Mercs (Arcade)

Super Adventures in Gaming Replay 2014 - Game 2

This one might seem like a bit of a strange choice to replay as it's a pretty basic run and gun arcade shooter, not the kind of thing you need to play much of to get an impression of how it's going to carry on. Plus I got two levels into the Genesis/Mega Drive version the first time around, so it's not like I didn't give it a fair chance. But I'm reasonably sure I promised someone I'd take a look at the arcade version at some point, so here it is.

Here's something I didn't mention last time: Mercs is the second game in the Wolf of the Battlefield series and a sequel to 1985's Commando (which has absolutely nothing to do with 1985's Commando movie). It started off as an arcade game in 1990 and was ported to around seven home systems the following year (and there's no way I'm going to be comparing them all this time, sorry.)

The attract mode sets up the story and shows character profiles for our three Aryan heroes (plus one more shot of Joe fondling his weapon for the ladies and a few of the gents.)

These three work for a PMC called Wolf Force (AKA. the 'Mercs') and have been hired by the US Government to rescue a former President held by revolutionaries in Africa. I guess that strap arrangement they're all wearing is their official uniform then.

The guy on the top left's not your ordinary Joe, he's actually the legendary Super Joe from Commando, Speed Rumbler and the Bionic Commando series (voiced in the 2009 game by Steve Blum!). I've heard that Thomas Clarke also makes an appearance up in Bionic Commando '09, but it doesn't seem like Wesker lookalike Howard Powell ever got another game. Maybe he went back to his special terrorist task-force after his Mercs group split... hang on, shouldn't that be anti-terrorist task-force?

With pixel art like that, how could I not stitch together this panning shot at the start of level one? It's entirely skippable, I should point out (because making cutscenes skippable is something that should always be praised.)

It seems like I'm actually bringing a squad with me for this mission. Seems like it, but I'm not. They quickly pile back into the helo and leave me alone on the beach. Though it doesn't stay quiet for long.

Right then, Mercs is one of those overhead view run and gun kinds of games, controlled by just the one stick so I shoot in the direction I'm walking and walk in the direction I'm shooting. It also has bloody nice graphics, but you've probably noticed that already.

Speaking of graphics, the game was ported across to a few 8-bit systems including the legendary ZX Spectrum, and there's no way I can resist seeing what this looks like on the Speccy.

Banana trees, huh? I gotta give the Spectrum team credit though, they've replicated the game close enough so that it's obvious I'm standing in the same place in both screenshots. So many 'ports' I've played have actually turned out to be an entirely different game sharing the same title (and sometimes box art!) But this is recognisably Mercs, even if it's not quite recognisably a beach.

Well this isn't good. They've got grenades and impenetrable cover, that's totally cheating! I can walk fast enough to dodge bullets, but I can't keep it up forever, and they ain't budging. In fact they seem to bring in reinforcements for every enemy who successfully places himself in front of my bullets, so I'm making no progress at all here and that's a problem as I kinda have a time limit.

Oh I see how this works now! I assumed I was supposed to clear the screen and then move on, but if I keep pressing forwards, then they abandon the sandbags and make a run for it. No point in playing this cautiously or else I'll be fighting respawning troops forever.

I love the way this handles powered up shots by the way. Some games would make the bullets bigger or change their colour when I grab a POW pick-up, but this just gives me double bullets.

Oh great, a Harrier's just flown over and now it's hovering around the top of the screen getting all True Lies on my ass. Well I would try to figure out its pattern and time my counter-attacks so I can run up safely between his bursts of Gatling gun fire, but I've just remembered how I handled this guy on the Genesis/Mega Drive version, and trust me it's much faster.

Genesis/Mega Drive)

I just spam my super weapon bombs until he's dead! It's fine, I'll get a full refill next level so I'll be ready to take on the next boss the same way too.

By the way, this first level is really tiny. It's basically an S shape, with those shootable palm trees on the bottom right bend and the sandbags at the top left. Three more screenshots and I could've shown the whole thing. There really is no point worrying about the time limit in this game.


LEVEL 2.

Man, this city looks so much better on the arcade version than the Genesis/Mega Drive game. Sadly even armed with three-way pea shooter, my 'run straight up into the enemy' tactic proved to be ineffective against a roadblock and I lost my first continue here. The game was nice enough to let me respawn in the same place though and even let me keep my gun! Though it did confiscate my score. Drat, how will I ever live without my points!

Genesis/Mega Drive

Meanwhile, on the Mega Drive I've successfully managed to steal one of the jeeps and drive it straight into a crate. A shootable bonus crate with a power up inside! Shame I don't know how to get out or I'd grab that hamburger lying in the dirt as well. You know, for health.

You've can probably tell by the bar marked 'life' that the game has a life bar, but it kindly allows me a moment of invulnerability after I've taken damage. My health doesn't just drain away like in some games (you know who you are) and it's always obvious when I've been hit.

I've been hit! Well there goes arcade Joe's jeep. The poor guy just can't catch a break. Still, this does give me a chance to run over and grab that extra super bomb (marked with an M for some reason). Man, it's hard enough to dodge all these bullets and tank shells in the silky smooth arcade game so I can't imagine what it must be like in the sluggish 8-bit ports.


MEANWHILE, ON THE COMMODORE 64:

Commodore 64

Uh... so I guess the tanks are busy somewhere else today then? I'll just shoot this dude in front of me and then carry on driving then I suppose.

Master System

The Master System port does have the tanks, but uh... what happened to their turrets? Also what happened to all my continues? Most of the home versions give me a fair number to get by with, but on the Master System you get ONE SINGLE LIFE. Granted the game's relatively easy, but c'mon!

Also there's no in-game music in this version and the collision detection is terrible. Which is awesome, because I hardly ever get to complain about terrible collision detection. A rare treat.

Through the line of tanks and across a bridge I finally reach my old nemesis: the level 2 boss. I say 'finally', it's actually taken me just under a minute and a half to get here.

I've got ambitions to run up to this guy and unload all my super bombs on him, but it's proving to be a bit hard when he keeps firing homing missiles at me. I really wish player two and three were around right now, so that the missiles would go harass them instead.

Oh right, I remember how this works now: the minute the truck fails to get its own way it charges forwards down the middle of the screen and rams me without warning. Very mature.

Well I'm going to be ready for it over on the Sega version!

Genesis/Mega Drive

Aw c'mon!

Speaking of three player... the Mega Drive version don't got it. It doesn't even have two player, which is something the other ports generally managed to include. It seems like a pretty big drawback, as games like this come alive in co-op.

I know I said I didn't want to compare the different versions... but this thing really must be a nightmare on the 8-bit systems surely?


MEANWHILE, ON THE AMSTRAD CPC:

Amstrad CPC

Oh, I can just sit here and shoot it then? It's not even going to try and run me over? No flame turrets?

You know for some games I've played, the 8-bit versions have been surprisingly strong contenders, with several reasons to recommend them over their more advanced cousins. In this case though... nah. The Amiga and Atari ST versions aren't particularly impressive either.


LEVEL 3.

I'm sure I probably shouldn't be hanging around on this turret shooting pink ninjas as they pour out of the back of an APC, but I need to get rid of them so I'm free to blow up that other turret! And I need to blow up that other turret so that... oh, they've blown up my turret already? Fuck it, I'm making a run for it again.
I don't even know how I ended up on the deck of a battleship. How does a group of African revolutionaries get their hands on a ship with Capcom written on it anyhow? Why is Capcom written on the ship in the first place? Are they getting into the arms trade now?

Oh no! In a shocking turn of events I have again reached the end of the road just in time to be menaced by a huge military vehicle! This time it's a Hind-D with swivelling anti-personnel missile launcher turrets. I've used up all my super bombs to wreck its engines already, but the thing just refuses to drop from the sky!

Genesis/Mega Drive

Man, I didn't even realise how good I had it a few seconds ago. Now the rear turrets are getting in on the action and I'm being swarmed with soldiers! The problem I'm having here is that I can only fire in the direction I'm running and right now I'm busy running away from certain death.

At least it's probably going to be a total pushover on those 8-bit systems, right? I bet it barely even bothers putting up a fight.

Commodore 64.

Yup.


LEVEL 4.

I got about halfway into stage 4 on the last of my five continues, but a few stray bullets took care of me before I even made it to the boss this time. Game over.

It's a shame really, because I'd only just picked up the flamethrower. I can't turn around with it as fast as I can with the machine gun, but anything caught in that wall of flame is just... gone. Fortunately they're only lil' imaginary pixel people so I don't have to be traumatised when they silently fall to their knees as their flesh is burned away.

Okay, so I'm done with the arcade mode now. But there's something pretty important I completely neglected to mention about the Genesis/Mega Drive port in particular last time around...

Genesis/Mega Drive

This version of Mercs (and this version alone) has a second game mode, with its own exclusive set of levels! The gameplay's the same, but the timer's been replaced by a medal count for some reason. Guess I'd better smash open every crate in case there's a medal in there! Fortunately I'm pretty sure that medals are one of this fictional country's main imports, along with hamburgers, super bombs, cans of spinach and words that say POW; there's boxes of them lying everywhere.

Genesis/Mega Drive

This is another new feature exclusive to the Mega Drive's Original Mode: a map between levels! It doesn't actually do anything though, except to let you sit back and look at those fires with a smug sense of accomplishment, thinking 'yes, it was me that burned this tropical island paradise to the ground'.

Genesis/Mega Drive

Man, is there anywhere on this entire island that isn't packed full of people eager to shoot me in the side of the head.

Hang on, that tent over there says 'ENTER' on it. That's new.

Genesis/Mega Drive

Wow, I found Burner in the tent and he joined my party. I have no idea who that is and this is the first I've heard that I even have a party (though it seems he's heard of me), but I'll take all the help I can get.

Genesis/Mega Drive

There's a shop in here too... which uses medals for currency? I gotta admit, as tents go this has proven to be quite exceptional so far. Oh, the super bombs are actually called a 'mega crash'? So that's why they've got an M on the box! Well I'm a bit conflicted about trading my medals for gear, seeing as I earned these through exceptional valour and bravery (by shooting hoards of goons and stealing their stash), but on the other hand there ain't no way I'm leaving this shop without a mega crash and a life bar extension.

Each character has to be upgraded separately and has their own health bar, and they basically act like extra continues, so once I ran out of characters in this mode it was game over.


CONCLUSION

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Like with many games, I came to appreciate Mercs a whole lot more after I forced myself to sit my ass down and actually play the damn thing properly. I think it's even starting to grow on me the more I replay it, possibly due to the fact I'm not getting shot so damn much any more. It felt a bit unfair to me at first, until I'd got the hang of quickly whipping the joystick/d-pad around every now and again to spray bullets at the troops constantly swarming in from all directions. It only takes a single shot to kill most of the enemies, so there's no need for me to keep marching right over to them to make sure the job's finished. Twin stick shooting would've been better though.

I was expecting the Genesis/Mega Drive version to feel really sluggish and awkward after playing the arcade game, but it's actually fine. It seems like a decent port, aside from the whole 'no co-op... at all' thing, and the extra levels are a nice bonus.

Though I still like Shock Troopers better.

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Well I'm glad I could get that one finally crossed off the list (again) and I'm sure you're all glad you've finally found the end of the page at last. Aside from all those comments below I mean. Speaking of comments, why not leave me one below? You could share your own opinions on the game, complain about the double height screenshots making you have to scroll down twice as far, or even say something about my site in general.