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Mercenary is the first in a series of computer games, published on a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, by Novagen Software Ltd. The games were notable for their smooth polygonal graphics, vast environments, and 'open-ended' gameplay style; there were several ways to complete each game.
Overview
The Mercenary series consists of three main games and a number of mission disks that complement them. While each game is self-contained and only makes occasional references to other games in the series, they are connected in terms of their freeform, open-ended gameplay, visual appearance and general ambience.
Within each game the player must explore a world rendered in realtime 3D vector graphics, completing a number of non-linear tasks in order to achieve a single main objective. These tasks typically required that the player play two factions off against one another for his own advantage, hence the name of the series.
History
The games
Mercenary (also known as Mercenary: Escape from Targ) is the first game in the series. It was initially released on the Commodore 64 in 1986 and later converted to the Atari 800 XL/XE, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and Amiga platforms. Having crash-landed on the planet Targ, the player's main objective is to find an alternative means of escape. A civil war between two factions, the Palyars and the Mechanoids, affords the player an opportunity to earn enough profit to seek this means of escape.
A mission disk, entitled Mercenary: The Second City, was released on the same platforms in 1986. The objective is identical to the first game, albeit with a new city and a new set of puzzles to overcome. It was later repackaged with the original game under the title Mercenary Compendium.
Damocles (occasionally advertised as Mercenary II) is the second game in the series. It was released on the Atari ST and Amiga platforms in 1990. Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and IBM PC versions were in development but eventually cancelled as a consequence of the declining 8-bit and uncertain PC markets. Once again, the player finds himself stranded on a planet with a damaged spacecraft. Unlike the first game, however, the scope of Damocles is considerably widened, offering the player an entire solar system to explore. There is also a race-against-time element to the game, as a comet (the eponymous Damocles) is hurtling towards one of the system's planets. The player must not only find a means of escape but also a means to prevent the comet from destroying the planet.
Two mission disks for Damocles were released, known simply as Damocles: Mission Disk 1 and Damocles: Mission Disk 2 respectively. Each disk added a small number of extra missions that could be loaded in as saved games, offering the player a few more tasks to complete within the game.
Mercenary III (also known as Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis or Damocles II) is the third and final game in the series. It was released on the Atari ST and Amiga platforms in 1992. An IBM PC version was in an advanced stage of development and scheduled for release in 1995 but ultimately cancelled. The player finds himself involved in a political crisis on the planet Dion, pitting his wits against a power-hungry politician running for president. No mission disks were released for this concluding chapter of the Mercenary series.
Novagen Software Ltd
Main article:: Novagen Software Ltd
The Mercenary series
Mercenary
Coming soon.
Mercenary: The Second City
Coming soon.
Damocles
Coming soon.
Damocles: Mission Disk 1
Coming soon.
Damocles: Mission Disk 2
Coming soon.
Mercenary III
Coming soon.
The Mercenary legacy
Mercenary clones & remakes
Coming soon.
Mercenary novels
Coming soon.
External links
MDDClone, a Mercenary (and Damocles) clone for the PC (http://www.geocities.com/paris/7150/mddclone.htm)
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