Activision/Xbox, PS2 (£39.99)
Art imitates life in Activision’s Mercenaries, which not only features a battle-torn landscape ruled by a crooked regime, but also a deck of cards depicting 52 known enemies to capture.
Players serve as one of three mercenaries: an all-bluster Yank, a forceful Swede, or a Brit who is slick at covert operations. Once behind enemy lines, you head straight into the latest hotspot threatening global democracy.
Having assassinated his father, the North Korean president, General Song, has taken control of the country and turned it over to the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction for terrorists. The Allied Nations want to remove Song from power, China is more interested in absorbing North Korea into the People’s Republic and South Korea would just like to reunite the peninsula. As a mercenary you are free to serve any side.
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The visuals are first rate. News footage sets the scene of the chaos, while short in-game cut-scenes intertwine seamlessly with the action. A neat selection of weapons and vehicles lends the game an open-ended feel. But some of the characters look wooden and controlling your mercenary can be tricky. However, such shortcomings are more than offset by the game’s scope.
Tim Wapshott