Mercenaries was released in the fall of 1996, and was supposedly stamped out as a cash cow sequel to Activision's then famous MechWarrior series of games. Mercenaries was not that at all.In the plot line of MW2:M, you take the place of an inner sphere mercenary mech pilot and perform various missions from helping clan rebellions to utterly destroying them. There would also be various protect, destroy, recon, and other various mission types. A player could choose which mission best reflected their play-style, and the game plot will alter based on the player's choices. At the time, this was a relatively new concept.
The amount of individual choice and ease of customization is something not found in many games, even today. As a mech pilot you could choose between many various mech chassis and alter the weaponry, ammo, heat sinks, generators, sensors, etc. The variations are limitless, if do enough high cash missions and you handle your finances appropriately. As a mercenary, if you gained enough money from missions, you could hire other mercenaries to pilot alternate mechs that you design and customize for each engagement. As a
mech group you could set up various tactics when running together, or you could send the other mercs to various nav points. Almost every action in the game was customizable and alterable to create a fun an unique experience every time.The game play, once on a mission, is pretty similar in nature. You would either protect or destroy the targets and move to the drop ship for extraction. However, this does not detract from the fun of the game what-so-ever. How you engage each mission is up to you. While piloting the mech, you could switch from various sight modes including infrared and position a sensor map with real time telemetry. The various weapon types created a new ground for strategizing each mission. On a destroy mission, I'd stack up my heavy artillery. While on a defensive mission I'd stock up on my full auto projectile weapons and keep a gauss weapon at bay in case I ran up against any heavy resistance.
Remembering the game brought back nostalgia for a better time when games were primarily made for the gamers and not for the money. I wish Activision would hit the re-set button and publish more games with this level of customization and the game play to match.
What game(s) of yore do you fondly remember?
When I think back to "Games of yore" that I fondly remember it's all about the Legend of Zelda for me. I never played MechWarrior 2, but it sounds like a really fun game.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this I think you should keep your eye on Lost Planet 2. Supposedly there is no main hero character. Instead when you start the game you customize your own unique hero. The game also offers 4 player online co-op through the story and there are mechs you can pilot that can carry multiple players.
It may not be exactly what was present in MechWarrior 2, but the character customization, mech combat and co-op play that Lost Planet 2 is supposed to feature could be similar to what you are asking for from a game.
Sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'll wait for your blog on the game before I make a purchase though.
I remember playing Doom with my brother on my Sega Genesis. I really loved playing that game, but I think it was mainly because I wasn't allowed to play it.
ReplyDeleteDoom rocked back in the day.
ReplyDelete