My Played Video Games Review: Mercs for the Sega Genesis
Mercs is a top-down run and gun arcade game developed and published by Capcom of Japan for the arcades in 1990. A Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Mercs was produced by Sega of Japan for worldwide release in 1991.
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games were few and expensive during the early 1990s in my country. I temporarily traded my Sonic The Hedgehog 2 game to play this one during the day.
The Story
Terrorists have kidnapped a former President, and you as one of the MERCS are going in for the rescue.
Break through their coastal defenses, get enemy weapons for extra firepower. Pick them up as you advance through their flaming metal wrecks. Push through their defensive barrage of lead, grenades, missiles and attack helicopters. Hijack their vehicles. Shred them to bits! They screwed with your country - now you're gonna have to burn them screaming!
The Graphics and Sound
The graphics are bit decent in this game. The people look quite okay. The environment lack a little more detail. The vehicles look good. Some places lacked colors in certain levels. You will sometime have trouble spotting enemies and secrets. Otherwise it looks great for a Sega Genesis game.
Sound quality is poor here. In Story Mode, it was repetitive and sounded like bleeps and buzzes. Gunshots and war cries sound okay, except the rifle, which sounded like a purring cat. However, it varies in every level in Arcade Mode and changes throughout. The boss music was alright, but stays the same with all bosses.
The Gameplay
There are 2 game modes: an "Arcade Mode", which has the same plot and stages as the arcade version, as well as an "Original Mode" with a new plot and new stages.
The Original Mode has the addition of Weapon Shops through the game in which the player can buy power-ups using currency obtained from killing enemies, as well as the option to switch between other playable characters. In the Original Mode, you can not pick up different weapons for your character since each member of your party already specialize in whatever weapon he carries.
This game is a vertical action scroller that goes upward. You start out with 3 special bombs and collect more throughout the game. You can ride military vehicles as well. In the Original Mode, you can have characters join your party and then select them by pressing the Start button and going up and down with the Directional pad.
Controls are damn easy since you only got two main buttons to work with. One is for shooting and the other one is for throwing bombs. The D-pad is for moving (as well as to select people during the select screen).
This one does have good replay value because of its 2 modes. Also, it is always fun to play the other characters you do not play always in the original mode.
My Verdict
Mercs on the Sega Genesis is great to play, but it does not feel done well by the developers. Presentation is poor and the missing 2 player option hurts it bad. Overall, it is a good game that deserves your retro gaming attention.
Play it on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or on emulators.