First off let me start by saying I'm not one that generally posts reviews with in-depth details and analyzing in-depth, but I may try to go in-depth, so forgive me if I sound ever so noobish during this review, otherwise do enjoy it!
The Vita has been dying for an FPS Title that feels right at home and well created and crafted just for the Vita, and I can tell you straight off the bat that Killzone Mercenary has that feeling, it feels like every aspect of the Vita is used correctly, unless ofcourse you have hands as big as your feet, then you might find that using this console is hard for you, but if you're an average person with a general size of hands and feet, this game will feel amazing to you.
But that's not just all, the Graphical aspects of this game are simply astounding, you would not expect the Vita to pump out such detail, physics and such an immensely easy to jump into and play title such as this, but Killzone Mercenary does just that! But with everything that feels amazing, there is downside, there are some features and issues that I feel could be dealt with and/or put in too, but I'll get to that in my following analysis.
Gameplay:
If it's not obvious enough that I love this game as it is, I'm probably gonna make it a little more obvious now, the gameplay feels fluent and solid much like you'd expect from a Killzone game, but it has it's own feel, unlike that of Call of Duty with it's virtually airless movement, Killzone Mercenary feels weighted and enjoyable but with a slight learning curve as you must adapt to it. With that though the game isn't hard to learn at all, and you can jump right in and enjoy each mission and play through as there are a massive variety of things you can do!
On the single player portion of the game you have the obvious campaign and all be it slightly cheesy and cliche story line, it's still an enjoyable experience if you love Action and Twists (Although obvious) from a game. Once completed you have the option to go ahead and do Each Mission over again with the mode of Contracts, in this mode you are assigned objectives you must complete, which add more replay value overall to the game!
On the multiplayer portion of the game you are obviously offered the general Multiplayer Modes you've come to expect on most fps titles, aside from Warzone which adds a depth of more engaging fun rather then just a pointless aim, shoot and kill, this mode provides you with Objectives you must do in Multiplayer such as Hacking, Interrogating a opponent or the obvious TDM modes. But it complies it all into one match, doing each of which gaining you more points, and then allowing the team with the highest amount of point to win.
The fact that your money that is earned from each kill or virtually any objective/thing you do in MP and SP is also joint, and anything you purchase, MP or SP wise you're also able to use on both modes it a neat feature, allowing you to kill Offline or Online and still earn gives you that feel of Satisfaction and you also have a wide array of Weaponary, Killstreak (Vanguard in Killzone), Armor or Explosives gives you all the more reason to work towards getting that extra bit of dough to have the upper hand on your opponent.
All in all, it boasts solid game play, although a few missing social features I feel could have been integrated for a better experience, such as In-Game Voice Chat (Excluding using party chat) or Text Chat, the inclusion of ping bar/meter, an easier to access leaderboard that doesn't leave you frozen in the midst of a game and also access to social features outside the game without making you leave the game.
Graphics:
I for one was simply astounded when I first opened and play this game, it was mind boggling to me that such a small device could pull of near PS3 graphics and still keep such stability fluent gameplay. With the obvious sacrifices in lowered textures, the game still has amazing graphical capabilities, from each brutally detailed melee kill to just the general character models and even the weapons and environment itself, the game looks astounding on a mobile device, and also plays like it too, I see nothing that I can complain about in this section of the review, all I can do is simple praise Gurilla for the astounding work they've done on it.
Storyline:
I can honestly say that I am not sure where Killzone Mercenary takes place in the Killzone Universe due to not having player Killzone 3 and kinda unable to remember Killzone 2, but the game's story isn't too spectacular, although engaging at some times, it feels like a bit of a chore to go in, do the same thing over and over, and get back out. It has a little bit of a mixed variety but all in all, it feels slightly lacking in the department. Very enjoyable overall none the less and with the addition of Contracts, enjoyable even more!
Overall:
I feel that this is one of the finest masterpieces that the Vita has offered, and if a sequel is made, I would gladly purchase it. This game is overall an amazing experience to both Play, Feel and just See in the palms of both your hands, there is no other way to put it then simply amazing, especially amazing when you're taking a crap and you're in awe that you're actually playing such a masterpiece you'd expect on your Console rather then a Handheld!
Overall score: 9.5/10.
In August, online servers for several PlayStation games will shut down, leaving their multiplayer functions unplayable.
whrere on earth is the next killzone, im soooOOO thirsty for some proper weighted, (but still fast when running/sprinting) fps gamplay, it felt sooso so good on ps3, with that, lets be honest, very small, quite uncomfortable sixaxis dualshock controller, that was just too small for western sized hands, ok for japanese kids i suppose was the point>??
now with PS5 controller, it would be totally masterfull.
I wish Sony didn’t abandon Resistance and Killzone. Those are some of my favorite series on PlayStation. If they’re not gonna make anymore, then maybe a remastered collection of each could be negotiated.
So many fond memories of both Shadowfall and Mercenaries Vita online! Shadowfall's SP may have been weak, but the MP was still a ton of fun. I had a lot of time in both, and it's especially tough seeing the Vita's best mp experience get shut down.
RIP my old friends.
Over the weekend reports of the multiplayer servers for Killzone Mercenary had been shut down by Sony came out. However, usually when Sony is going to shut down the servers of a game the company puts out an announcement through its game servers site, but it seemed that Killzone Mercenary’s multiplayer servers had been turned off with no notice to players, and it was not listed on the list on Sony’s server shutdown site.
Sony's *usually* good with providing notice way ahead of time for stuff like this. Still, I'm always surprised to fire up Mercenary and find people in surplus.
What but but Sony is the baddest they turn off without notice where are all those with fake anger haha
I never got to play this game because I didn't have a vita I wish it was playable on ps3
"PlayStation has quietly shut down the servers of one of its games with no warning. More specifically, if you're wondering why you can no longer play an online match of Killzone: Mercenary on PlayStation Vita, it's because servers have been shut down. Reports of the servers being turned off began to flood in this morning, and we've since confirmed with PlayStation Support that the servers have indeed been shut off."
That's why I got rid of my Vita because Sony stop supporting it especially with first party titles. I love their home consoles but I won't buy another handheld from Sony seeing how they treated the Vita.
hmmmm....the fact that the kill the last person who was using the vita and the killing of a server of a ps vita game. Could PSP successor be announced soon?
Could always just be a mistake and they will come back. Sony normally gives a heads up
I completely agree. This is the game that killzone 3 should have been - its awesome.
I'm loving it so far, multiplayer in particular. To have an online FPS of this quality on Vita is really, really great!
Nice review, I really like your layout it's nice and easy to read.
Also..."especially amazing when you're taking a crap and you're in awe that you're actually playing such a masterpiece" that's me sold! :D
Sinking so much time into this game. Took an hour to get used to the feel of the vita in my hands, but damn this game is addictive.
I bought Puppeteer, Kingdom Hearts remix and Kz Merc, guess which was has my complete attention!? Yes Kz merc is so much fun sp and mp wise and can stand toe to toe with almost any full fledged console fps in terms of graphics and fun factor!!!!