Mercenaries 2 deploying August 31

[UPDATE] Pandemic's long-in-development open-world military actioner finally gets a ship date for the PC, PS3, PS2, and 360; Europe gets game September 5.

At the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo, then-independent developer Pandemic Studios unveiled Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for the PlayStation 3. Now, 22 and a half months, three more versions, two delays, and one near-Bono-boycott later, the now-Electronic Arts-owned studio has finally announced the game's release date, courtesy of a trailer released today on its official site. As predicted by retailers in January, the game will arrive in August--Sunday, August 31, to be exact. Pandemic has since confirmed to GameSpot that the date applies to the PS3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and PC editions of the game in North America. Europe and the UK will receive the game Friday, September 5.

The trailer shows the setup for Mercenaries 2, which follows the further misadventures of Scandinavian gun-for-hire Mattias Nilsson, voiced again by Swedish actor Peter Stormare (Fargo, Prison Break). This time, instead of tangling with North Koreans, the tattooed merc is betrayed by his employer, the suave drug lord Ramon Solano, who stages a coup in Venezuela.

After receiving a painful gunshot to the posterior, Matthias reteams with his two former comrades--American Chris Jacobs and Chinese-Australian Jennifer Mui--to take on Solano by working for other factions seeking Venezuela's oil wealth. Said factions include the Chinese, Rastafarian pirates, Universal Petroleum, and the PLAV (Peoples Liberation Army of Venezuela).

Like the first Mercenaries, World in Flames will feature free-roaming gameplay where a player can run freely--and amok--on a battlefield eight by eight kilometers in size. In either single-player or co-op mode, players can use a variety of weapons, as outlined in GameSpot's most recent preview of the game.

96 Comments

  • Gretzky1106

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 9:51 am GMT

    I want to get it before August 31!

  • KA12NAG3

    Posted Jun 7, 2008 11:16 am GMT

    I am definitely gonna get this. It's going to be amazing.

  • czer7896

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 10:49 am GMT

    this is going to be so good when it comes out!

  • zaa1fx

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 7:50 am GMT

    96 days to go according to Game.co.uk I'm keeping my muscles up coz when this comes out, im going to play it 24/7 again and again!!!

  • ElMapoX55

    Posted May 24, 2008 4:03 pm GMT

    Finally its gonna come out and i cant wait to download it

  • QKnight27

    Posted May 8, 2008 9:52 am GMT

    Looks like I'll be broke this summer. Too many games are coming out at the same time. SLOW DOWN DAMMIT!!!

  • dutch777

    Posted Apr 16, 2008 7:50 pm GMT

    yep, i'm waiting on this one.

  • GTARulez

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 3:54 am GMT

    I love the action of this game But have 2 wait for months

  • Raghall

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 6:47 am GMT

    sounds fun.....could be worth checking out....

  • jrabbit99

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 6:50 pm GMT

    can't wait

  • GeneralSev

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 2:32 pm GMT

    If you're ready to blow the living crap out of everything in your path............ GIVE ME A HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • BrUnOdeFeNiX

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 2:24 pm GMT

    I like the first, I wiil like the second. Bring for us... I need to play and destroy many things.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 11:53 am GMT

    Muliplayer deathmatch!! if not, its a complete waste of gaming world!

  • kratos_karmakar

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 4:59 am GMT

    HELL YES!!! JUST BRING IT!!

  • cheesemonkey199

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 2:48 am GMT

    MERCS 2 is my most anticipated game of the year!!!! finally a release date

  • Philx3

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 7:33 am GMT

    I've got Merc 1 and 2 looks great but 5th september is ages away.

  • ctg867

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:37 pm GMT

    Mercs 2 is looking alright. Never played the first one. If it ends up good, I'll pick it up. This and Sants Row really had to push things back to the Summer for avoid GTA IV. Good luck to both of them.

  • 4killer

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:31 pm GMT

    cant what to get it

  • nate1222

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:05 pm GMT

    @PG213
    I'm there. I've recently become a PC gamer. I'd ditched my old PS2 because the PS3 has NO BC, unless you want to spend half-a-grand! But I've decided to replace the PS2. I still have my old mem card and a couple of good PS2 games laying around.

    What many uber-geek/tech fanatics fail to realise is: if gaming is going to be accepted as a legitimate form of entertainment, it has to be affordable and accessible. The PS2 is very much BOTH of those. Not every consumer wants to spend as much on a "gaming console" as a new PC. It's just impracticle. I know I'm going to get a swarm of thumbs downs for speaking on behalf of non and/or casual gamers. But at this point, we (core, hardcore and casual gamers) need a 'common, affordable, easy-to-use' console. Sony, for all their faults with the PS3, has delivered that in the PS2. For $130, consumers get a DVD player and 2 gaming options (PS1&PS2) with a slew of affordable games to choose from. Developers have a cost effective and MASS MARKET alternative. I feel that Sony should continue to support the PS2 for at least another 3 years. Not doing so would be financial suicide.

  • omrikk87

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 3:58 pm GMT

    awesome , this august is packed with some superb games , reallt cant wait.

  • Marcos-Kruger

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 2:31 pm GMT

    I want This game right now....I can't wait.
    I Have summer vacation in July through August
    School starts 5 days after the release date of this game.
    i don't want to play this game when i have school work to do.

    NOOOOO!!!!!!

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 12:11 pm GMT

    Peter Stormare is a great choice, particularly if you're casting for a Scandinavian. He nails that one.

  • TheCrapp

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 11:56 am GMT

    Great, i can't wait for this game

  • Zweihanderhero

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 11:54 am GMT

    Can't freaking wait for this!

    Then again, I really don't believe it's coming out August. Until I finally get the damn game in my hands, I'm not gonna believe any release dates set for the game...official or otherwise.

  • Coheeds_Avatar

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 11:44 am GMT

    jcloverboy "Wonder what this will do to Saints Row 2 estimated late August release. Can't see these two games coming out so close to one another."

    To be perfectly honest, I think if I had to go with one of the two, it'd be SR. I surprisingly enjoyed the first one, and the sequel's looking pretty impressive now. But of course, I'll be giving both games a good look.

  • Dualmask

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 11:22 am GMT

    I think Sony (and developers) will continue to support the PS2 until the PS3 is so profitable that it makes no sense to keep the PS2 alive (especially since many of the PS3s in homes are backward compatible some kind of way). Until then, it makes perfect business sense to keep manufacturing and developing games for a console that the people aren't ready to move on from yet. The industry likes to decide when it's time for the next generation, but the consumers don't always agree.

    On topic, I never played the first Mercenaries game, but I always wanted to. It reviewed well enough. It might be a nice diversion to fill the void until the new one comes out. According to the Sony compatibility site, the only issue with Mercenaries as far as the 80GB PS3 is concerned is, "Throughout the title, when a Loading screen should appear, the graphics do not appear. " Doesn't sound like a big deal, so I'll look into it.

    ...the game will arrive in August--Sunday, August 31, to be exact. Coolness...the day before my birthday...that'll make a nice present.

  • ShadoweaverCode

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:50 am GMT

    Gotta love that screen shot of the guy coming out of the water with the AK-47 and a rocket launcher on his back. That's amazing!

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:45 am GMT

    Sounds great, I hope this game is not a let down though, it has some good hype, and I hope the bugs have been fixed through out the game that I have seen in past trailers.

  • humwawa

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:20 am GMT

    I hope Pandemic put Bono in their game. I'd love to stick an RPG up his sanctimonious, hypocritical a**.

    In any event shooting South American socialists gets me hard. I'll be pre-ordering this little beut. Oooh-ha!

  • JesusFreak1990

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:06 am GMT

    Quoting darthzew: "I'm getting impatient with this game. The release date is too late and I really think that having a PS2 version is going to bring down the game's quality, but I still REALLY can't wait for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames!"

    I didn't know there was going to be a PS2 version! Now I'm excited because I do not have any of the newer console, but I do have a PS2!

  • darthzew

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:49 am GMT

    I'm getting impatient with this game. The release date is too late and I really think that having a PS2 version is going to bring down the game's quality, but I still REALLY can't wait for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames!

  • chromium42

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:40 am GMT

    "qiwihead There seems to be some misconceptions about why devs keep making PS2 games. It's not just because they're cheaper to make than next-gen games, it's because the PS2 has the biggest intall base of any console, still often outselling next-gen consoles. With well over 100 million PS2s sold, it makes perfect business sense to keep releasing PS2 versions of games. "

    True, that.

  • lhughey

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:22 am GMT

    The first one SUCKED! I'm not sure why people would want another one.

  • ShadoweaverCode

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:14 am GMT

    The screens for this game look awesome!

  • qiwihead

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:07 am GMT

    There seems to be some misconceptions about why devs keep making PS2 games. It's not just because they're cheaper to make than next-gen games, it's because the PS2 has the biggest intall base of any console, still often outselling next-gen consoles. With well over 100 million PS2s sold, it makes perfect business sense to keep releasing PS2 versions of games.

  • speedjunkie4

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:01 am GMT

    Sweeet!

  • tupac-makaveli

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:01 am GMT

    gotta love the music in this game, all the heavy metal, hoply ESR will be in there.

  • maaly81

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:41 am GMT

    hope EA doesn't mess this one up. Could be a good franchise for them

  • Megawizard1

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:16 am GMT

    I hope this is at least as good as the first one. Definitely had a blast (lol) with that.

    And for the: "((I sure wish they would just let the PS2 die, that week little system is keeping the industry from taking full advantage of the current gen systems. As long as they keep that thing alive developers are going to continue to be too lazy to spend the time to master development on the new systems.))"

    It really does make you wonder about the PS3 though. The GCN & Xbox have both had development stopped on their games with their new successors out, and Sony's playing the part of the oddball with bouncing between both of its current and previous toys. I blame the PS3 software development costs. And as a side note, it's not exactly that hard to change little things between versions.

  • Trooperdx3117

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:04 am GMT

    Finally a release date, consider me psyched

  • FLzthvikings87

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:59 am GMT

    they still make games for ps2?

  • rift33

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:55 am GMT

    ((I sure wish they would just let the PS2 die, that week little system is keeping the industry from taking full advantage of the current gen systems. As long as they keep that thing alive developers are going to continue to be too lazy to spend the time to master development on the new systems.))...............and you forgot to say spend the $ two witch is most likely the reason they keep making games for the ps2 and just porting them up to the next gen,but all in all I agree with you!!!!!!

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:39 am GMT

    Wonder what this will do to Saints Row 2 estimated late August release. Can't see these two games coming out so close to one another.

    I expect Mercenaries 2 to be amazing.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:38 am GMT

    Wonder what this will do to Saints Row 2 estimated late August release. Can't see these two games coming out so close to one another.

    I expect Mercenaries 2 to be amazing.

  • jmartin1016

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 6:34 am GMT

    This one might be awesome.

  • highvolts12

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 6:25 am GMT

    Another average game.

  • KingSigy

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 6:20 am GMT

    Oh man, this is gonna be awesome.

  • jdukes247

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 6:08 am GMT

    loved the 1st one hope the 2nd is just as good

  • Sidbob

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:09 am GMT

    Since when was Jennifer Australian? She's British, it even said so in her bio for the first game along with a union jack background pic.

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:04 am GMT

    sweat i might have to get this one.

    @towlie_420

    i couldn't agree more.

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