Mercenary Skirmish

[h1] Mercenary Skirmish Review[/h1] [i]Thank you very much for releasing this for us to play for free on Steam![/i] This game was a bubble of confusion when I first decided to click the download button, it gives no clear indication of what to expect, what to do or even how to start playing. I was certainly having mixed feelings about whether I wanted to continue to see what this was about. Over the course of a few hours, I have to say for a small indie title, I was quite happy with it. Mercenary Skirmish features two game-modes currently which can be played with your friends or if by chance you don't have any, the timesplitters-esque NPC bots will be happy to join you in combat. TvT is a single map in which I have to say I still don't quite know what I was supposed to do in which two teams of warriors,mages, archers and supports fight it out in a small battleground with two portals at either end. Chests are scattered amongst the ruins which contain various upgrades for your character and its essential you get to them first to be the winner. As described by the Developer, there is a very heavy focus on the character development and the stats, upgrades and skill trees are very in-depth so choose wisely for the best results. Gold is earnt throughout the rounds as you fight and a shop is available to purchase items and armour on the go. At the end of every round you will be teleported to an arena in which both armies will clash to score a win for their team. Its a little messy and can be confusing, but amongst the chaos I did manage to smile a few times. The second game mode is a tower defence simulator where you and your friends (or fellow NPC's) will take up garrison in a small castle and have waves and waves of interesting character models storming towards you through a low walled maze. They come hard and fast, so make sure you have selected your load out, purchased your items from the shop and bought new "tower" NPC's to get ready for the next round. I managed to play through quite a few rounds in the end but it did become a bit repetitive... definitely better with friends. [b]Improvements and personal thoughts [/b] * It took me an hour to figure out that I could buy a weapon in TVT by using the "gamble" function on the shop, this is extremely unclear. I had convinced myself I needed to loot one from a chest, which never happened. * This game has next to zero tutorial or any HELP section available, given the detailed nature of the game modes to a certain degree, I think its advisable to add that, perhaps, to the main menu as a reference point. It would be nice to be able to check the talent trees, shops and make a plan before I go into the game mode! [u]How does one earn the achievements?[/u] I have played quite a few rounds of this little battle game just to give it a fair run (which I was happy I did) and used many of the characters. * Tower Defence mode has many mobs which spawn following identical code, they look very silly whilst running in my opinion and it could be perhaps, that you give them routes to the left and right of the lane, just so they look slightly more marauding and individual. Let the NPC's run animation also be slightly delayed between each spawn so they don't run in an identical pattern. The models you have used for the enemy attackers are VERY cool and interesting! and would look perfect for a single player story mode, please give them a little more life and some voice overs or sound affects. * Tower defence mode: When the monsters drop their loot, they are extremely difficult to see and its easy to miss some items after a wave.. can you add a GREEN or PURPLE aura around them so they can be spotted from a distance? ( not representing rarity, but just for clarity that the drop exists there. * There NEEDS to be more time between waves, with so many choices in the talent trees, the shop, turrets and other things...I had no time to read anything or even consider what might be optimal which kind of ruined my experience a little. Perhaps add the reference guide on the main menu? as mentioned earlier. * Can the NPC's have funny or qwerky lines they say when you stand near them? or perhaps slightly altered animations just so they don't seem totally robotic in their movements. * I know this is a new release but it would be cool if you added 2 more skins to the current maps just to mix it up a little when entering the battle. ( night, and sunset?) Overall, this game did not deliver any less than what was expected and it was a somewhat nostalgic pass time. Its simple, enjoyable and I hope anyone who gives it a shot can allow the developer a chance to roll out some tutorial features to help newer players get into it and not feel frustrated too early on. I would love to try this game in multiplayer mode, please add me and lets give it a try! _____________________________________________ Cheers :-)