middle school. Friends had XBox 360s by that point, but due to the greater cost of the sysyem and games, they had like half or even a quarter the library I had between my older N64 and PS2.

[@CELINExDION]

Loved this game, spent many an hour tugging around one single helicopter like you did from place to place. That was some of the most fun; just keeping that one helicopter alive was a rush, a little game inside the game you’re currently playing. I really love when games are able to give you that feeling, and Mercenaries had so many more little moments like that. Made the experience really unique, imo. The best part was the cheats, which I’m sure everyone eventually turned on after getting frustrated by the last suit of targets. The portable air strike and street sweeper were the best.

[@EJofKC]

I really loved this game growing up. I think the other thing that made it feel "choose your own way" is that you can hunt the deck of cards independent of the missions, to the point where you literally get completely outgunned until you actually get the means to surpass the security. It was by no means a programmed kill plane though, it was literally that there were so many things gunning for you that you just needed the extra arsenal from later unlocks to win... but it did give you the slight hope that maybe, just maybe, if you were good enough you could manage through with grenades and guns.

[@Tea_Sippin]

Hard to swallow pills: *This game aged like a fine wine.* Because you can TELL the guys who worked on the game researched the specific wartime vehicles and airstrikes. Absolute heaven for a PS2 game.

[@olivercharles2930]

Actual hard to swallow pills: This game is mediocre.

[@YaBoyJRock42069]

This game was untouchable when it's released. There literally wasn't anything like it.

[@zeroarticle7915]

Don't forget the ability to play as Han Solo or Indiana Jones skin, well, because Lucasarts was a publisher

[@OzonesElbows]

What a nostalgia trip, I genuinely thought this was the game that time forgot. Non of my friends have ever heard it and I can’t sell it to them either. I think I’m going to install the emulator just to play it again now!

[@volcomintality8638]

This game was fantastic. I remember my brother and I would use the infinite health cheat, push and stack explosive barrels into a wall, then drive an NK Jeep into the wall for the best launches. I wish this franchise was still around.

[@Larry]

Ah, Mercenaries, made by Pandemic, the same team who made the Masterpiece, The Saboteur 😉

[@mtgAzim]

You mentioned that the deck of cards thing was based on something real, and that's true. I don't know how long they've been doing it in this format, but I had one of the decks that was made after 9/11. Looking back, it was clearly part of the war propaganda of the time, seeing as 50 of the 52 probably had nothing to do with 9/11, or perhaps weren't even real people, but as you might assume, the ace of spades was Osama. I'm sure you could still find a deck on ebay or something, if you were interested in GWOT era propaganda, which I feel is under appreciated .Maybe because it's still too near, but there's plenty of people who collect propaganda pieces from all the other periods. Of all the GWOT era propaganda though, the post 9/11 songs were the worst. All the hack musicians who's albums were sold next to the hallmark cards came crawling out of the woodwork to make some of the most cringey, cliche, sappy music you'll ever hear. It's so embarrassing to look back on.

[@RETSAMXET]

The sound of screeching tires on sharp turns are burned into my brain.

[@LalaWatches]

You can honk the horn to lose your disguise so allies won't shoot you down.

[@The-DarkWatch]

You are a legend bro

[@SlicerFragZ]

holy shit, i thought my memories of this game was a weird fever dream, thank you for the reminder of this game from my childhood!

[@joseaca1010]

What i always loved about this game is the attention to military detail, atleast for the time For instance, that vehicle being delivered at 4:30, that is NOT a tank, that is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, namely a BMP-1, whats the difference? An IFV carries troops, and sure enough you can transport allied troops inside that vehicle while you drive it, so a nice strategy is to load up on allied troops right before a mission and deploy troops right on the middle of the enemy base to create some chaos Heck this game has the Mi-24 attack helicopter, and that one can transport troops TOO, which is actually accurate, the Mi-24 can transport up to 8 troops in real life (even tough this feature is often considered not very practical)

[@charlesboughton367]

I remember this game being one of the most organically unique open world experiences. High praise indeed! Fond memories of grabbing a SK helicopter filling it with SK troops and heading into NK territory for an unscripted skirmish