Mercenary (video game)

Last updated

Mercenary
Mercenary amstrad version cover.jpg
Developer(s) Novagen
Designer(s) Paul Woakes
Bruce Jordan
Artist(s) Peter Gudynas
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 16/116/Plus/4
Release1985
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Mercenary is a 3D action-adventure game written for the Atari 8-bit computers and published by Novagen Software in 1985. It was converted to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 16/116/Plus/4. The game uses vector graphics renderings of vast, sparse environments and has various methods of completing the game. It was also released as Mercenary: Escape from Targ and Mercenary: A Flight Simulator Adventure.

Contents

Mercenary was favourably reviewed and followed by two sequels: Damocles and Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis.

Plot

Having crash-landed on the planet Targ (en route to the Gamma System of Damocles), the player's main objective is to find a means of escape. [1] There are several ways to achieve this end. A civil war between two factions, the Palyars (indigenous "good guys") and the Mechanoids (invading "bad guys"), affords the player an opportunity to earn money to buy their escape from Targ.

The player is accompanied and advised by Benson, a "9th generation PC". This interaction is handled via a scrolling news ticker at the bottom of the display. As well as providing assistance to the player, much of the humour within the games comes from the occasional sarcastic remarks made by Benson. [2]

Gameplay

Bosher stadium (Atari ST) Mercenary pic 2.gif
Bosher stadium (Atari ST)

The player explores a world rendered in realtime 3D graphics, completing a number of non-linear tasks in order to achieve a single main objective. The title of the series derives from the player's role in carrying out tasks as a "hired gun". The player is able to play the warring factions off against one another to their own advantage. For instance, each faction seeks the destruction of installations belonging to its rival, and the capture of material or other resources to support their cause. There are other routes to escape, and it is possible to combine strategies to both leave Targ and keep the wealth accrued there.

Mercenary: The Second City

Scenery from The Second City (Atari 8-bit) Mercenary-the-second-city-on-atari-800-FAIR-USE.jpg
Scenery from The Second City (Atari 8-bit)

Mercenary: The Second City, released in 1986, is an expansion pack. Initially its major distinction is the new colour scheme, representing the other side of the planet. The ground is now red rather than the original green, and the sky is no longer blue. Instead, it is pink in the Amiga and Atari (8-bit and ST) versions, [3] [4] dark blue on the Commodore 8-bit platforms (C64 and Plus/4) [5] [6] and yellow on the ZX Spectrum. [7]

However, after a similar objective, the substantive differences reveal themselves subtly: there is a different city layout, a more intricate underground complex, a new set of puzzles to overcome and several significant changes with game objects.

Reception

Mercenary received strong positive reviews from gaming magazines across all platforms, with the original Mercenary receiving a Gold Medal from Zzap!64 magazine. [9] [12] RUN reviewer Bob Sodaro noted the replay value of Mercenary for the Commodore 64, writing: "Prior to marking up the maps [included with the game], you should make a number of photocopies so you'll have clean copies when playing subsequent adventures". [10] Antic also advised making copies of the map and taking notes. It described the game's size and Atari 8-bit version's graphics as "awesome", but warned that a colour display was required. The magazine concluded that "Mercenary's video effects make it a good game overall. But if you aren't in the right place to pick up the clues, you'll get nowhere". [13]

The ZX Spectrum version of Mercenary was voted number 15 in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time. [14] In 1993, Commodore Force ranked the game at number six on its list of the top 100 Commodore 64 games. [15] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the Commodore 64 version 33rd on their "Top 100 Games of All Time". [16]

Steve Jarratt, editor of Edge , listed Mercenary as one of his favorite games of all time and the game was ranked 67th in the magazine's list of top 100 games in 2000. [17]

Legacy

Damocles

Damocles (also advertised as Mercenary II) is the second game in the series. It was released on the Atari ST and Amiga platforms in 1990. Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions were in development but cancelled. Damocles represents the game environment using filled polygon graphics. Two mission disks were released.

Mercenary III

Mercenary III (also known as Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis or Damocles II) is the third game in the series. It was released on the Atari ST and Amiga in 1992. This time the roads of the various cities are populated by vehicles such as taxis and buses. Observation and attack spacecraft are present in the skies. Interaction with other characters is possible to a limited degree.

Re-releases

Mercenary and The Second City were later combined into the Mercenary Compendium. [4]

In the 2000s, the three games were ported to Microsoft Windows. It was distributed with the agreement of the former Novagen team. [18] The program, called MDDClone (Mercenary, Damocles, Dion crisis Clone) is freeware, includes all three games, selectable through a drop-down list. The graphics and gameplay are identical to the Atari ST version, with the additional option to fix some bugs that were originally present.

Another port, focusing on the first game, was released in 2010. Called MDDClone-SDL, this offers support for higher resolutions and texture mapping. Versions for Windows, OSX, Linux and FreeBSD are available. [19]

In 2018, an open source port of Damocles and Mercenary III was released. Called Mercenary Reloaded, this port offers support for higher resolutions, a higher frame rate with smoother movements, virtual reality as per the specifications of the Oculus Rift head-mounted display, and a separate side-by-side stereoscopic mode. [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Wizball</i> 1987 video game

Wizball is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and later in the year for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST were released in the following year. Wizball was also ported to IBM PC compatibles and the Thomson MO5.

Novagen Software Ltd was a British software developer which released a number of computer games on a variety of platforms from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.

<i>Stunt Car Racer</i> 1989 video game

Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in the United States, respectively. The game pits two racers on an elevated track on which they race in a head-to-head competition, with ramps they must correctly drive off as the main obstacle.

<i>International Karate +</i> 1987 video game

International Karate +, stylized as IK+, is a fighting game written by Archer Maclean and published in 1987 by System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. It is a successor to International Karate (1985). Activision published the Commodore 64 version in the US as Chop N' Drop.

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<i>Winter Games</i> 1985 video game

Winter Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx, based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.

<i>Warhawk</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Warhawk is a vertically scrolling shooter published in 1986 by Firebird software. It was released for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST.

<i>Black Lamp</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Black Lamp is a platform game, originally published by Firebird Software for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers in 1988, and later published by Atari Corporation for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1989.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

Beverly Hills Cop is a video game developed by Tynesoft and published in 1990. The story is loosely based on the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop. The player controls Axel Foley in four distinct sub-games: a side-scrolling action game, a driving game, an overhead view shooter, and a first person shooter. The game was released on Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. The BBC version only contains the driving game.

<i>Encounter!</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Encounter! is a first person shoot 'em up video game released in 1983 for Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 programmed by Paul Woakes for Novagen Software. It was published by Novagen in the UK and Europe and by Synapse Software in North America. The gameplay is similar to that of Atari, Inc.'s 1980 arcade game Battlezone, but with large, sometimes screen-filling, scaled bitmaps instead of wireframe models.

<i>Damocles</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Damocles is a video game developed by Novagen in 1990. It is the second game in the Mercenary series.

<i>The Real Ghostbusters</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Ninja</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Ninja is a beat 'em up game developed by Sculptured Software and released by Mastertronic in 1986 for the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum, then in 1987 for the Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. An arcade version of the game was released in 1987 for Mastertronic's Arcadia Systems which is based on Amiga hardware. The Amiga, Atari ST, and Arcade versions were released as Ninja Mission. As a Ninja, the player attacks a fortress made of individual fixed screens which can be explored non-linearly.

<i>The Flintstones</i> (1988 video game) 1988 video game

The Flintstones is a 1988 video game based on the 1960s television series The Flintstones. The game was developed by Teque Software Development and published by Grandslam Entertainments. The game was released in Europe in 1988, for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. A version for the Sega Master System was released in 1991.

<i>Steve Davis Snooker</i> 1984 video game

Steve Davis Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed and published by CDS Software in 1984. The budget release published by Blue Ribbon Software reached the top of the UK charts in May 1988. Steve Davis Snooker simulates the cue sport snooker. Released under licence from 6-time Snooker World Champion, Steve Davis.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>The Running Man</i> (video game) 1989 video game

The Running Man is a 1989 beat 'em up video game based on the 1987 film of the same name. It was developed by Emerald Software and published by Grandslam Entertainments for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

<i>Pink Panther</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.

<i>Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo is a 1991 platform game developed by British studio PAL Developments and published by Hi-Tec. It is part of the Scooby-Doo franchise, and was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game received praise for its graphics.

References

  1. ↑ Coles, Tony (15 June 2014). "Mercenary retrospective". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "Damocles Amiga review". CU Amiga . November 1989. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "Atari 400 800 XL XE Mercenary – The Second City: scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms". Atarimania.com. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Atari ST Mercenary – Compendium Edition: scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms". Atarimania.com. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "gamebase64.com – The Gamebase Collection". Gb64.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Mercenary Compendium" . Retrieved 16 February 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Mercenary: The Second City". World of Spectrum. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Mercenary ZX Spectrum review". Crash (44). 1987.
  9. 1 2 3 "Mercenary Commodore 64 review". Zzap!64 (11). 1986.
  10. 1 2 Sodaro, Bob (April 1987). "Mercenary review". RUN . 4 (4). Peterborough, NH: CW Communications/Peterborough: 24. ISSN   0741-4285. OCLC   10151803.
  11. ↑ "Mercenary Commodore Amiga review". CU Amiga . March 1988. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007.
  12. 1 2 "The Zzap!64 ratings and labels". Zzap!64 .
  13. ↑ Pearlman, Gregg (April 1987). "Mercenary". Antic.
  14. ↑ "Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair. September 1993.
  15. ↑ "Top Ton!". Commodore Force. Autumn 1993. p. 33. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 77. July 1996.
  17. ↑ Edge 2000, pp. 54, 58.
  18. ↑ "Mercenary site, MDDClone section". Simon Guyart. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  19. ↑ "MDDClone-SDL page". Szymon Ender. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Mercenary Reloaded". Andreas Eversberg. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.