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The main play area of Mercenary is centred on
the planet Targ, a world containing two races at war.
The original inhabitants of Targ were the Palyars, a
peaceful sentient species who led a contented existence
until the arrival of the Mechanoids. Mechanoids are
strange creatures in that they are not organically based
and are an alien race of robots. Because of their warlike
nature, the Mechanoids soon defeated the Palyars and
are currently the dominant race on Targ. Most of the
planet is a barren wasteland, the only major centre
of population being a huge metropolis that at first
appearance looks very sparse indeed. There are highways
and roads linking the odd interesting structures, but
most of the actual city is housed underground, forming
a complicated subterranean complex of tunnels and caverns.
This city is now in Mechanoid control.
The
Palyars are not completely defeated though. The Palyar
War Council and the majority of their population live
in a colony craft that hovers high above the city. Though
a few pockets of resistance still exist on the planet,
they are easily controlled by the Mechanoids.
You
enter the scenario when, through a mechanical fault,
your ship Prestinium crashes on Targ. The role
to be played is that of a 21st century soldier of fortune,
a mercenary through and through. Since the Prestinium
is damaged beyond repair, a new ship powerful enough
to leave Targ must be found. The trouble is acquiring
such a transport -- ships like that cost money and your
pockets aren't exactly jingling. What you do have, though,
is Benson, a ninth generation personal computer. He
acts as your interface with the outside world, providing
a 3D vector interpretation of the scene around you plus
navigational information. Once on Targ, Benson relays
the minimal amount of information in his data banks.
The
main appeal of Mercenary is that there are various
ways of achieving the end goal. The most obvious is
to act as a freelance fighter for either Mechanoid or
Palyar. Reaping the rewards of such a role it should
be quite simple to get enough money for a ship to take
you off planet. If this is the role you want to play,
then you'll need a craft of some sort to get around
the planet. Such a ship is located close to the crash
site. Benson relays a message asking if you'd like to
buy the ship. Mercenary plays just like the real
world and instead of buying the ship you may choose
to steal it, risking any retaliation from the vendor.
On screen there's the head up display fed to the monitor
from Benson. When the program boots up, the game has
you sitting in space, with a starfield in front of you.
Benson activates the ship's Novadrive, but after a few
seconds thrusting, a malfunction develops. The Prestinium
still has considerable forward momentum and when a planet
looms into view even maximum reverse thrust isn't enough
to stop the ship from crash landing. Once crashed, you
are given full manual control. Everything is shown in
vector graphics, with the ground and sky filled in green
and blue respectively. Along the screen's base is a
control panel that shows your compass bearing plus elevation.
A small window is also present for relaying any of Benson's
comments to you. Using the joystick, it's possible to
move around in the fundamental eight directions (the
keyboard is used to quite a large extent as well). The
outside view updates as you move, in true perspective.
To
steal the ship, just walk over to it and press B for
'Board'. Once in control of a craft, the joystick function
changes considerably. Left and right rotate the craft
around its centre, while up and down tip or dip the
ship's stern. The keys one to zero along the top of
the keyboard control the machine's engines, with zero
delivering the greatest thrust. Once inside an aircraft,
just thrust off in the direction you wish to travel,
then pull up. Landing requires a small angle of approach
and a relatively slow velocity. Once on the ground and
not moving, L for 'Leave' puts you back onto the ground
to walk around once more. Pressing shift in conjunction
with one of the thrust keys, a negative power boost
is supplied.
On
the bottom control panel is also a grid counter showing
your position on the planet. The first message received
instructs you to make your way to location 9,6 and then
get to the conference room. At 9,6 there's a hanger
(these allow you to enter the subterranean city through
an elevator contained in them). The whole ship can be
brought through the elevator; all you have to do is
position yourself in the middle of the hangar and press
E to activate the lift ('Elevator')?
Once
inside the city, it's necessary to walk about rather
than use the ship. From the main hangar a number of
corridors branch off into the metropolis. Each corridor
has a door at either end and to walk through one, just
walk headfirst into it. Most doors are oblongs, but
a few are differently shaped. Trying to bump your way
through one of those doors results in the message LOCKED
flipping across your scanner. A key takes the form of
a large three-dimensional object in the same basic shape
as the door it opens. When collecting a key, P is used
to pick up and D for dropping. This applies to all the
objects that may be found around the place. Mind you,
only ten objects can be carried at once.
Once
you get to the conference room, a message from the Palyars
is relayed via Benson. They say that the delivery of
certain Mechanoid items to the Palyar colony craft will
result in a hefty cash reward from them. Also they say
that a 'very special gratitude' will be awarded if all
traces of Mechanoid occupation are removed from the
planet.
Getting
up to the colony craft isn't that easy, as most of the
craft found on the surface aren't powerful enough to
reach the Palyars' fortress in the sky. The ship that
can reach it is carefully hidden. An alternative route
to the city is by finding some way of boosting your
own ship's power with the correct piece of equipment.
Getting to the colony craft is only half the problem,
since a key is also needed to enter. Various items when
placed in certain rooms result in financial gain. The
most rewarding act is to deliver the leader of the Mechanoids
to the Palyar debriefing room. If enough credits are
accumulated then a Novadrive ship can be hired from
Hertz spaceship hire, but it's still a case of being
in the right place at the right time. This isn't the
only way of completing Mercenary; there are three
in total, but the other two are a bit of a mystery.
Throughout
the game there are a number of amusing aspects, including
a Commodore sign and an Atari one. A congratulatory
message appears on shooting the Atari sign but Benson
calls you a traitor for knocking out the Commodore sign.
Also in the city is a huge billboard with Encounter
written on it: 'You have just destroyed ... the authors
advert ... from now on ... things will be ... even tougher',
you are informed on its destruction. Mercenary
does seem to include everything, even a kitchen sink,
which can be found in the colony craft.
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