UbiSoft recently released Expendables 2 on the PlayStation and today for the Xbox; we review the PlayStation version. Read on for details. 
UbiSoft recently released Expendables 2, a tie-in with the Sly Stallone movie of the same name. I downloaded and played it on the PS3; here is my review. First, from UbiSoft, a description of the game.
Four Expendables (Barney, Gunner, Caesar and Yin Yang) are hired to rescue a kidnapped Chinese billionaire. It’s business as usual, until all hell breaks loose and the explosive mix of testosterone and kerosene detonates in a massive fireball that never lets up! The Expendables 2 Videogame lets fans experience all of their favorite explosive moments as their favorite action stars. Key Features Over-The-Top Action Experience intense firepower, massive explosions and relentless opposition as you play out all of your favorite over-the-top action moments! 4-Player Co-op Team up with three of your friends for Expendables co-op action. Take on the singleplayer campaign or compete in the many challenge modes and work together to join the elite ranks. Expendables Characters Play as some of the most memorable characters from The Expendables movies: Barney Ross, Yin Yang, Gunner Jensen and Hale Caesar. Challenge Modes Challenge yourself, your buddies or the rest of the worldwide leaderboards in the many Expendables challenge modes that unlock as you play through the intense campaign. Vehicular Combat Take it to the enemy as you fly choppers, airplanes, drive 4×4’s and wreak havoc with your entire vehicular arsenal. Signature Cinematic Kills Experience some of the most gratifying finishes ever with a close-up dynamic camera capturing your entire array of stylish signature moves for each Expendables character. Battle in Foreign Terrain Battle in tactical, assault, stealth and melee missions from the forested Balkan countryside to the mountainous Somalian deserts, Kowloon industrial docks, Burmese Jungles and much more.
UbiSoft promises combat action that never lets up, 4 way multiplayer, and more explosions per capita than most games of this nature. And they largely succeed in delivering an arcade shoot-‘em-up that is fun to play, but it is not without its faults. Here are my impressions.
Gameplay
You spend most of your time moving across a battlefield with your three partners, blasting enemies as you strive to rescue the Chinese billionaire from the clutches of evil. The map scrolling allows you to transit the area of operations; you don’t need a compass heading as the map only allows you to head in the right direction. The view is largely overhead, where it can be hard to tell what character and weapon you are controlling. The aiming system is highly inaccurate, and I found that I had to charge particular enemies and stab them with a knife rather than point and shoot them. This can impede the progress of gameplay. Zooming in to see the action was not very fluid and aiming was rough at best. You can switch between characters, handy as each one has a different weapon loadout. In addition, if you are injured, you heal by laying down on the battlefield, where you can fire a pistol to defend yourself. The game sometimes requires you to switch to complete tasks, like the explosives team member being needed to blast into an enemy compound. The multiplayer support would make this a more entertaining game as you can play with buddies and cooperate in the mission. The enemy AI is not very good; they blindly run out into your gunfire and routinely take stands next to explosive barrels. Which you promptly shoot, causing them to explode and wipe out your enemies. The weapons include shot guns, assault rifles, pistols and knives. And hand grenades and RPG’s…who can forget those weapons?
