Video game review by ERIK LEIJON

I know you've had your fill, but there's yet another war-based game that merits attention. The premise of Mercenaries (Xbox, PS2/LucasArts, Pandemic) is by no means original - a mission-based third-person action game set in a war-torn third-world country - but at least it's in North Korea and not Vietnam. In a not-so subtle nod to the war on terror, a deck of 52 playing cards is provided, with each card representing a member of the recently deposed North Korean government. As a one-man army, you have to find 'em and give 'em a taste of freedom.

LucasArts, taking a break from Star Wars, have enlisted development team Pandemic to add one more entry into the bloated hole of war-based games. Pandemic have already dabbled in the genre, as they made last year's supposedly realistic war simulator (as endorsed by the U.S. Army) Full Spectrum Warrior (THQ), aka Full Spectrum Wall-finder. But in the case of "Mercks," it's a different Apache helicopter altogether.

Rather than rehashing the popular war games du jour such as Ghost Recon (Ubisoft), Call of Duty (Activision) or Medal of Honor (EA), Pandemic have decided to take Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar) out of San Andreas and into Pyongyang. Your mercenary (you can choose one of the three disposable personalities) has to combine street smarts with bloodlust to curry favour with the big cats of anarchical North Korea: the Allies, the Chinese, the South Koreans and the Russian mafia. Essentially, the game whittles down to you taking turns doing odd jobs for the factions while getting "intel" on the deck of 52.

Mercenaries, as with GTA, is guilty of "radar love." Most of the game is spent staring at the radar in the corner of the screen, following the miniature icons while only giving passing glances to the actual action. Even worse is when you're on the clock and you have to pause and look at your GPS at every intersection to make sure you haven't taken a wrong turn.

The fun starts when you finally get to your destination. Your merck has a variety of chaos-causing weapons and vehicles, varying from machine guns to RPGs to tanks. What is truly impressive, and should be standard in war games, is that most of the environments are destructible. The most impressive display of pure carnage occurs during the amazing battle against the ace of clubs. It was necessary to smoke him out of some CN Tower-esque structure, and with the help of the Allied airstrike team, the tower transformed into a pile of smoky rubble right before my eyes.

Mercenaries is only a one-player game, but after your first air strike you will be hooked. The game also rewards your persistence by giving you a new map after beating the diamond suits.

Major in Mario, minor in Mega Man

France-based developer/publisher Ubisoft, fresh from announcing a huge expansion of their Montreal development studio, have answered the question, "How are they going to find 1,000 new employees?" With the help of the Université de Sherbrooke and the Cégep de Matane, Ubisoft will be offering college- and university-level courses for would-be game designers. Students can take courses in production, programming, 3D animation, modelling and level-design.

Ubisoft Montreal is already one of the best development studios on the planet, having made the über-popular Splinter Cell series, and rejuvenating the Prince of Persia licence. With a new army of game developers being educated in Montreal, our fair city looks primed to become the gaming hub on the East Coast. Check out www.ubisoftcampus.com.

Now playing: ESPN NHL 2K5 (Xbox, PS2), Mercenaries (Xbox, PS2) Wishlist: Phantom Dust (Xbox), King of Fighters 02/03 (PS2), WarioWare Touched! (DS)

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