*Writer’s Note*
This first impressions article of Killzone Mercenary is based entirely on my own experience understand that this is just a beta and my experience could have been different from others.
General
Killzone Mercenary the most anticipated vita game has finally released it’s closed beta and here is my first impression the closed beta. First off Killzone Mercenary is graphically the best vita game to date. In the beta only two online modes one of them being Mercenary Warfare which is a ten minute free for all mode and the top three players with the most valor points win. As for the second mode Warzone which is a 4v4 team deathmatch mode with a best of 5 with each round being different by either having teams with the most melee kills, capturing Van-Guard posts, regular body count and team that collects the most Valor cards. Which are kind of like dog tags those familiar with Kill Confirmed from Call of Duty.
Maps
Currently there is only two maps available to play on the beta Zenith and Inlet.
Zenith is a multi-level above ground factory that has players not only having to watch their backs vertically but horizontally as well.
Inlet is a ruined city that seems to have been bombed with numerous of destroyed vehicles, broken buildings and piles of debris making tunnels to go through.
Valor Points
Players earn valor points from getting kills, picking up ammo, getting melee kills and among other various ways. The valor points are your experience points as well as your in game currency to purchase weapons, armor, and equipment. Killzone Mercenary has a plethora of weapons and armor to choose from although I’m not sure if what is available in the beta is all that we can expect but from what is available it is quite extensive from sniper rifles, smoke grenades and different types of armor with with more protection but causing the player to move slower. This keeps the multiplayer fun and well balanced not one class is too overpowered and when in a gunfight you never feel that you got cheated.
Controls
Something that surprised me is how well Killzone Mercenary plays on the Vita with both analog sticks complimenting the game even the front and reach touch screen controls as well as motion controls which are optional to use and can be turned off. The stealth kills and melee can be triggered by getting close to your enemy tapping the screen or pressing the triangle button which then leads to swiping the screen in the direction the arrow appears on the screen. When being engaged in a melee attack head on the game allows the opposing player to counter the melee attacking with a touch screen swipe as well. As for stealth kills approaching an enemy from behind activates a stealth kill and with success it grants you the ability to see all enemies on your radar for a short period of time. There is a down side from trying to get a melee kill and that is it makes you vulnerable to being killed by other enemy players which leads to not being able to get the kill but to me I find that fair since your teammates can help prevent you from being killed by melee. The whole menu screen interface is all touch screen but it very fluid when it comes to use and after awhile it becomes second nature. The menu screens are straight forward and allows you to get from screen to screen with ease.
Online
The online is pretty impressive being that there seemed not to be any lag however I have experienced some error messages causing me to either get kicked from a match or get booted off the game entirely. I do understand this is just a beta and these issues are to occur which is good to have them fixed now then have a broken online experience at launch.
*Update*
Guerrilla Cambridge is really on it with the beta and released a patch to fix the stability issue that players were facing on the beta. The downside of the patch is that it requires for everyone to delete and re-download the beta or else all weapon classes will be locked due to the patch resetting everyone’s level back to level 1. However it is a sacrifice I would rather have a stable online experience than a faulty one. It’s great to have these issues fixed now than to have these issues on launch. Since the patch I haven’t experienced any game crashes or issues with me getting kicked from matches.
Conclusion
All in all the Killzone Mercenary beta has calmed some nerves I had for the game and it truly has been well worth the wait with this only being the closed beta I am very excited for when the open beta becomes available during late August and more players become available to play as well as the full game being released September 10, 2013.
