Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (Nintendo 3DS)

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is not a typical Resident Evil title. It handily shrugs off the horror atmosphere of past titles for horror-themed action and combat. The Mercenaries 3D is essentially a full game version of the now classic Mercenaries mode found in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.

Gameplay

The Mercenaries 3 plays almost exactly like the Mercenaries modes of it’s console brethren. It is an action-oriented title where players can choose any of eight playable characters to shoot, explode, and melee their way through swarms of marauding enemies. The game is viewed from the over-the-shoulder style of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, switching to a zoomed view when targeting enemies. The zoomed view can be played in either third or first-person.

The gameplay is straightforward and simple: Kill as many enemies as possible within a time limit, or kill a required number of enemies before time runs out. Stages have individual settings, such as all being done in a set time limit, having a time limit that can be extended, defeating waves of enemies, or defeating a boss character. All enemies and stages are taken from and inspired by Resident Evil 4 and 5. There are thirty individual missions in all.

Features

The game features a variety of features to add some depth to the original experience. Most notable is the wide variety of Skills that can be applied to each character and upgraded. Each character can carry up to three different skills at one time, and they gain experience and improve as the game is played with them equipped. Skills such as being resistant to death, reloading guns faster, better use of medical supplies, and the like are peppered throughout the game. These are unlocked by playing through the regular game and accomplishing various tasks, such as building combos with kills.

There are also a wide variety of medals that can be earned through the game for completing various tasks. There are fifty medals that can be earned which range from simple “Clear all Missions for Level 1” to more challenge-focused elements like “Kill 3 enemies with 1 hand grenade” or “Clear a mission without ever missing a shot.”

There is a level of weapon customization and there are alternate costumes for all the usable characters as well. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is also playable in co-op both online and in local play.

Resident Evil: Revelations

Arguably the biggest added feature to the game is that is comes with a playable demo of the next main-line game for the Resident Evil series, which is called Resident Evil: Revelations and is geared towards the classic survival horror style of the franchise. The demo is brief, but intended to give players an idea that Capcom is interested in successfully combining the survival horror aspects of the original games with the refined gameplay from modern titles. The demo lasts for about 5 – 10 minutes depending on the player.