After the phenomenal success of Grand Theft Auto III, the gaming industry reacted with the sincerest form of flattery: imitation. This meant that a new rash of crime oriented titles released, including Mafia, Saints Row, and Scarface, but the influence wasn't limited to simply gangster simulators. Indeed, the "open world" structure began to seep into multiple types of games, including Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction.
The first Mercenaries was described as an "open battlefield" where players could accomplish a series of goals for multiple factions in a non-linear fashion. Now, Mercenaries 2 is here and it looks to capitalize on a setting in South America rather than Korea, but still using the same general principles of skullduggery and wanton carnage. It might not deviate too highly from the established formula, but what was successful then appears to be successful now.
We chatted with Tom Stratton, Senior PR manager at Pandemic Studios, about this World in Flames.
Never get between a mercenary and his gold
According to the NPD, Mercenaries 2 SKUs placed sixth and sixteenth on the top 20 for the September period. This makes the title third best selling on Xbox 360 and PS3 and the fourth best selling on PS2 during the month. Overall, Mercenaries 2 sold 520,000 copies across all platforms (including PC) during September, including 297,000 on the Xbox 360 alone.
"On the quarterly earnings call, about two weeks ago, EA announced that Mercenaries 2 has sold 1.9 million units [worldwide]," said Stratton. "We are very pleased with the success of Mercenaries 2. The game is on track with the original."
Indeed, the results for Mercenaries 2 are very positive in comparison to the original title. Mercenaries sold roughly 383,000 copies in the U.S. in its first month across the PS2 and Xbox 360 platforms. Back when that title released in 2005, the previous generation was much better established than this current generation, though the Mercenaries IP was still an unknown one that turned into a surprise hit.
I'm Barack Obama and I approve this rocket launcher.
Much like its predecessor, Mercenaries 2 is built on the platform of open-world action very much in the Grand Theft Auto mold. Players can engage in missions for various factions in a somewhat non-linear fashion, while hijacking the occasional chopper or generally shooting up Venezuela. The game's open-world structure combined with explosive destruction rivaled by Battlefield: Bad Company gives players a lot to sink their teeth into.
"It was a priority for us that Mercenaries 2 delivers an open world experience like no other. Fans can break apart crates and boxes in any game. Blow up cars, trucks, tanks and helicopters? Sure. But when you get in to the level of destruction available in Mercenaries 2, you bet objects like off-shore oil rigs are attached with a big price tag, when obliterated," said Stratton, adding, "Open world action is a pillar of the property."
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