Reviews// Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction (Xbox)

This freedom of storyline does make Mercenaries seem more sophisticated than it otherwise would have done, and perhaps surprisingly, it leaves room for some imaginative approaches. By keeping the structure so open, it seems that you are the mercenary; and you’re doing more than acting out a rigidly defined fate. And although many gamers do prefer the a la carte approach, many will see the benefits of stuffing your face from the buffet. If you’re greedy enough, you’ll get a lot out of Mercenaries. However, on several fronts it doesn’t go far enough. Most notably, we reckon there should have been a much greater emphasis on the cash-grabbing element of this freelance "contracting".

As it stands, the player gets simple cash payments for completing missions for each faction. On top of that, there are big rewards for capturing the ‘wanted cards’ - especially if you can bring them in alive. Obviously, it’s this financial motivation that defines the whole mercenary thing. However, the role of money is shamefully underplayed. Because there are so many side quests and mini-missions available, it’s really very easy to ensure you’ve got enough wonga to buy what you need. Combined with the fact that there are weapon and health pick-ups liberally dotted around most battlefields, there’s just not much need for money. Although the in-game ‘online’ weapon shop, The Merchant of Menace, is pretty well stocked, you’re often given what you need for certain missions and you may find little need for this military mail-order service.

Obviously, the player’s motivation is simply to have fun, but if the role of money had been more prevalent in Mercenaries, it would have done wonders for the DIY plotline. The only purpose of cash, apart from buying in excessive supplies, is to bribe the factions that you’ve really aggravated. If you can get as far as the HQ front-door in enemy territory, you can compensate for, say, blowing up their missile launchers, then get back in their good books and investigate further missions on offer. But when you find yourself with millions of dollars only a few hours into the game, there really should have been more to spend it on: an option to recruit other mercenaries to your team would have been truly awesome