January 25, 2005 -

About the Head-to-Head "Mini" Unlike a full-fledged Head-to-Head, we cut the fat and get right down to brass tacks. The same rules apply, but this is more our quick-reference comparison so you can make a decision without too much of an investment. You still get the side-by-side screenshots and our recommendations, of course. Remember: The main purpose of our H2H series is to arm you with enough information and facts for you to make an educated decision. Whether you agree with our overall recommendation or not doesn't matter as much as being able to make a decision of your own. Looking for more? Please feel free to follow up with a question to our mailbag.

Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox)
Blow stuff up. This is the first thing that came to our minds when we saw Pandemic's sandbox action title Mercenaries. Turns out it's LucasArts' marketing campaign, too. Works for us -- it is, after all, exactly what you do in the game. This mantra has given the title some great buzz.

It pleased the IGN editors so much we gave it an editors choice award and rated it above a 9 out of 10.

Features
Same gameplay, same features. No unlockable extras exist in one version that do not in the other.

• Winner: Tie

Controls
Mercenaries actually features a pretty robust set of controls. You experience the missions on-foot, in tanks, in helicopters and other vehicles. We've listed the on-foot controls to give you an idea of how most schemes translate.

Function	PlayStation 2	Xbox
Fire	R1	R
Grenade	L1	L
Reload	X	A
Bash	Square	X
Action	Triangle	Y
Jump	Circle	B
Switch Primary	R2	Black
Switch Grenades	L2	White
Change Stance	L3	L. Stick [Button]
Binoculars	R3	R. Stick [Button]
PDA	Select	Back
Item/Scroll	D-pad	D-pad

Basically, there are no real differences that jump out at you. Both the PS2 and Xbox controller lend themselves well to the layout of the various setups.

• Winner: Tie

Sound
Where Xbox usually dominates in both the quality and surround performance categories, the story is different with Mercenaries. It is an excellent sounding title, period. On the PlayStation 2 the surround effects via Dolby Pro Logic II are wonderfully separated and blended with a crisp soundtrack and plenty of booming sound effects. Xbox features Dolby Digital support which is, overall, more muted. You have to really crank you're A/V receiver but it all balances out pretty well. The surround is great, the bass hits harder, and overall it sounds slightly better than PS2.

• Winner: Xbox

Graphics
Pandemic has created to visually stunning Mercenaries. Whether you play it on the PlayStation 2 or Xbox you are immersed by a world alive with explosions and constant physical reactions to those forces. Both titles feature ample particle effects and the like. So, does either one look "bad"? No. But, indeed, the Xbox version supports widescreen 480p and runs at a quicker framerate. Even if you don't use the widescreen or progressive modes, Xbox's faster framerate (although both stutter) and slightly more detailed textures in combination with the antialiasing give it a better overall look.

Gallery





Mercenaries will impress regardless, but Xbox is the way to go if you've got a choice.

• Winner: Xbox

Presentation
Mercenaries is served to you on the same platter, whether PS2 or Xbox. Load times, frequently the only difference between platform presentation, only differ slightly. For example, a level will take 27 seconds to load on Xbox while it will take 31 on PlayStation 2. Such differences are the definition of negligible.

Presentation is really not an issue.

• Winner: Tie

Final Verdict
If you own one of these consoles and just wanted to confirm there weren't any issues with the version you're interested in, worry not. Pandemic did a fine job with both builds. Forced to choose, we would have to recommend Mercenaries on Xbox for its visuals, mostly. Everything just looks a lot smoother and the benefits of widescreen and 480p are definitely noticeable. However, on all other fronts, features, control, sound -- it's the same game.

All that said, the scales tip to Xbox's favor.

• Winner: Xbox

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