Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) Review
by Eddie Turner on September 9, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Graphics
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Now let's discuss the graphical quality of the game. As can be expected, the PC version of Mercenaries 2 outshines its console counterparts to a great degree, despite its being a console port of the Xbox 360 version. Character models, water effects, and shadows look decent but are still lackluster compared to many of the today's games. Even so, the overall design of the game has made for some beautiful scenery that is definitely eye catching. The 360 and PS3 versions are nearly identical in their presentation, the only noticeable difference being the higher contrast given to the game for the PS3. Nonetheless, players will be equally pleased or displeased regardless of which console they use.
The one element that I feel that deserves the most attention is the game's performance during the huge explosions. I find this particularly important since destruction is one of the major selling points of the game. While the PC's frame rates held fairly steady at 50+ frames per second throughout the game on a machine using an 8800GT with an overclocked dual-core processor and plenty of RAM, frame rates dipped severely into the teens whenever fire and flying debris fills a good portion of the screen. This of course is dependent on how far the game's camera is from an explosion and the size of the structure being blown up, but for a game that prides itself on mass destruction you'd think it would handle such effects much better. Players who own the PS3 and 360 version of the game can expect an even greater hit as many explosions reduce performance to that of a beautiful slide show.
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Spacecomber - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
Sounds like Pandemic would have been better off porting this console game to the PC. Not being a console gamer, I've never played this title, but it looked wacky enough that I might have picked up a version for the PC, if it was available.Pandemic was formed in order to develop Battlezone II, when they were spun off by Activision. They managed to alienate most of the original Battlezone fan base with that effort (at least the multiplayer fan base), and it seems like they've continued to turn out games that are near misses since then.
I appreciate the risks they took and their efforts to do things differently with a game like Battlezone II; so, I've always hoped that they would get something right. However, I can't say that any of the PC games that they have produced since then have been compelling enough for me to purchase.
Full Spectrum Warrior lacked a true first person perspective, for example, and Starwars Battlefront didn't really offer more than its competition (the Battlefield games) already provided (or so it seemed to me).
Anyway, once again, when it comes to Pandemic and their PC games, the conclusion seems to be to "move along, nothing to see here".
samduhman - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
You read my mind. Their games have always been just shy of being something great. Is this due to their games being crossplatformed and they not putting extra effor in for the pc?EddieTurner - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
Agreed. Destroy All Humans! was a lot of fun and would have made for a worthy PC port. There's actually a new game in the series on the way. "Path of the Furon," I believe it's called. But, as I stated in the review, Pandemic won't be developing it. Sandblast has taken the reins. Still no PC version planned.fendell - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
Such a shame they didn't include a LAN coop mode with easy hassle-free joining..HOOfan 1 - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
While progressing through this article I experience several bugs and glitches with anandtech.JarredWalton - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
Unfortunately, our doc engine sometimes decides to set an article status to "live" during the posting process. Apologies for any inconvenience; the article is now fully posted.HOOfan 1 - Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - link
No inconvenience, I just thought it was amusing.