T-shirts and inflatables might be good enough for the E3 and Penny Arcade crowd, but in Germany if you want to make a splash with gaming swag you've got to go big... big hair.

Electronic Arts was giving out these tubes of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames HaarGel or hair gel for those non-German speakers out there. I, of course, had to take the stuff for a spin as soon as I got back to the hotel. The gel's rich texturing and high poly-count left me with the sort of three-foot high flattop perfect for open world mayhem and Brigitte Nielsen-inspired discotheque dance parties.
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To follow our recent hands-on with both-gen versions of the game, EA has sent us some lovely new screenshots of the game in action. Trees, helicopters and punk haircuts all get a look, along with some nice juicy explosions too. Hit the Images tab to see them ... » Read More

Mercenaries 2 producer Jonathan Zamkoff reckons that going underwater is the next step for Pandemic's playground of destruction.

So there's going to be a third game, then? "If I have anything to do with it, there will be," Zamkoff told Eurogamer.
"We probably would be looking at underwater gameplay - submarines, scuba tanks and underwater action," Zamkoff said, when asked where the series might go next.

In the meantime, what of plans for a Mercs 2 demo on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live? "It's to be decided right now," says Zamkoff. "We certainly have ambitions to do so, but we've got a pretty tight window."
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Despite the early success of Fight Night Round 3 with Live Marketplace, developers still hadn't been fully sold on the whole downloadable demo idea last E3. Not the case this year, the Hedgehog's got ears on a massive list of demos that'll be landing on Live next week. Fore sure are Ace Combat 6, Blue Dragon, and Mercenaries 2, quite possible are Devil May Cry 4, Tom Clancy's Endwar, and Halo 3 single player demo!!!

Also expect a massive bevy of new games for the Wii to appear at the show; including new ones from Sega, Capcom, and Konami. I guess having no obvious competition in Japan has those developers hifting priorities. Oh dear oh dear, poor Sony! They need big franchises like MGS and FF to hit the PS3 so people will buy them.

Problem is a new rumor states that Square-Enix is actually holding back FFXII until the PS3's install base reaches a more profitable level, classic Catch 22! Finally Ubisoft will be showing off a new Prince of Persia title in limited form next week. Expect to be mesmerized all over again!
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Thursday 21 June 2007 What's the first thing any career woman does when she makes it big? She gets a super-sexy makeover, of course - or, at least, that's what Jennifer Mui appears to have done since co-starring in Pandemic's excellent Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, back in early 2005. The reet proper British sexpot, with sultry Korean looks and a winning line in clipped one-liners, has greeted the next-gen revolution in style, as you can see below. On the left, the original Mercs' ... » Read More

Activists call on religious leaders to join petition asking U2 frontman to stop release of Pandemic's sandbox shooter set in Venezuela.

In response to the protest, Pandemic sent GameSpot the following statement from cofounder Josh Resnick:

"While we're flattered that people think Mercenaries 2 is a commentary on the real world, it is just a video game--and as they say in the movies, all characters and events are purely fiction. Our setting provides gamers with the overall look and feel of Venezuela, although it is not an accurate street by street depiction and the characters as well as the storyline are completely made up. More to the point, the characters are categorically not based on any real political figures in Venezuela or elsewhere."

The statement continues: "It's common practice in the entertainment business, both movies and video games, to set fictional storylines in real places. This isn't any different than setting a movie like Goodfellas in New York. And while we certainly hope Mercenaries raises the adrenaline flow, anyone wanting to experience or learn more about the real world, we recommend a good history book."

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is scheduled for release later this year on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and PC.
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Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign launches new appeal

Political activisits are calling on U2 singer Bono, as an investor in Pandemic Studios, to halt the development of forthcoming shooter Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

The game is set in Venezuela and sees players taking on a political tyrant who has taken control of the oil industry. It's already attracted criticism from the country's president, Hugo Chavez, who labelled it as an example of "psychological warfare".

Now the Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign has written an open letter to religious leaders asking for their help in stopping productoin on the game.

The VSC claims that Pandemic has previously been subcontracted by the US army to make training games, and observes, "The aim of [Mercenaries 2] is full devastation, so any 'person' who moves should be 'shot,' and all the buildings, such as the headquarters of PDVSA, the Venezuelan public oil company, can be 'destroyed.'
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The Venezuelan Solidarity Network has taken issue with developer Pandemic's Mercenaries 2 and they want production stopped, targeting Bono as the one who could ultimately do the deed. The organization is collecting signatures of religious leaders for a letter that it plans to send to U2's lead singer in early April, "to ask him to use his considerable influence to stop the sale of the game." Bono is on the board of Elevation Partners, which has strong ties with the partnership established ... » Read More

Point your peepers at this fresh action footage from Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, which reveals an exciting treat for anyone who snatches up the game when it hits PC, PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360 later this year. Alongside tanks, Mercs and clapped out saloons, you'll be able to jump aboard a van that's the spitting image of the A-Team's legendary ride from the classic 80s show. The in-game clips come from developer Pandemic's latest blog episode, in which the team reveal their plans for platform ... » Read More

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be released on PlayStation 2 as well as PlayStation 3 when the game launches later this year, developer Pandemic has revealed, and will also be joined by Xbox 360 and PC versions. A 360 version was all but inevitable, given the original Mercenaries' huge success on PS2 in 2005, but Pandemic has surprised by announcing the PS2 edition of the high-powered, next-genified sequel. Unsurprisingly, the old-gen version will be stripped of much of the visual flair ... » Read More

Electronic Arts and Pandemic Studios have confirmed that the previously-PS3 exclusive sequel Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will now also be coming to Xbox 360, PS2 and PC. An Xbox 360 version of the game has been heavily rumoured over the past year, but the PS2 and PC versions have come as a surprise.
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With its nonstop explosions and free-roaming, destroy-anything gameplay, last year's Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was an awesome - if often overlooked - riff on Grand Theft Auto. Today, developer Pandemic announced that it's expanding the Mercenaries world with Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, which will be officially unveiled next week at E3. Pandemic's keeping a tight lid on details so far, but we do know that the sequel -planned for next-gen systems - will be set in "a new and ... » Read More