JBoc924In today’s installment of ‘reHorror’ I’m going to be looking at Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. You can expect future installments of this feature in the days to come to also focus on the just-released 3DS exclusive. What you’re going to read below isn’t meant to be taken as our official review of the game. We do have an official review coming soon for you guys, though. This article is just me sharing my personal opinion of the game. I just wanted to make that clear. So, without further delay, here’s what I think about Mercs 3D.
I’m still working through the game but so far what I have played has been nothing but pure fun. I did have a hard time going through the early tutorial missions, though, but that’s only because they were just so dull. Don’t get me wrong, those early missions are good for those uninitiated with the Mercs modes found in Resident Evils 3-5, but for someone who has already played the hell out of those modes, it just seems pointless. Speaking of pointless, don’t even get me started on the whole “inability to erase saved files” fiasco, I’ll save that discussion for another day. Let’s stay on track, now, shall we?
So far I’ve played through a few of the maps from Resident Evil 4 and 5’s Mercs modes, a few times as well. That’s because of two reasons: the first being that the game’s missions actually takes you through the same levels a few times and the second being because some levels I’m just really fond of, so I replay them often trying to best my previous score. You’ll be constantly trying to beat your own high score because Mercs 3D is quite addictive, even moreso when you’re playing online.
I was, unfortunately, met with a few error codes my first time trying to get into an online match, but once I was in one I wasn’t even met with any lag whatsoever (despite what the reviews out there may have you believe). Up to this point, my best experience online came when me and another user were playing the game’s take on a “wave mode”. In this mission I was on the ship deck from Resident Evil 5 and the objective was to survive the incoming waves, each one increasing in difficulty as you cleared them. Wave 1 started with just 5 enemies needing to be eliminated then Wave 20, which was as far as we got, pit us against 15 foes that included a pair of chainsaw freaks and good ol’ JJ. Yeah, good times.
Before I conclude today’s installment I have to talk to you guys about the 3D effects in the game. This is one of those few 3DS titles in which I can actually see what’s going on in the screen when the 3D is set to the maximum level, in other games it just becomes a blurry mess (followed by a headache). Having said that, the 3D isn’t exactly perfect. You do get some nice depth with the 3D turned on but that’s really all there is. Another neat thing is when you aim your weapon (in first person mode) and you can actually see your fire-arm sticking out of the screen a bit. It’s not the best 3D the system could offer but chances are most of you will be playing it with the feature turned off anywway.
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Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a solid debut for the franchise on Nintendo’s glasses-free 3D handheld but it’s in no way one that will appeal to those expecting an “actual” Resident Evil game. So those going into this game expecting something like the classic Resident Evil titles are going to be vastly dissappointed. But hey, it’s extremely addictive and you’ll most likely spend hours upon hours trying to get the highest scores possible, whether online or off. And if you do want a taste of classic Resident Evil then you’ll be happy to know that the game comes with a, very short, demo for next year’s Resident Evil: Revelations. In the end, Mercs 3D is a welcome addition to the 3DS’ library and you should definitely check it out if you’re a fan of the franchise. Stay tuned for our official review soon!
