Mercenary: Escape from Targ (Atari ST) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 130
21Nothing but blue skies and green fields... seriously... nothing but that... where is anything else?!
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EACH of the video games in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, and are not meant to be definitive, in depth reviews; this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey itself. From Mario games to the Halo series, from arcade games to Commodore 64, PC games to the NES and Sega Genesis, Playstation to the Xbox, let's play those classic retro games that we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
Mercenary: Escape from Targ
Released 1985
Developer(s) Novagen
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore (various)
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Jay's Thoughts
In Mercenary you play as a spaceman who's crash landed on an alien world and sets off to explore said world. The game itself sounds pretty impressive. It was an early example of open-ended gameplay, allowing the player to explore the world on their own terms. The game featured 3D graphics and non-linear gameplay, and allowed you to roam around on foot, and explore a series of underground compounds beneath the surface of the planet, or fly around in a ship, engaging in battle and encountering large 3D structures. The player can work as a hired gun for factions on the planet, find shops, and generally engage in a variety of other (albeit limited) activities.
Now as impressive as all of this sounds, I was unfortunately disappointed by Mercenary. Certainly, the components described are in the game, but the technology of 1985 was just very limited. Instead of a sprawling, live planet to explore, the planet is largely just empty, beyond for a couple of structures. Instead of a foreboding series of underground compounds to explore, you'll find yourself walking down long endless hallways of pretty much nothing. Indeed, finding a store or bank is usually no more exciting than walking into an empty room that is labeled as a bank in your status bar below.
Ultimately, Mercenary may be a game that helped influence many games to come, and indeed introduce many concepts of open-world gameplay to other developers. However, the specific implementation of all this in Mercenary, these days, is rather boring and tedious, and honestly, this is not a game I could see anyone enjoying, unless indeed this is a classic you grew up with, and this game fills you with nostalgia. If that's not you, then no need to play Mercenary.
➙ Must You Play It?
Mercenary was a pretty revolutionary game when it came out, allowing you to freely explore a planet with 3d structures, engage in combat, find stores where you could buy new items, and explore an entire underground facility! Unfortunately, the game does not hold up. The graphics are incredibly sparse meaning you not only need a lot of imagination to enjoy this game but its incredibly easy to get lost. Though the world was complex for its time, its barren by today's standards. A notable game for its contribution to future game mechanics, but a game best left unplayed these days.