Mercenaries Playground Of Destruction

Grand Theft Auto III spawned a whole host of sandbox games of varying quality. True Crime: Streets of LA, Just Cause and Driv3r all tried their hand, or in the latter's case, adapted the series’ gameplay to be more appealing to fans of Rockstar’s Rockstar of a franchise. The now-defunct Pandemic Studios also attempted to create their own game in this vein, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction – and in many ways created a game that had a lot more personality, but a lot less success than its Grand Theft counterpart.

The Ace of Spades

A third-person shooter with a Michael Bay-like reliance on explosions, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction allowed the player to take control of one of three playable mercenaries in North Korea, during a coup. You’ll take on a variety of missions in order to work your way up the mercenary ladder, known as the Deck of 52 in-game, until you reach the Ace of Spades contract – which is the final mission of the game.

Playround of Destruction is rather non-linear in nature, with the player able to travel to missions however they want to, though the missions themselves are ultimately rather linear. There’s a lot of content in the game, and multiple endings too, which in turn allows for further playthroughs.

Explosions Galore!

Gameplay in Playground of Destruction is, to be honest, awesome. You run around military bases with assault rifles and blast at everyone and everything in sight. If you played the original Just Cause, you’ll know almost exactly what you’re in for – but Mercenaries’ combat feels a lot more refined and tighter. You’ll be blowing sh*t up left, right and center throughout the game's runtime. Explosions don’t just look pretty either; they’ll cause crazy ragdoll physics that you can’t help but adore completely. Blowing up barrels next to a group of enemies just to see them fly off in a whole host of different directions is to die for.

B-Movie Acting Chops

Mercenaries doesn’t have the world’s strongest storyline. Its plot is pretty uninspired and lacks originality – but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to enjoy.

Pandemic hired some big action movie names for the voice work, including Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed), Peter Stormare (Bad Boys II) and Phil LaMarr (the guy who got his head blown off in Pulp Fiction). There’s a lot of great voice talent on show, and it’s a real high point.

Pros

• Non-linear gameplay.
• Hilarious physics.
• Tight combat.
• Great vocal performances from action movie royalty.

Cons

• Slightly unoriginal concept.
• Storyline is barebones.