Remember "Mercenary" - anyone?!

[lodger]

Turning older again in a few days from now, I'm taking the time to play some of the video games from the olde days. Games that made an impression and that I still remember fondly. To me this is more or less similar to playing that old record of yours, the one with that one song you used to love so much - and you still like to hear every now and then. Don't get me wrong, this is not something I do out of a sentimental mood. It's like you have this one song from the past in your head and you hum it all day until you finally play it, then you play it louder and then you're jumping around and playing air guitar in your living room. Something like this. 

So this time it's "Mercenary" by Novagen. Released in 1985 this game was ported to 8-bit and 16-bit computers of the time (most notably the Atari 800 and Commodore 64  as well as the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga). It was the first game (along with Elite, which was released a year earlier in 1984) that offered me, the player, the freedom to explore and act independently in an almost endless world. A virtual world. Of course, there were no hi-res textures, shaders and all the very cool and fantastic technology that today's space related games of make use of. It was simple, transparent wireframe graphics and almost no sound.

So what was it all about then? In the game you were stranded on the planet "Targ" after your ship crashed on the planet's surface due to a malfunction of your engines (we all know how it is...). Since you lack the money to buy a new ship right away, you'll have to earn some money. Lucky for you but less so for the Palyars (the species that lives on Targ), the planet has recently been invaded by an alien race called the "Mechanoids" and so you find yourself in the middle of a civil-war. In order to earn money, you'll have to perform various tasks for either the Palyars or Mechanoids. As soon as you have earned 999.999 credits, you may buy a new ship and leave Targ. While there are a lot of interesting buildings in "Central City", the only settlement on the planet's surface, a lot of the action takes place in the underground complexes that both sides have established. There you will find long corridors, storage rooms and a briefing room where jobs are offered to you. There are locked doors that will require a certain key and teleporters that beam you to a different location. There even is a colony craft in orbit that you can visit. There is almost no sound in the game except engine noise, weapon shots and the occasional beep when a message for you arrives. I've never been successful at finishing the game, but it doesn't matter because when I play it I still feel excitement and couriosity. Just wandering around, exploring and maybe shooting the Atari sign is as much fun as finsihing the game would be.

For those of you, who don't know what I'm talking about I have found a video (not made by me) on youtube that shows the game in action:

Do any of you also remember "Mercenary" and if so, have you played it in later years? I'm currently playing it using the VICE emulator.

 

Edited September 29, 2017 by lodger