ELECTRONIC ARTS OFFICIALLY DELAYS MERCENARIES 2

I'll keep this one short as I'm running massively late at the moment and haven't had much time to prepare any kind of a post for today. It seems I forgot to mention that Electronic Arts has officially delayed Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a few weeks back. 

According to Kotaku, while retailers are listing the game as coming this November, EA will only commit to a fiscal 2009 release, meaning the game could ship anywhere from April of this year to March of 2009. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again until the end of time – these delays don't bother me so long as the end product benefits from teh added time. I would far prefer to see Mercenaries 2 be the kickass funfest the first game was than The Outfit v2.

• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – Official website
• Mercenaries 2 Officially Delayed By EA – Kotaku 

LAZY DAY TRAILERS: MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES

I’ve never made a secret of the fact that Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was one of my favorite games of the last console generation. It was just one of those titles that seemed to have everything – open ended gameplay, massive explosions, vehicle combat, more massive explosions, a load of fun whenever you played it and of course, some really freaking massive explosions. It was, in short, a masterpiece of directed mayhem.

It’s because of that love for Mercenaries that I’m thrilled to announced that GameTrailers.com has posted the debut trailer for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, and you can watch it right here. You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same – while Pandemic Studios may have found a new publisher in the form of Electronic Arts, it looks like everything else has remained pretty much the same… in other words, things still blow up reeeeeeal nicely.

While some of the footage may look a little rough around the edges, it’s still early on and I’m sure the game will go through quite a bit more polishing before release. So far I like what I see – I like it a lot.

For more information on Mercenaries 2, be sure to check out the Mercenaries 2 official website. Those of you who want to download the trailer you just watched in standard or high-definition should head over to GameTrailers.com.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is currently slated to release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Windows PC some time in 2008.

• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – Official website
• Mercenaries 2 video page – GameTrailers.com
• Pandemic Studios – Company website

MERCENARIES 2 COMING TO THE XBOX 360?

UK site Computer and Video Games has reported that Pandemic will be bringing the sequel to Mercenaries to both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. While details are still a bit scarce, CVG has advised that they’ve been told by a reliable source that while Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has only been announced for the Playstation 3, it will indeed be appearing on Microsoft’s next-gen console as well.

"World in flames has so far only been announced for PlayStation 3, but although we can’t actually tell you why, we’ve got it on very good authority that it will be Xbox 360 bound, even if there’s a short PS3 exclusive period first. Pandemic haven’t even signed a publisher yet, but we can tell you that it won’t be LucasArts/Activision again." -Computer and Video Games

I’m hoping that this rumor turns out to be true as I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to pick up a Playstation 3 anytime soon and really don’t want to miss out on any of the explosive goodness that the Mercenaries name brings to mind.

Check out the Computer and Video Games article here and keep your fingers crossed for a multi-system release.

MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES FAQ

The good folks at Pandemic have a two threads up on the official Mercenaries 2 forums that those seeking more information about the game may wish to check out. The first is a thread where fans can post questions for the dev team and get some feedback on what’s going on with Mercenaries 2. Needless to say, that’s become a very long thread. The second is simply a frequently updated thread that takes all the questions and answers from the aforementioned thread and posts them in one place so you don’t have to fish through 65+ pages of comments to get a bit of info on the game.

Based on information from the site, Pandemic is still shopping around for a distributor for the game and has still not made a final determination on what systems Mercs 2 will be appearing on. Here’s to hoping it goes multi-platform so no one has to miss out on the kaboomy goodness. After all, like the game says… “Everybody Pays”

Check out the Mercenaries 2 website here, the “Ask a question” thread here, and the question summary thread here.

PANDEMIC POSTS FAQ ON MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES

Pandemic’s Mercenaries 2: World in Flames website has been updated with a FAQ covering some of the more pressing questions fans of the series are dying to find out about. Unfortunately, the big question of what platforms the game will be available on is still apparently up in the air;

“We have not made any final decisions concerning the various platforms for Mercenaries 2. “ Scott Warner, Lead Designer

The plot seems to revolve around your character now working as a freelance mercenary (Ex-Ops is out of the picture) who was originally hired in Venezuela by a client who was about to seize power. The problem is this; once you finished the job, he attempted to have you killed – and even worse, he stiffed you on the bill. Complicating the matter further, the client’s coup succeeded, and you’ll now have to go up against his vast resources to teach him that, like the games catch phrase says, “Everybody Pays.” Click here for the FAQ page at the official Mercenaries 2: World in Flames website.

MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES OFFICIAL SITE LIVE

Mercenaries 2 is officially on the way. The official website of the sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is now live. While chock full of information and listing a contest to design a tattoo for one of the characters, one thing the site does not list is what platforms the game will be appearing on. Prior to E3, the rumor was Mercenaries 2 was going to wind up a Playstation 3 exclusive. Check out the official site here.

Update 1: Gamespot has a report on the game. Right now the game is only being shown on the Playstation 3 and developer Pandemic is still looking for a publisher. With how good the first Mercenaries was, I can’t see them having to look long. Check out the Gamespot E3 report on Mercenaries 2 here.