vita Killzone: Mercenary

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Do not have time to make an official topic, so this is more of a general the game has been released topic.

 

A few random screenshots...

 

 

 

 

I am definitely really digging it so far. Played the first two missions of the SP. Have yet to check out the MP besides the closed Beta a few weeks back, but that is where the game is supposed to truly shine.
Needless to say, the visuals are absolutely bonkers for a handheld.

While it is no doubt not breaking any ground at all when it comes to the FPS genre, it is an extremely competent FPS.

It is fun to play, the visuals are outstanding, and the controls are very well done.

 

Killzone: Mercenary - War Is Your Business Video

 

Killzone: Mercenary - Launch Trailer

 

Kotaku: Watch Us Play...Killzone Mercenary. It's Ender's Game Minus The Bugs

 

Metacritic Page

Critics - 78
Users - 9.5

 

Finally, some gifs courtesy of Neogaf OT thread...

 

 

Curious to see if anyone else picked it up, and if so, your impressions.

Hoping to get through the SP in a rather timely fashion so I can hop into MP (any cash earned in SP applies to MP).
Also hoping to get some good time with it before next Tuesday, as GTA V trumps absolutely everything else gaming wise.

 

Will end this by saying Mercenary is such an important game because if this game does not show there is absolutely great potential for the Vita itself, I am not sure what does. Even if people do not like the genre itself, the game helps show what is capable on the Vita.
Add in the fact the Vita supports remote play with the PS4 and it received a price drop, and the Vita is finally not looking like the absolute disaster it seemingly once was. 

[D. S. Veteran]

If the eventually end up doing the PS4 + Vita bundle they rumored, I'm certainly getting that and this game. It looks incredible for an handheld.

[Azies]

No matter how many units sold, the Vita is a damn gorgeous portable.

[0nyX]

Definitely buying this.

[JonnyLH]

Sometimes I wish gaming on the phone never got so big because dedicated handhelds are beautiful.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

i played the Multi Beta of this. the graphics were gorgeous. it was quite easy to get used to the controls. it felt natural, like using a Dualshock.

 

i'd like to get this game when it's much cheaper knowing the SP campaign is pretty short. i dont play multi anyway.

[_neutrino Veteran]

the beta was fun even though it was only one map that. but i could see myself playing it once the price comes down.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I really have to share the fact, now that I just completed Mission #9 of the SP, that I honestly cannot believe how much I am enjoying playing the SP. It may be the first FPS I do play multiple times in a very, very long time. One and only reason is they really did keep the hardware it is being played on perfectly in mind. Which really should not be surprising whatsoever considering the incredibly high quality of everything else.

Now some people have complained about this fact, but there are no actual real checkpoints in the missions. Meaning you cannot quit the game completely and fire it up and be where you last were within an individual mission. However keep in mind the Vita does have a resume feature, so it is more or less instantly on if you pause the system itself. No mission has really been longer than 60 minutes, and in fact some can be done in 20-30 minutes. So it is built in a way that is conducive to the pick up and play nature of a portable handheld. Forcing no mid mission saves means the player has to concentrate on each mission at a time. They have multiple objectives in each mission. I just finally checked my progress (which they also provide a very kick ass breakdown of all aspects of the game), and I have barely scratched the surface of things. There is still a ton to complete.

 

I also have not even touched MP, which is actually supposed to be the mode that the game really shines. I am really starting to think it is nothing short of awesome what they pulled off with the game. If a device as the Vita is going to constantly be said to be in competition with smartphones, than there is almost no reason at all one could not say this is easily the best mobile game ever made. With that said, I personally do not feel the Vita should be compared to phones or tablets, as it is just a dedicated gaming portable device. So with that in mind, the game is still very impressive indeed.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Very impressive visuals I have to say, and I'm certainly not a Vita fan lol. They look almost on par with KZ2 which I'm struggling to believe.

 

What are the sizes of SP/MP levels like?

[American Ninja]

This game is amazing. I love it.

[neoadorable]

thanks for the details Larry, and this game looks awesome. wish it was also on PS3, i can't afford to get a Vita at this point, though tempted! Maybe it'll come to PS4 later. how long is the campaign overall?

[Boxster17]

Sorry for the bump but anyone who owns a Vita owes it to themselves to give this a try if you enjoy shooters.  This game really is a blast to play and has not disappointed me in the least.  My friend and I have been having a lot of fun playing Warzone which is by far my favorite mode of them all (they also have Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch).    More times than not we've been stuck on opposite teams when we've partied up together, but we still enjoy chatting away in party chat while hunting each other down.

 

The maps vary quite a bit from big open landscapes (such as Inlet) though my personal favorite is probably still the beta map (Shoreline).  I find the Inlet map is basically a long rectangular shape and you often get a lot of snipers just parking themselves at either end of the map.  I prefer the ones that don't have those long line of sight opportunities, so as to encourage people to confront each other and move around the map (max 8 players for a game here so it's not like there's a ton of people).

 

I've played a few rounds of Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch though I find them nothing really special.  Warzone is where it truly shines, especially once you get a couple loadouts setup for the various modes (basically 5 rounds each with a unique objective).  My only gripe is that you still get people just running around and killing during the interrogation mission time rather than equipping an M2 pistol and using that (granted a lot of people have been getting better). 

 

I found the SP took me maybe 40-45mins per mission (9 in total), though if you wanted to just burn right through them you can do it in about half that time.  Once you beat the game on any difficulty you then unlock 3 different types of contracts for each mission (covert, precision and demolition).  So far I've put about 9hrs into the SP portion of the game and about another 5hrs into the MP.  While I did wish the SP portion had some sort of checkpoint system I'm able to deal with the lack thereof due to the instant resume feature of the Vita.

 

If anyone is ever looking for someone to play some MP matches with then feel free to add me on the PSN.

[neoadorable]

This game had me nearly buying a Vita, I mean I had the console in my hands at the store. But with two consoles coming up and life in general, couldn't justify it! Jealous!