Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D (3DS) Review

Lets get this straight The Mercenaries 3D is a fantastic, exciting, fun, and addictive game. It has great visuals and controls and feels like a Mercs game should. This is pure shooter fun at its best plain and simple, so for anyone even thinking you'd get some story out of this clearly doesn't know what Mercenaries is.


Okay so the core game play from the consoles is found here and it works quite well even without another stick. Added is a quick heal button and the ability to move and shoot which can be helpful at latter stages of the game. The controls are tight and the ability to aim in first or third person is a welcome addition as some old school RE fans like the old over the shoulder view (myself included). The controls never feel sluggish and you won't get that feeling of loss without a controller. The touch screen is great for quick weapon swaps and handy maps for each level and when you play online or with a buddy it will show where they are on the map which is handy. I found myself enjoying the fluidity of the controls more so in this version then in the home console ones. There are eight mercs to tool around with (Chris, Claire, Jill, Chambers, Barry, Hunk, Krauser, and Wesker) and each handle fairly similarly with the only real difference is in their context moves. Which are satisfying to pull off (Barrys Miranda Rights comes to mind) and add another level of visual splendor to this game. Each merc has their own layout which and be bought with play coins and swapped with each other as you see fit. The guns all feel the same as they did in previous versions and do the good they are programed to do well. Though I'm quite fond of Krausers bow because it has infinite ammo and is stronger and fires faster then the pistols. In addition a new perk system is add which gives the player the option of assign any three of the over 20 perks available each being upgradable by three levels and each actually having worth. Its fun to tool around and swap in and out each perk to see what it does. The multiplayer option is here in full force (though only two player coop) its good and has very little lag, though only the EX missions offer a real challenge with two players.

Visually this game has got to be the best hands down, looking equally as good as anything you'll find on the big three. The eight playable characters are excellently rendered and the costumes are quite awesome especially the alternate ones. May favourite alternate costume would have to be Barry's is quite awesome and visually looks better then is default. The environment's are easily recognizable if you played RE 4 or 5 and with the addition of those respective enemies on each map make fighting on them more appealing. Explosions and gun fire looks just as good as it did in RE 5 and at times even surprised me at the visual's that the 3DS could process. Really there's nothing bad to say about the visuals in the game except that I wish there could have been a few more stages but that's not a big issue. The audio is good but can lag behind sometimes because of the tiny speakers on the 3DS, its not bad per say but it could have been improved quite a bit. On the other hand wearing headphones will solve this problem and right at the start the game tells you to wear them to fully experience the game. If Revelations looks this good (and it does) I think we should start seeing developers start to take a serious look and the true graphical potential of this console.

Just to wrap things up The Mercenaries 3D is a fun and addictive game that delivers on all fronts and while it doesn't have much else to offer it is a great game non the less and any RE fan who has a 3DS should pick up. Happy hunting and I'll see you on the Killing Floor.

Game 5/5

Visual 5/5

Audio 4/5

Multiplayer 5/5

Lasting Appeal 5/5

Overall 4.5/5

Got lots of things to review so here is the schedule I think I will work to:

BlazeBlu (3DS)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)