Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction is just that - a rip roaring action adventure taken straight from the headlines.
Comparisons with Grand Theft Auto will only be skin deep however, even if the gameplay of Mercenaries resembles that of the free form GTA. Given a large battleground to traverse, you can ally yourself with any of the 4 major factions involved in the conflict, which has been brought about from the coup staged by Presidential son General Song, which culminated in the assassination of his own father. After being found out what he's really up to after cutting all ties with the outside world, the allies respond, and other factions like the Russian Mafia just want to get paid.
It's a hell hole where Mercenaries like yourself are called upon to get things moving. And you begin by choosing one of 3 main characters, who at all times will be backed up by a female Australian Operations specialist. You can choose from Chris Jacobs, an American lone wolf who is a combat specialist and can take more damage than others. He is also fluent in Korean, and as such can pick up more clues in briefings with Koreans than others as well. Jennifer Mui is a British ex M16 Operative, and specialises in sneaking and avoiding attention. She also speaks Chinese - and will find it easier to co-operate and learn from them. Swedish rookie Mattias Nilson is here to prove himself, even with his years of training and fluency in Russian. He's a natural fast runner though, which can be a good thing at times.
All characters will be able to run through the basic storyline of a country in chaos. There are also specific storylines and missions for the individual characters, and you will delve into their private lives as the game continues. Not everyone is as they seems, and although the action is fairly straight forward - there is a lot of variety into how you can play.
The general feel of GTA - with a large map open to you will be lost as you see the linearity of the game. You have only 4 factions, and thereby, 4 missions to choose from at any one time. There are sub missions available as well, such as racing between Allied and Chinese HQ or destroying statues of General Song (which will help gain faction with the South Koreans), as well as Card Contracts. Card Contracts are the main optional missions available, and will have you find and either kill or arrest a person of great evil. Much like in the Iraq War, soldiers were given playing cards with 52 of the worst terrorists - you will be given the same. From ex Foreign Ministers to those who helped fund greedy projects, you will be given missions that are wide ranging - to chasing down racing cars and helicopter dogfights, to even those incorporated into main missions, like a speeding and derailing train. It's fun stuff, and there are 52 cards to collect, with rewards for bringing them in alive, and better support options becoming available.
Throughout the course of the game, there are many hidden and acquired support options, such as Allied Tank Buster or Russian Supply drops, always allowing of course that your signal isnt being jammed. And if it is - you better take down that jammer. Overall - there is about 50 support options available, all at a price to stop you being cheap and getting base do everything for you. They can drop supplies, vehicles or even take care of large groups of ground troops and buildings in your way - and while there is no penalty for overusing that kind of support, it is pretty hands off and you will find more fun in getting in there and doing it all yourself.
Graphically, Mercenaries is excellent. The differences between the PS2 and Xbox versions are fairly minimal, but those with a choice between the 2 should plump for the Xbox version - which benefits from quicker load times and a slightly better draw distance. Soldiers, buildings and even foliage are highly detailed, and most of the NPC's move and animate convincingly. The briefings are in game graphics, and look really good compared to the frantic nature of the outside conflict. Flying and driving through the landscape at high speed is a great deal of fun too, and you can eaily drive yourself right into an ambush, pushing up the realism factor. However, the draw distance isn't all that great - with a fair amount of fog and dist in the air at all times.
The music is truly superb, with an original score that plays up the big moments, and has haunting asian inspired tunes with large Asian drums and choir of voices being prominent in the quiet moments. The voice work is excellent - with all characters delivering good dialogue that comes across as believable. NPC's have too few lines, and constantly say "It's the Mercenary", though this is a small trade off for the quality of all the other voice work. The ambient music and quality of the sound effects (many of which are centred around the spectacular explosions) coupled with the great dialogue and excellent voice work gives a good impression of a country teetering on the balance of all out panic. It is probably the best part of the game.
Overall - Mercenaries is as rich a game in action as any one could want. The quality in the gameplay, and the faultless deign of the variety of missions, environments and the free - form aspect with a focus on grand battles make this a game not to be missed. And it's also a lot of fun.