So, Mercenaries 2 dropped on Sunday, and with it, seamless drop in, drop out cooperative play.  Basically, by default, when you’re playing, any one on your Friends List can just pop on into your game and help you blow stuff up.  On paper, it sounds great but in reality, it’s kind of unsettling.

I was playing on Monday night, just doing my thing, racing to make some money, when there was a message on the top of the screen that one of my friends had joined my game.  I didn’t have my headset on and I was in the middle of a race with cash on the line, so I couldn’t stop to get it.  Instead I just finished my race while he did something or other.  Awkward.

Once the race was finished, I put the headset on and we were good to go, but before that, it was kind of strange. I didn’t ask him to join, and while having him there was lots of fun and very helpful, it’s not like I needed the help either.  Having someone be able to just pop into your game unannounced is somewhat unsettling, even more so to a hermit like myself.  It’s like getting up from the TV to grab some chips, and when you come back,  your neighbor is sitting in your couch.  You may like the guy, but that doesn’t mean you just want him there watching TV with you.

At the same time though, these people are on your Friends List for a reason, so why not have them just drop by and help you blow up buildings?  After all, the purpose of Live is for you to be able to play with others, and here’s a game that makes it as simple and unobtrusive as possible.  Shouldn’t this be a good thing.  Yeah, I guess, but when you’re like me, and the notion of picking up a phone and talking to someone is enough of a break in your solitary routine to cloud your entire day, having you appear unannounced in an attack chopper is enough to cause fits.

Yeah, I can change the setting so that only I can invite you, or that no one can ever join, but in doing that, I feel like I’d be dismissing all of the hard work done to make such a great system.  Plus, I probably should play more with others as a complete withdrawal from human contact isn’t good for anyone, especially someone who shares a house with three other humans.  So for now, I’ll leave the settings at the default, which means that when I’m tearing up Venezuela, others can pop in and help with the destruction.  Just, if you plan on joining, knock first.  And bring chips.