Kotaku: mercenaries 2

Catchy Game Theme Played During NFL Game

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:00:00 MST

The weekend. 'Skins v Eagles. Washington are up 10-3, and in the final seconds of the game, Eagles receiver Reggie Brown takes what should be the game-winning catch...but is stuffed at the 1.

Time for the Washington announcers to get with the party music. So what tape did they reach for? They reached for a copy of "Oh No You Didn't", the kooky theme song for Pandemic's Mercenaries 2.

Before you ask, sadly, no it was not the Peter Stormare version.

Oh No You Didn't: Mercs 2 Song Plays as Skins Hold Off Eagles [GamePolitics]

Mercenaries 2 DLC Is Too Late To Cash In On Palinmania

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:00:00 MST

Poor Mercenaries 2. All those explosions, all those moustaches, and nobody cared! Well, maybe you'll care now, with the release of the game's first major downloadable content.

The pack adds new characters, four new game modes and is totally, 100% free. 360 owners, it should be available by the time you read this, while PS3 owners, it actually went live last week for you, so if you're keen, you can grab it right now.

Sarah Palin To Shoot Moose, Obama In Mercs 2

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:20:00 MDT

Cashing in on election fever, EA today announced that, as part of an upcoming update for Mercenaries 2, both Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will be made available as playable characters. Palin in her trademark red jacket and hair, Obama in his trademark...suit. Sounds a little nutty, but seeing Obama punch a swarthy Venezuelan in the face is a lot funnier than you can probably imagine.

New Mercenaries 2 Video Shows Insane Sandbox Stunts

Adam Barenblat — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:00:00 MDT

Yes, yes I know - the game is already out, but that doesn't mean we can't sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the adrenaline packed mayhem this video provides. You want gravity defying vehicles with tons of explosions? you got it! I haven't gotten a chance to pick up the game myself, but there's something tearing deep in my soul demanding that I give it a try. How's everyone enjoying Mercenaries 2 so far?

Mercenaries 2 Demo Out On XBL, Coming On PSN (Update)

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:40:00 MDT

Sure, Mercenaries 2 is already out, but you might be the hesitant type. Not the type to trust reviews written by others, more the type to trust impressions of your own. If that's you, and you've got an Xbox 360, get downloading, because a Mercenaries 2 demo should be up on Xbox Live as you read this. If you're a PS3 owner, you're stuck with the console's weekly cycles, and have to wait for next Thursday's bulk update.

UPDATE - Something's up! We were told by Electronic Arts that the demo would be out on XBL by the time this post hit. It's, as you've probably noticed by now, still not up. Not the first time this has happened, but still, a little annoying. We'll let you know when it actually does turn up and we'll make sure to verify in the future.

Coming to Xbox Live today, Friday September 12th and to the PlayStation Network next week Thursday, September 18th, the Mercenaries 2: World in Flames free demo lets players have a playable sneak preview of the final product.

Players can play an objective from one of the missions, and while they are limited to a relatively small section of the world, there’s enough there for players to get a feel for the sandbox nature of the game.

Additionally, we give players a customized loadout of awesome vehicles and airstrikes, so that players can get a taste of the toys and destruction that combine to make Mercenaries 2 the premier explosive action game of the summer!

For more information on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames please visit www.mercs2.com.

Where Peter Stormare Sings The Praises Of Mercenaries 2

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:20:00 MDT

The video gaming content of this clip gives me an excuse to throw this up. It's an EA game, it's a current game, it's a reasonably high-profile game. But really, I'm just enjoying the fact it gives me a chance to post a clip of Peter Stormare busting out a rousing rendition of "Oh No You Didn't".

Authorities Pull Plug On London Mercenaries 2 Gas Giveaway

Mike Fahey — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:40:00 MDT

While EA's free-gas publicity stunt to promote Mercenaries 2: World in Flames may have gone off with relatively few hitches when it hit Los Angeles last week, the company wasn't so lucky when they took the show to London. Introducing the LA promotion to the folks across the pond also had the side effect of introducing LA traffic, causing gridlock conditions during morning rush hour. The giveaway started around 6:30 AM with £20,000 worth of petrol to be had, with authorities shutting them down around 11:00, with £9,000 still on tap. Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green Lynne Featherstone scolded EA appropriately.

"Whilst a lucky few might have got some free petrol, hundreds of local residents have faced misery on their daily journeys this morning...They deserve an apology for being the victims of such an ill-thought out media stunt."

Oh come on Featherstone, it's not like they strapped cash to babies and set them loose in a busy intersection.

Free petrol stunt causes chaos [Telegraph via Game Politics]

Hey, LA, Mercs 2 Will Buy You (Real) Gas Today

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:20:00 MDT

Live in LA? Drive an automobile? Call it gas, and not petroleum? Oh boy is this your lucky day. Starting at 6am today (so SOON), the Mobil at 8489 Beverly Blvd will be taken over by EA. They'll be there to shill Mercenaries 2. There'll be attendants dressed up as mercenaries, there'll probably be all kinds of various promotion materiel lying around, but most important of all: there'll be free gas. Yup. Free. Gas. There's a statement to be had about gas, American consumer culture and the resource-driven conflict that drives Mercenaries 2's storyline somewhere in all this, but really, it'll be lost amidst the fact EA are practically giving away money.

Mercenaries 2 Giving Away Free Gas in L.A. Tomorrow [1UP]

Get Some More! New Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Video

Adam Barenblat — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:00:00 MDT

We have been posting quite a few videos on Mercenaries 2, but this one is without a doubt my favorite. Can anyone say airstrikes? Well, this video has tons of em' and the best part is the song they blow up to! Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture! The game comes out next week.

Mercenaries 2 Co-Op Is Drop-In, Drop-Out

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:30:00 MDT

It's not like Mercenaries 2 wasn't looking good enough on its own. But hey, co-op never hurts, it only helps, especially when it's instituted in the way Pandemic have it running for Mercenaries 2. After you start, there's no game-interrupting menu screens, no lobbies, nothing. It's drop-in, drop-out combat, and while the guest's progress through the campaign won't be saved when they quit, they will get to keep any cash and weapons they pick up. As for the host, there's no adjustments made to the game when playing co-op, which means no extra enemies. So if you're stuck on a spot, no problems, just get a friend playing and you can hide your singleplayer shame amidst the high-fives and hollering.

Mercenaries 2 Co-Op Hands-On [IGN]

Mercenaries 2 Screens Still Blowin' Stuff Up

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:00:00 MDT

Considering how great the first game was, and how great that last trailer was, you'd think Mercenaries 2 would be coasting along with a much higher profile than it is right now. But it's not. It's just kind of...plodding along. Oh well, what can you do, but look at these screens and get yourself excited.

Real, Honest-To-God Mercenaries 2 Gameplay Footage

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:00:00 MDT

Have we seen any of this kind of footage? I can't remember any. This is raw, somebody's-on-the-other-end-of-a-controller video of Mercenaries 2 in action, with lead designer Scott Warner taking the wheel to show how the game's objectives can be completed differently using the three available mercenaries. And by "objectives completed" they mean "make everything around you explode".

Pandemic Itchin' To Start On Mercs 3

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:20:00 MDT

Pandemic are putting their shoulder to the wheel for Mercenaries 2. Don't doubt that for a minute. But at the same time, they're probably sick to death of all the palm trees and blue skies and threats from the Venezuelan government that have marked the game's development. So it's understandable they they just want to get it done and move onto the next Mercenaries, right?:

While we don't want to delay the game, and we certainly don't want to disappoint anyone—and we're keen to ship the game and move on to Mercs 3—it was the right call for us was to make sure that co-op [in Mercs 2] was going to be properly integrated into the experience and to make sure that all that key destruction was really going to be what it needed to be.

Maybe next time they can shake things up a little. People are always blowing up Korea and South America, but what about New Zealand, Andorra and Belgium? When's it their turn?
Pandemic Hints Mercs 3, Mercs Wii [Next-Gen]

Mercenaries 2 Invades Venezuelan Newspaper

Brian Crecente — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:00:00 MDT

Yesterday Pandemic announced that free-ranging shooter Mercenaries 2 will be hitting stores on Aug. 31. Which is pretty cool, but what's really cool is the newspaper I received from them today.

The copy of the Venezuela Ahora, dated Aug. 31., announces the invasion of Venezuela by Mercenaries in a headline that stretches across the paper in two lines. Underneath is an explosive image of three of the, I don't know, anti-heroes? And a full story. The faux paper also includes a weather report clasificicado, ads and even an little Mercenaries-themed comic strip. You gotta love it... unless your in Venezuela and have a stick up your ass.

Hit the jump for an up-close scan of the the front and back pages.

Mercenaries 2 Has A Release Date

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:40:34 MDT

Hey, remember Mercenaries 2? Yeah, it's that fantastic looking follow up from Pandemic that involves scores of explosions and a pissed off Merc who literally gets ripped a new ass hole. EA and Pandemic have finally nailed down a date—August 31, 2008—for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PC game, making it just a tiny bit late. IGN has a new trailer for Mercenaries 2, something that might reignite your interest in it. It's explodey!

Mercenaries 2 US Release Date Trailer [IGN]

Mercenaries 2 Officially Delayed By EA

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:40:04 MST

Electronic Arts announced its quarterly earnings today, officially delaying Mercenaries 2: World In Flames to fiscal year 2009. The game was rumored to have been pushed back from its February release date to August based on retailer listings, with EA officially now providing an April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 shipping window for the Pandemic Studios shooter. EA execs did not clarify a more specific date in today's quarterly earnings conference call.

The company provided the same window of release for Battlefield: Bad Company, a Digital Illusions co-op shooter originally slated for a 2007 release. We'll, of course, let you know when we hear more solid release dates for these two shoot-fests.

Mercenaries 2 Still Pretty

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:40:00 MST

The wait for Mercenaries 2: World In Flames may have gotten even longer recently, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the Pandemic Studios game is still easy on the eyes. Look at those tattoo textures! Positively dreamy! Seven new screens of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 explosion simulator are in the gallery below. Next stop, August!

Mercenaries 2 Delayed To August?

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:30:09 MST

It would appear that the wait for Mercenaries 2: World In Flames may have gotten a little bit longer, as multiple retailers are listing a late August 2008 release date for the Pandemic Studios shooter. Reader Patrick pointed out that online retailer Amazon is now showing an August 25 release date for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, with GameStop showing the same for the PlayStation 2 and PC versions. The last official word on the game's release was April, something that is now starting to look less likely. The game was originally planned for a holiday 2007 release, but pushed back in September.

We've contacted EA to see if we can get confirmation on the delay, but our requests haven't yet yielded a response. We'll let you know when we know.

New Mercs 2 Screens Prove Things Still Blowing Up Just Fine

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:20:40 MST

When we played Mercenaries 2: World in Flames at the Leipzig Games Convention last year, we walked away with the impression that stuff blows up. It would appear that stuff will continue to blow up, as new screens from Pandemic would indicate. If you look closely at the in-game screen shot above, you might be able to pick out one of the things that blows up. Mercs 2 feels like it's already been released for some reason, but it seems it hasn't. Regardless of my confusion about how time flows, a handful of new official screens are in our mini-gallery below.

Pandemic Responds to Angry Venezuelans

Brian Crecente — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:00:42 MDT

It looks like The Venezuela Solidarity Network crowing over the Mercenaries 2 delay didn't go unnoticed.

Josh Resnick, president of Pandemic Studios, took a second to shoot out this quick response about the VSN and their claims that the game's plot has been made more fictional due to pressure from the group and part owner Bono:

Pandemic Studios never has and never will be intimidated by tyrants. Our invasion is on schedule: Mercenaries 2 will be released in early 2008.

See what he did there? He aped the story in the game, the whole overthrow-of-the-Venezuelan-government-by-a-drug-lord-turned-dictator dealio. Clever! Personally, I don't care if it's set in my house, as long as I can level entire neighborhoods with explosives.