Looking Into Mercenary Online

When it comes to online shooters, there are a ton of titles out there that labels itself as the action-packed shooter you are looking for. It’s rare to find non-robot, non-futuristic third person shooters in the market with the Korean developed Gunz as the globally recognized Online TPS as of now.

With the game just a few months shy from it’s anniversary, we decided to look into the lesser carpal tunnel syndrome inducing Online TPS (looking at you Gunz) and see how the game has fared since it’s Q4 release.

A little History didn’t hurt anybody…

So What is Mercenary Online? According to it’s site description:

Mercenary Online is an action packed, multiplayer, PC, Third Person shooter game. You can either compete head to head in 8 on 8 battles across various game modes or go on intense co-op missions that culminate in epic boss fights.

Unlike most shooter titles, Merc Online isn’t just your typical, your squad-against-my squad type of shooter. With the incorporation of  co-op missions, there’s a new dimension to the things you can do/enjoy in-game.

The game runs on the Unreal Engine, so expect the game to look better than most recent shooters out there, and was developed by Yingpei games (formerly known as Epic Games China, YES EPIC GAMES).

The game was released way back in 2012 with it’s preview event by the people of Massive Gaming. In turn, Massive Gaming is run by people who have established names within the local gaming scene through other local distributors and have decided to make their own company here. As a reminder, here’s the trailer video that was shown to us back then:

Game Features

So here’s a quick rundown of the game features:

Customization features – the game does not have a designated class for it’s players. You get to pick what kind of player will you be to the team by the weapons you equip on your primary (2 slots open) and side arm slots. Aside from purchasing the weapons itself, you also have the capacity to “tweak” your weapons to further improve it’s capabilities.

Various Game Modes – Merc Online has a ton of game modes that is segragated into two types, the co-op missions and the competitive maps, they are further separated into various categories which are namely:

CO-OP MISSIONS

• Assault (5 players)
Push forward with a team in objective-based missions to gain access to equipment and upgrades. Fight against ruthless enemies that become more challenging behind every door, drawing the player closer to the epic battle at the end of their assault.

• Survival (5 players)
Battle for survival by fending off seemingly endless waves of attacking zombies and other walking dead species. Prepare for the horrors that lie ahead by repairing defenses and earning points to unlock the weapons as well as ammunition needed to survive.
• Invasion (8 Players)
Take on waves of the enemy horde as they push forward in a path of destruction. Use time wisely and make shots count against deadly AI-controlled foes and mini-bosses to earn in-game currency.

COMPETITIVE

• Team Deathmatch (8 v 8)
Compete in a kill-based match-up across changing combat zones. In this fast-paced, tactical team battle, triumph over the opposition and earn a place at the top of leader board.

• Demolition (8 v 8)
Engage in an objective-based struggle of destruction by working with a team of conspiring mercenaries to seek and destroy a targeted bomb site. Defend against the opposing force by finding and defusing their bomb, or eliminate the threat altogether to claim victory.

• Elimination (8 v 8)
Take up arms against another team of opposing mercenaries in a tactical bout to determine the victor. When the only thing that matters is obliterating the enemy, even the smallest mistake can be grounds for defeat in this high stakes, elimination-based competition.

And you have to consider that the above mentioned game modes are just the tip of the iceberg. The game keeps on being updated with new game modes being added on almost patch update, one example is the recently included mech wars game mode:

Or the treasure mode:

Cash Shop System – Of course for an F2P system expect that the game has an in-game micro cash system. You can buy not only powerful time locked weapons (the permanent ones can be found on their top-up site) but also cosmetic items that can set your character apart from other players.

So…

So basically there you have it. If you are looking for a change of pace (or perspective) in a shooter, why not try out Mercenary Online and join the thousands of players currently logging in? Considering the local shooter market, it would seem that Merc Online is the first of it’s kind here in the Philppines. If you’d like to know more about the game here are some of the important links:

• Main Website
• Fanpage

And here’s the complete list of GM fanpages:

• Wangki
• Zea
• Max
• Ellwe
• Verlock
• Nanuk
• Sandman
• Zodiac
• Reia
• Rhaine
• Miel