Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
In development Nintendo 3DS game, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, is a compilation of Mercenaries modes from the previous three Resident Evil games, but there’s one major change beyond the 3D visuals: you can now move and shoot.
Yes, the archaic gameplay mechanic is being updated for the 3DS. It will be possible to move while shooting, with the camera switching to first-person when a weapon is out.
“We needed to change the control system a great deal for the Nintendo 3DS,” said director Kazuhisa Inoue. “The touch screen is a really great input device, so we definitely want to get the most out of that we can.”
In previous Resi games Mercenaries was a bonus mode, but this has been expanded upon for the standalone experience.
“The Mercenaries mode was just bonus material up until now,” Resident Evil: Revelations director Koushi Nakanishi told Famitsu. “So a lot of gamers never even got around to playing them, I don’t think. You had to finish the main games to unlock them, which made them tough to access in the first place, and a lot of the challenges were pretty sadistically balanced besides.”
Another addition to the Mercenaries formula is fully customisable characters, which will gain abilities over time.
“You can give them skills and adjust their weaponry,” Inoue explained. “That lets you adjust them for your own play style while levelling up their skills. Each character has varying heal and defence abilities, and some skills let them unlock particular weapon features or defeat certain mid-bosses more easily. Taking advantage of these skills will make the game quicker to play and allow you to raise your characters’ levels more easily.”
Don’t expect any kind of story, either. Inoue says Mercenaries 3D is a “pure action game, so there is no story aspect to it at all”
The game’s said to be 70 per cent complete, but no firm release date has been confirmed.
Via 1UP
Mercenaries 3D looks to be the starter ahead of the main course which is RE: Revelations, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be up to much. We’re certainly interested to find out how the changed moving and shooting mechanic affects the action.
