pikarceus (2013-06-05 05:51:27)

---

*Could not fit "Cartridge" in topic title


The North American box art.

Wow, it's been awhile. Anyway, down to business, with what I consider a nice, easy game to review.

Resident Evil: Mercs 3D is basically Capcom charging full price (Well, not anymore) for what is basically just a mode on the main series home console releases since RE4. Mercs 3D can be beaten in one sitting, and has an awful lot of padding to make it last, but despite this, the addicting gameplay shines through and will make you keep coming back for more.

Mercs 3D has no story, the point of the game is just to kill as many zombies as possible on various maps before time runs out. You can select various characters, such as Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, and can unlock others as you progress. Along with characters, you can unlock skills, three which can be equiped to each character. Some improve gun handling, others make certain enemy types less difficult, and each skill has three levels, improving their potency. You have different weapons at your disposal, from pistols to shotguns to rifles and more. Headshots are rewarded with a nice explosion of gore, but sometimes the zombie will mutate after a headshot and is only easily taken down with explosive weapons or flash grenades. If you take damage, you can use herbs to heal, you can find them around the maps, or get them from dead enemies.

Speaking of enemies, I was impressed by the variety. Zombies may come at you bare-handed, or may wield bowguns or melee weapons. Boss enemies appear as well. One enemy type wears a protective mask/helmet that makes headshots useless. Another enemy wields a riot shield. This keeps the combat from getting stale.

It all looks great too. Despite Mercs 3D being an early 3DS game, at first glance it could be mistaken for RE5. Close inspection reveals that is not the case, colors are bland, models are blocky, and enemy framerate is almost slide-show like compared to home console RE games, but the game looks amazing for a handheld game. A good dozen enemies can be displayed on screen at once, giving the game a nice frantic feel.

The controls are awkward at first, but perform very well once you get used to them. Mercs 3D allows you to move and shoot at once, but you can't adjust your aim while strafing, so it's pretty pointless. But everything else works very well, especially being able to switch weapons and use herbs with a tap of the touchscreen. Press Y while walking over ammo lets you pick it up, the controls are designed so that nothing breaks the flow of combat, and it works very well.

The online component makes the game, playing with another person helps on some of the more difficult levels. It runs pretty smoothly as well, though on a couple of levels the game will stop and a loading screen will come up before gameplay resumes. The only other complaints I had were no voice chat, which is a common problem for 3DS games, and lack of a proper leveling system, which was later addressed in Re: Revelations.

Conclusion

There's no excusing the lack of substantial content in Mercs 3D, but the game redeems itself with pretty visuals and addicting gameplay. $40 for this game was highway robbery, but you can find much sweeter deals on it now, making the lack of content a bit more justified.

Overall: 7/10

This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:
2013-06-06 02:54:29

---

pikarceus (2013-06-05 05:54:13)

---

Sorry for no pics, but I typed this while lying in bed at 1 in the morning...so yeah.

---

Nin10dude789 (2013-06-06 03:04:21)

---

Lol. This looked rushed.

---

THaT1GuY9001 (2013-06-10 03:06:15)

---

Short n' sweet.

---