The game

The game Mercs was released by Capcom in the year 1990. It was origionally released on an arcade machine and, due to popular demand, was released on a series of other platforms such as Commodore 64, Master System and Genesis. The game is played using a 16-bit machine, although it seems like it has been produced in 8-bit. This game doesn't bring us any new features or graphical eye candy, but overall serves as a game to be enjoyed while your mind switches off.

If you're looking for a copy of this game but dont want to go out and buy a JAMMA compatible arcade cabinet or an old games console, it was re-released for the next generation console Playstation. The game was mixed in with other Capcom oldies in a product named Capcom Generation 3

Gameplay

The gameplay in this game isn't really anything of the spectacular. The camera angle gives you an overhead view of your battlefield, and only moves in a forward direction. The playable characters, however, are able to move in an omnidirectional fashion allowing the player to return to health or weaponary that they have passed, so long as said items have not left the screen.

Firing weaponary in this game isn't the most taxing thing, in the sense that the player never has to worry about running out of ammunition. There is one element of limited actions in the game, and that would be the hand grenages which wipe out any enemy on the screen and cause a substantial amount of damage to end of level bosses. These grenades, however, can only be used a certain amount of times, but are dropped by enemies. The played character can also enter armored vehicles and if played in two player mode, one player will drive and the other will fire whatever weapon is attatched.

The game can be played in two different modes, arcade and original. In the arcade mode the player will have a health meter and will be able to continue playing with a new life bar after the character has lost all energy. In original mode the player has no health meter, meaning if not played carfully your character will be killed with one hit instantly (just like real life). The player also has no continues to speak of.

Weapons

Weaponary in this game is mainly collected from supply boxes that are randomly left in the environment.

  • Assault rifle
  • - The assault rifle is your standard issue weapon with which you begin the game. This weapon is only really useful for anti-personnel purposes and poses little threat to vehicles and end of level bosses.
  • Assault shotgun
  • - The assault shotgun is definitely the worst weapon in the game, and that requires no second thought. The range is incredibly limited and ammunition fired spreads into 3 different streams, one firing forward and two firing in diagonal lines outwards.
  • Flamethrower
  • - The flamethrower has a large range of fire in a straight flame and causes great amounts of damage to those who oppose you. The thing that makes this weapon the most suitable to play with is the fact that its incredibly rapid. You literally dont have to let go of the button making the game a lot simpler.
  • Grenade Launcher
  • - The grenade launcher has its advantages and disadvantages, for example the bazooka grenades it fires are incredibly powerful and take down whole groups of men. However, the range is severely limited, making it difficult not to get close to the enemy.

    Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.