Pandemic Studios' open-world shooter Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360) is now slated for an August 31 release, IGN reports.

The development of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has been mired in delays, with the game originally scheduled for a holiday 2007 release window and later bumped to "early 2008". Earlier this year, publisher Electronic Arts announced that the game would be further delayed to its 2009 fiscal year.

Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360) has been pushed back yet again, with the destruction filled open-world game now set to release in publisher Electronic Arts' next fiscal year.

EA's 2009 fiscal year runs from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009; that broad release time frame was not narrowed down, but the game is likely to ship this year.

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The release date of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360) remains in limbo, but here are a couple of new screenshots showing off the open-world action game sequel.

Updated retailer listings for Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360) suggest the destruction filled open-world game may have been delayed yet again.

Both GameStop and Amazon.com now list the game as releasing on August 25, a substantial push from the previous target of Q1 2008. While retailers are notorious for using placeholder dates, it is extremely unlikely that two separate retailers would shift to the same date without outside word. Read more »

Eidos has announced the long-awaited third entry in the Deus Ex franchise, the sci-fi RPG shooter series originally handled by Ion Storm. The game is being developed at Eidos' recently formed Montreal studio for unspecified consoles, though PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 editions are likely.

The game is currently at an extremely early stage. General studio manager Stephane D'Astous told Gamasutra that the team just received approval for the title's proof of concept. The team will be allotted up to two years for development, suggesting the game is targeted for a holiday 2009 release. Read more »

Update: Pandemic has apparently denied any allegations that it changed aspects of Mercenaries 2 due to pressure from the Bono-obsessed Venezuela Solidarity Network. "Pandemic Studios never has and never will be intimidated by tyrants," Pandemic president Josh Resnick told Shacknews. "Our invasion is on schedule: Mercenaries 2 will be released in early 2008." Original Story: Remember the Venezuela Solidarity Network? The group that petitioned U2 frontman Bono (pictured above) to stop the development of Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS3, PS3, X360)? Well, they never heard back from Bono, but with the game delayed until next year and some controversial elements seemingly addressed, they're still considering the campaign a minor success. "Bono never responded directly," campaign activist Marie Davis admitted to venezuelanalysis, "but apparently our point hit home that financing a violent video game that targets a government already targeted by the Bush administration is counter to the reputation as a humanitarian that he has earned with his work on AIDS in Africa and debt relief. Pandemics[sic] began to change the story line soon after our letter was delivered." The VSN's main point of contention was the game's apparent mirroring of real-life tensions between the United States and Venezuela. With the title set in a realistic virtual recreation of Venezuela, the group feared its gratuitous violence would provoke hostile tensions towards the country. Now that Pandemic has offered more on the game's main antagonist--a "power-hungry tyrant" who meddles with the Venezuelan oil supply and causes the country to be invaded by China before backstabbing the Mercenaries crew--the VSN claims its letter to Bono resulted in a villain that bears less of a resemblance to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. "It still isn't perfect," explained VSN compaign coordinator Gunnar Gundersen. "I wouldn't want my sons to buy it and blow up neighborhoods that we can clearly recognize where their cousins, aunts and uncles live." "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," Pandemic co-founder Josh Resnick said in response to an earlier protest. "The characters are categorically not based on any real political figures in Venezuela or elsewhere." "This isn't a victory because Bono and Pandemics[sic] are still telling kids it's okay to attack my home country," elaborated VSN member Jorge Marin, "but it is progress and it wouldnÂ’t have happened without public pressure." Shacknews has contacted Pandemic Studios to collaborate the VSN's claims that story elements were changed in response to their outcry.

Pandemic Studios has confirmed the rumored delay of its open-ended soldier for hire life simulator Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360). "The easy answer is that we wanted to time it more closely to the movie," Pandemic co-founder and president Josh Resnick told IGN. "But then we realized that we don't have a movie, so we just said, 'Aww hell, let's just make the game better.'" Previously scheduled for a holiday 2007 release, Mercenaries 2 is now expected in Q1 2008.

Shacknews has spoken with EA and Pandemic reps concerning a rumored delay in Pandemic's Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360). European gaming site TVG reported an EA UK representative confirming a delay into 2008 for the previously announced holiday 2007 title. An EA rep told Shacknews that as of today, the title is still slated for a holiday 2007 release. A Pandemic rep gave a more ambiguous answer, saying the company has "made no announcements on a final release date for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames." Though frequently listing unconfirmed and predicted release dates, games retail giant GameStop lists Mercenaries 2: World in Flames as having an April 1, 2008 release for all platforms.

A Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Q&A can be found at play.tm. Lead designer Scott Warner is asked about the addition of swimming, coop support, platform differences and the Venezuela setting.

Over at Computer & Video Games you can find a Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Q&A. Pandemic producer Jonathan Zamkoff is asked about co-op and other multiplayer support, game characters, PS2 support and working with EA.

IGN's UK division has posted a new Mercenaries 2: World in Flames preview, taking in a demonstration of the game at E3. You can find our impressions of the game here.

There's a Mercenaries 2: World in Flames preview on GameSpot, taking in Pandemic's open-world action game at E3.

Pandemic's Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is largely the original Mercenaries game with a new paint job and a couple added features. The same three characters are back in this sequel, but this time they're in charge of their own private company of mercenaries. Much like Apple's takeover of Disney, this means two things: a little more destruction, and ultimately, more fun for fans. If you like blowing things up for hours on end, it's going to look and play better than before--and you won't be as lonely this time around, with two-player online or offline cooperative play. Running next to Crysis on the show floor, Mercenaries 2 had a lot of competition in the graphics department, and it managed to hold its own with an impressive display of effects. Maybe it was a poorly-calibrated HDTV, but the game seemed saturated in color, almost to the point of fantasy. There didn't seem to be much bloom at work, and yet every object popped off the screen with a vividness I've rarely seen in a game. Characters and vehicles look like polished, animated statues--perhaps too sharply modeled, but fitting within the overall style. Explosions are golden torrents of light, crackling and expanding as huts and forests were torched indiscriminately. Streams of bullets slice branches from trees, although not quite to the precision of Crysis--and the tracer fire is oddly abundant, as if from a laser weapon of some kind. A helicopter soon hovered into view during my session, the player grappling onto the undercarriage with a single button press. The mohawk-laden mercenary hung on to the vehicle by a hand, then swung himself up to the door, prying it open with a timed button press and tossing out its occupant as if in a combination of Superman and Grand Theft Auto. It was ridiculous, but it worked--and soon the over-sized targeting reticle of the chopper was up on screen. An enemy chopper was automatically targeted, and a missile streaked off on a collision course. Raining fire down on an entire city now, buildings exploded out from the first floor with a more realistic poof of smoke and debris before collapse. It was clear that much of development focused on creating a large, beautiful world for players to raze. The story revolves around the mercenary trying to get back at someone, and something about Venezuelan oil companies, and Chinese armies, and pirates. Does any of the really matter, beyond the pirates? This is Mercenaries. It's about blowing stuff up. Tiny helicopters can attach cables to oil tankers and swing them around like explosive wrecking balls. If you played the original game, you know what to expect here. With over 200 vehicles to play around in, Pandemic will be delivering more of the same this holiday season. Fans of the original formula will undoubtedly be pleased with the new graphical touches and cooperative support, while those unhappy with the basic nature of the original are unlikely to find much new. Pandemic Studios plans to ship Mercenaries 2 in Q4 2007.

Reporting from E3 like everyone else, GameSpy has a Mercenaries 2: World in Flames preview going hands-on with the action game sequel.

Also at IGN is this Mercenaries 2: World in Flames preview. The article offers hands-on impressions and includes new screenshots.