Of course it will be quite some time before the PlayStation 4 launch titles take center stage for WeView, so in the limelight for you this week is Killzone: Mercenary, which ties in quite nicely with the release of Shadow Fall, but is this the first person shooter the PS Vita deserves?
The game boasts a Metacritic score of 78 which makes it easily the highest scoring FPS on the Vita, where previous attempts were just poor, but it’s also one which divided opinion in reviews. It is without doubt a technical and graphical marvel on the handheld, with sumptuous visuals provided by the Killzone engine, ported over from the PS3 releases.
It sets you as Arran Danner, a mercenary for hire, fighting on both side of the Vektan-Helghan war. Every action you take earns you money, with which to buy new weapons and equipment, as you go on more covert and dangerous missions, rather than risking the regular frontline troops.
In terms of gameplay, it’s a solid shooter, which brings across much of the weighty feel and stylings that the Killzone games are renowned for. In addition to that familiar formula, it adds in some ties to the touchscreen controls which the Vita is capable of, with special VAN-Guard weapons and melee QTEs making use of them quite regularly. The VAN-Guard also sees an outing in the multiplayer, which brings a smaller scale 4v4 arena of battle to the handheld, while evolving and tweaking the rough Warzone formula which is at the heart of the home console games to accomodate the handheld game’s differences.
However it did draw flak in many reviews for being little more than a run-of-the-mill shooter. Solid game mechanics tied to a fairly straight forward plot, but nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing that really breaks beyond the familiar FPS formula.
In his review, Blair does raise an important point, though:
So, while Mercenary might not be the best shooter in the world, in its own field – as a handheld title – it’s almost perfect; there’s no other experience like this on a device as small as this. And, judging the game from that perspective, it’s an experience that will stick with you for a long time, much like GoldenEye, Call of Duty 4 and other revolutionary shooters have managed in the past, and one entirely worthy of its acclaim.
It’s for this reason, that the game is able to go toe to toe with those on more established platforms, that he awarded it an exceptional 10/10.
But now it’s time to hand over to you, and see what you think. Put down your thoughts in the comments section, and be sure to give the game either a Buy It, Sale It, Plus It or Avoid It rating. Get your thoughts in by Sunday evening and we’ll collate them in Monday’s verdict article.
Tuffcub
Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It Awesome Buy It
leeroye
What he said.
Best game on the Hand held by far. To really get an idea of how good this game is i suggest you play Resistance and then play this straight after, the difference in quality in all aspects of the game is clear to see.
I think the game has been unfairly criticised as its been compared to console shooters on the big screen. As your review said, judge it on its own merits as a HANDHELD game and nothing beats it.
leeroye
Buy it
MuggleMind
Worth getting then, Tuffcub?
tonycawley
Can I retweet this? Buy it.
Youles
Brilliant game – the controls, visuals, sound, levels, the Black Jack loadout system, even the multiplayer. Following the recent TSA article it looks like it’s also going to have some great retrospective support – although there has been some major connection problems for some people, who haven’t been able to access multiplayer.
My only criticisms are probably the annoyingly long level loading times (but you can’t really grumble since it works brilliantly afterwards), the few MP maps, and the contracts did get a bit repetitive.
Youles
..Buy it!
cam_manutd
This is an example of a console quality game on a handheld-that is great for some and not so good as it comes with its own pitfalls.
The game is a visual feast broken down into sizeable missions which are manageable depending on difficulty-veteran may take longer. The controls work really well and unlike Resistance Burning Skies are extremely smooth, crisp. Once the campaign is done, you can go back to do them in strict conditions such as timed, stealth etc.
Multiplayer is also a lotta fun despite at the start the game being near broken for connection issues. Despite the small player count online, the game does really well in respawning players back into the action to keep the pace. So rather than get a few kills, you could easily get 30 kills per game.
I would recommend this to every Vita owner out there. Its fun, sharp, great multiplayer and the best handheld fps made by some distance.
Got it at launch for £25-do yourself a favour and buy it.
MuggleMind
For Christmas, got both my grandsons vitas and this, and my wife has got me this game. So I now what we’ll be playing when we give them their presents. *posts advert “looking for last team member while recovering from Christmas diner!”* :)
MuggleMind
correction: “So I know…”
wonkey-willy
just started replaying this even though ive had it for about 2 months.
i couldn’t get on with the controls at first.
but as mentioned graphically, it looks awesome.
now that i have adjusted to playing the vita i am slowly cracking on with killzone mercenary.
definitely worth worth picking up.
buy it!
BLAGGER
Buy it! I felt it was much better than KZ3!
mrfodder
Great game and online worked well. Unfortunately my vita gets most use during the commute and the trains wifi is crap. Really enjoyed the single player and keep meaning to go back for another play through. Controls are crisp and easy to use. It looks great. Buy it.
Eldur
In my opinions, Killzone: Mercenary is one of the best showcases for the (so-far) underutilised power of the Vita. Excellent visual design, solid controls and a fun (if slightly shallow) story make this a very competent FPS and a real achievement given it’s on a handheld. I wish there was a little more depth to the single player environment, although the ‘Contracts’ mode gives some incentive to replay. For me the multiplayer is fine, fun in short bursts (and therefore appropriate for a portable device), but is again lacking in bite.
What’s most exciting, for me at least, is the thought that Guerrilla Cambridge might be working on a sequel. If they manage to build on the base that they’ve developed with their first iteration, then Mercenary could become a very promising franchise indeed.
Avenger
Killzone Mercenary answered every criticism of every previous Vita game making itself perfect. It was at native resolution, featured full single player and multi-player modes, and it looked gorgeous and played smoothly. As for everything else in the game, well it was everything that made Killzone, and it was in the palm of your hands. BUY IT! NOW!
Blair summed it all up perfectly too. Suffice to say I’ll be keeping Killzone Mercs for a very long time.
matthangzhou
I don’t own it but i’m looking to purchase it as soon as i’ve completed Shadow Fall. Very interested to read my fellow TSAers inputs on this. Surprised that the metacritic score is so low to be honest.