I got some money that is burning a hole in my pocket...I would like you to help me decide which XBOX game to get.

The nominees are:

Mercenaries

Ghost Recon 2

Brothers In Arms:Road to Hill 30

I am interested in a good military based game...I am just finishing up Full Spectrum Warrior and still in the mood for more military goodness. Let me know what your choice would be and why. Also if there is a game I don't have on this list that you would recommend let me know. Thanks


wlj

I haven't tried any of the above so I can't comment on them... have you tried the Conflict series though? I enjoyed the first one (Desert Storm) haven't tried 2 or Vietnam yet though. As a bonus since they've been out for awhile you can usually find them cheap. If you are into Sci-Fi military action try SW: Republic Commando, I just rented that and it's enjoyable so far.

I have played Conflict: Desert Storm....I wasn't all that impressed with it...but I didn't play it long so I can't really judge. The game just seemed kind of "low budget".


wlj

I'd have to say Mercenaries does not really fit in with the other games you have mentioned. It does take place in a time of war, but there isn't much tactical about it. It's pretty much Grand Theft Auto with a wartime setting. That being said, it's really fun and a great game for what it is. I can't really speak intelligently about the other games you mentioned as I've only played them very briefly. From what I did play of Brothers in Arms, it seemed a little similar to Full Spectrum Warrior in the way you control/command your troops. Sorry, that may not help you much, but you might want to drop Mercenaries from your list of considerations if you are looking for a more realistic, tactical type game.

Brothers in Arms is getting some good press. I'd say that would be your best bet.

thanks for the replies guys...keep them coming.


wlj

The thing I really liked about it is that you can assume direct control over all the squad members. The thing that drives me up the wall about squad type games is either the command structure is too limited that it's difficult to get the NPCs to do exactly what you want to do, or it's too complex and takes too long to "program". JMO

Mercenaries is pretty darn fun.....GTA war game basically

Ghost Recon 2 is fun....but you MUST have LIVE to really enjoy it. The single player gets kinda boring after a while. Especially after you play all the single player campaigns on LIVE with another player (which is fun)

Everyone is raving about BiA...I have yet to play it. There is a rumor that it'll be $30 at Best Buy on 3/27

Ghost Recon 2 is awsome. Haven't played the other two though.

I haven't played any of the games you mentioned but if you care about reviews, here is what many of the critics are saying & the average score of each:

Brothers in Arms: Critics - 91 out of 100 average http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...brothersinarms

Mercenaries: Critics - 86 out of 100 average
http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...bx/mercenaries

Ghost Recon 2: Critics - 80 out of 100 average http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...cysghostrecon2

Hope that helps.

i appreciate all the help... thanks

Save your money for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory next week

Actually, the only one I have played is Mercenaries, and it's alot of fun. I'd say go with that. BIA looks fun, but once it's done, you might not get alot of replay value out of it. Mercenaries has tons.

Brothers in Arms is a beast. You can order your squad to suppress the enemy, like FSW, then flank them yourself and take them out.

how is the difficulty in BIA?? I want a challenge....but I don't want to be frustrated to the point where I stop having fun.


wlj

not a big splinter cell fan...I had Pandora Tomorrow...it frustrated the hell out of me...so I ebayed it. Chaos Theory sure does look good...I have played the demo from OXM, but Splinter cell I think is "too stealth" for me. Thanks for the suggestion though.

wlj

I've played the demo of Mercenaries that came with OXM and a couple of hours on Ghost Recon 2. Mercenaries was pretty much a Grand Theft Auto rip off and I just thought it was OK. Definitely don't pay $50 for it. Ghost Recon 2 single player mode was fair, but Xbox Live is really where the action is at with this game. It's pretty much a Rainbow Six 3 outside in the jungle.

Rumor on www.cheapassgamer.com says that Brothers in Arms is going to be $29.99 at Best Buy starting this Sunday. Combine it with the $5 off coupon that comes with the Xbox Gamer's Gift Card and its yours for $24.99.

well it is looking like Ghost Recon 2 is not a good choice for me since i don't have Xbox Live...i don't want to pay 50 bucks for just a decent single player.

Looks like it is between Mercenaries and BIA.

Thanks alot for these responses.

wlj

I have all three and BIA is the best for me. I have done finished it twice and Merx is still unfinished. Playing BIA for 3rd time on the authentic difficulty (you have to beat the hard setting to get the authentic option) and its hard, but supposed to be very real to odds faced then.
Get BIA and when you start the game go ahead and play the hard setting first, that way after you beat it you wont be like me and have to play through twice to get the authentic setting. Lots of extras on the development of the game an etc as you beat chapters on certain difficultys.

Wait till Sunday and purchase BIA at Best Buy.... ($29.99 and use the gamer gift card for $5 off to bring it down to $25, or so I hear)

Or trade in some games at Gamerush... if you trade in 3 or more you get an additional $5 per game.... for every 2 you trade in you can purchase a new or preorder game for $30. I have traded in 30+ games and picked up 14 new release/preorders inluding BIA and Mercenaries, but haven't had a chance to play them yet. (This deal ends the 23rd I believe)

If you play online go w/ GR2 it has up to 16 players with various games, no online for Mercanaries, BIA is more of a tactical online game with up to 4 players.

Of course I also just finished it too, so unless you only want about 10 hours of play out of the game (minus the online play which I'm not into) you might want to avoid this one

Bought Republic Commando same day I got BIA and I beat it in 3 days it was ok, not great, I agree with nemin about. Traded it in for credit on Star Wars lego, just looks to damn funny to pass up for a SW fan.

thanks for all the replies...i appreciate it.


wlj

SW: Republic Commando or wait for the new RainBow Six that game is going to be awesome. Republic Commando is a great game the single player mode is short 8 to 12 hours on how fast you play through games, but the multiplayer is great and uses the unreal tournament engine.

I thought SW:RC was an average game. The single player was a lot of fun, but it was probably 7-8 hours more like it.

Live play for it was just average also....nothign too innovative or great about it. TimeSplitters:FP seems to be a better choice for LIVE play...........but I have yet to play it.

Also, RS:Lockdown looks GOOD...but has been delayed

I got Super Monkey Ball: Delux last week and am having a blast playing it. It's only 30 bones (new) also.