BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Publisher: EA GamesDeveloper: Pandemic Studios
Platform: X360, PS3, PS2, PC
Release Date: Sep 5, 2008
Arguably the greatest strength of the original Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was its consistent ability to deliver big, satisfying explosions at a staggering volume, and it's this exact same quality that left us so impressed with what Pandemic and EA were showing of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames at E3 2007. The shift from the Xbox and PlayStation 2 hardware to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is already paying notable dividends, as the game's massive, uninterrupted version of a virtual Venezuela teems with detail.
Mercenaries 2
What really got us excited about what we saw of Mercenaries 2 was how just about everything--save for the ground itself--could be blown up. We watched gorgeous explosions as massive bridges, off-shore oil rigs, semi-truck trailers brimming with fuel, and parcels of rainforest went up in smoke--it was the kind of stuff Jerry Bruckheimer would spend millions trying to create.
Perhaps our favorite Mercenaries 2 moment from E3 2007 was when a fuel bomb air strike was called in on an enemy base that sat on a small hill. A split-second after we realized that the fuel payload had vaporized just a few yards above the ground, it ignited, creating an incredible shockwave that incinerated everything around. Add to all this abject pandemonium a story of personal revenge set during an oil crisis in strife-ridden Venezuela, and you're looking at a game with plenty of explosive potential. You're also looking at the best action adventure game at E3 07.
Finalists
Which games did you think were the most impressive at E3? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
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