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"War is our business"
―Game's tagline


Killzone: Mercenary is a first-person shooter video game developed by Guerrilla Cambridge and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Wikipedia:PlayStation Vita, released in September 2013.

Taking place throughout key events and locations of the first three installments of the Killzone franchise, Mercenary follows the story of Arran Danner, a mercenary hired by the ISA.

Plot[]

Watch out while reading this, or don't at all, until you know what's coming.
This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.


"Killzone: Mercenary gives a new perspective on the Killzone Universe. This time you’re not an Army grunt who follows orders - you’re freelancer, a gun for hire, a soldier of fortune. These guys don’t play by the rules or fight for any flag. They’re in it for the money. The client might give the objective, but they’re not going to be telling you how to do your job. You get to pick your own gear and tactics; as long as you get the results. Killzone: Mercenary hosts a full single player Campaign, spread over 9 missions. In addition to the main missions, there is a new Contracts mode, offering an additional 27 sets of objectives. You can choose from three difficulty settings; Recruit Trooper and Veteran. The harder the difficulty selected the higher the rewards gained."
―Game description

Setting[]

Killzone: Mercenary takes place on the planets Vekta and Helghan, locked in the Second Extrasolar War. Setting during the events of Killzone: Liberation and Killzone 2, the story focus on Arran Danner, a mercenary working for the Phantom Talon Corp and hired to execute operations for the ISA. He is supplied by mysterious weapons dealer Blackjack, and is aided at times by his boss Anders Benoit.

Story[]

During the Helghast invasion of Vekta, Anders Benoit assigned mercenaries Arran Danner and Damian Ivanov to rescue ISA Admiral Alex Grey in the Vektan city of Diortem from Helghast forces led by Colonel Vyktor Kratek. Using information provided by the Vektan Ambassador Sepp Harkin, Danner and Ivanov arrive in Diortem via glide suits and fight their way through the Halls of Justice where Grey is being held. They witnessed Grey being interrogated by Kratek, who then attempted to execute her. However, they managed to save her. Thereafter, they are later dispatched to scuttle a downed Helghast cruiser from escaping with stolen ISA weapons technology and extracting its extract transmission codes, which were being used to contact the Helghast fleet. Unfortunately, Ivanov caught in a booby trap and sacrifices himself to destroy the ship. Despite Ivanov's demise, the mission is still a success. 

Two years later, the ISA launched Operation Archangel. Phantom Talon Corp is hired by Admiral Grey to continue their services to the ISA's war effort. Danner helps in disabling Helghan's anti-orbital Arc Cannons in order to allow the ISA invasion force to enter Helghan's airspace. Soon after, Danner is sent to the Vektan Embassy to rescue Ambassador Harkin and his family, and a Helghast defector Dr. Mandor Savic. However, Sepp and his wife Valeria are killed in the crossfire except for their son Justus, and Savic escapes the embassy in the chaos. With the aid of the family bodyguard Borris, Danner and Justus escape the embassy via boat.

Under orders from Benoit, Danner divert and takes Justus to a nearby fishing village where Savic has escaped in order to extract the scientist who has vital intel for the ISA. They eventually finds Savic, who then reveals that he helped Kratek to develop a weaponized virus designed to wiping out an entire population based on their genetics in which Kratek intends to use on Vekta. Furthermore, the virus was based on stolen data from Admiral Grey's controversial Project Eschaton, which was originally created against the Helghast. Danner then safely extracts Justus and Savic to Grey.

Afterwards, Danner is sent on a mission to a Petrusite reactor complex controlled by Kratek to cut the power to the remaining air defenses. After destroying the final reactor, Danner is suddenly left for dead by Benoit as Grey erroneously claims that Danner plans on selling Savic back to the Helghast and as well deeming him a liability for knowing too much about Project Eschaton. Just as the refinery collapses, Danner is rescued by Kratek, who overheard Benoit and Grey's betrayal. He reveals to Danner that Grey plans to use the virus to wipe out the Helghast in order to quickly end the war in Vekta's favor. Kratek hires Danner and sends him back to the Vektan Embassy (which Grey has made her HQ) with a Helghast commando team to obtain the codes to the virus vault from Savic, who was being interrogated for the same codes. Savic gives the codes only to Danner before revealing to him that he made the virus inert and could only be reactivated with a plasmid trigger; in which he had fled with it to the embassy before he injected it in Justus' bloodstream out of desperation under the belief that the boy would likely escaped alive with the trigger. Grey now has Justus in her possession in which she along with Benoit travels to Facility X01, a Helghast mobile facility where the virus is stored.

Danner races to Facility X01 before Grey could obtain the virus. He fights his way through the labs and finally obtains a sample of the virus for Kratek. After a firefight Danner escapes, killing Grey in the process, and rescuing Justus. However, the explosives planted by Danner used to destroy the virus activated the explosives planted by the ISA which causes the facility to veer off course. Blackjack, Danner's arms dealer, warns Danner that Kratek intends to betray him and seize the virus. Danner and Justus fight their way to the flight deck to steal Kratek's dropship which is the only way off the cruiser. They are soon confronted by Kratek and Benoit, whose services is bought out by the former. However, Benoit kills Kratek and reveals to Danner that he plans on seizing the virus (along with Justus) and selling it to the highest bidder. Benoit then offers Danner the chance to join in his scheme. Just as Benoit pitches his offer, Pyrrhus is destroyed in a nuclear blast. Benoit then resume his offer to Danner, who refuses and wants the virus destroyed. A protracted battle ensues between Danner and Benoit, who is assisted by his loyal PTC mercenaries, until the latter is finally killed. Blackjack extracts Danner and Justus using Kratek's dropship from where Danner destroys the virus with a grenade.

In the aftermath, Danner and Justus became fugitives in which Blackjack helps them by erasing their identities and keep them off the grid. Blackjack plans to profit of the sale of anti-radiation medication in the wake of the nuclear destruction of Pyrrhus.

Levels[]

Campaign Levels of Killzone: Mercenary
Missions Justice For All · Code of Engagement · Lightning Strike · Diplomatic Incident · The Package · Lights Out · Hostile Takeover · Blood Money · Exit Wounds

Gameplay[]

Mercenary's campaign is made up of nine missions, all of which can be played on either Recruit, Trooper, or Veteran difficulties. Once the player completes a mission, they are given access to three contracts. These contracts require players to replay missions, while completing demolition, covert, or precision-related objectives.

Unlike previous titles in the Killzone series, players now earn in-game cash for completing various tasks (e.g. killing hostiles, picking up ammo, using explosives). Mercenary also takes advantage of the PlayStation Vita's features. Brutal Melee can now be executed via the Vita's touchscreen. Swiping in a specific direction within the time limit will result in a successful kill. Interrogations are also carried out via the touchscreen. Additionally, sprinting can also be accessed by double tapping the Vita's rear touch pad.

Multiplayer[]

Development[]

At Gamescom 2012, it was revealed that the title is Killzone: Mercenary.[1] The game utilizes a modified version of the Killzone 3 rendering engine, allowing volumetric lighting and smoke, high-res environment textures, gleaming metal, and realistic-looking shadows. Unlike the previous Killzone installments, Mercenary was not developed by Guerrilla Games, but instead, their sister studio Guerrilla Cambridge (formerly known as SCE Cambridge Studio). Because of the refined damage model, the weapons feel slightly more powerful than those in previous installments.[2]

Multiplayer Beta[]

On July 12, 2013, Guerrila Cambridge hosted a private beta for select Vita owners to participate in. The beta featured practically all the contents released in the final product. The beta was meant to promote Mercenary, as well as to inform Cambridge on any requests related to Mercenary's multiplayer.[3] About a week before launching, Guerilla gave PS Plus members free access to the beta, before making it entirely public.

Reception[]

Killzone: Mercenary received generably favorable reviews from critics. It's highest review came from PSX-Sense, who gave the game a 10/10, saying "If you own a Vita, you should own this game.". IGN's Colin Moriarty gave it an 8/10, calling it the greatest handheld shooter on the market. Destructoid's Jim Sterling also gave it an 8/10, calling it ambitious. TheSixthAxis stated "There’s no other experience like this on a device as small as this.". It received the 1st Place 2013 PlayStation Vita Game of the Year Award[4], and currently holds a score of 78/100 on Metacritic.

Gallery[]

Trailers[]

Trivia[]

  • For the first time in a Killzone campaign, players fight alongside both the Helghast and ISA.
  • Killzone: Mercenary is the first first-person shooter Killzone game on a handheld.
  • Killzone: Mercenary is the only game in the Killzone series to feature a silent protagonist.
  • Killzone: Mercenary has the largest weapons cache of any Killzone game.
  • Killzone: Mercenary re-uses several clips from Killzone, Killzone: Liberation, Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 in its cutscenes.
  • This is the first game in the series that blurs the lines of morality for both the ISA and Helghast.

References[]

  1. Hulst, Herman (14 August 2012). "Watch the GamesCom Trailer for Killzone: Mercenary". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America
  2. Shuman, Sid (8 March 2013). "Killzone: Mercenary: Cash is King". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America.
  3. Green, Mark (12 July 2013). "Killzone: Mercenary Closed Multiplayer Beta: Sign-Ups Now Live". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America.
  4. "IGN's Best of E3 2013 Awards", IGN
Killzone Series
Main Games Killzone · Killzone 2 · Killzone 3 · Killzone Shadow Fall
Spin-offs Liberation · Mercenary
Expanded Universe Killzone: Ascendancy · Killzone (comic) (canceled) · Killzone manga
Special Editions Killzone 3 Helghast Edition · Killzone Trilogy
Other media Killzone: Intercept
Non-Fiction Killzone Prima Official Game Guide · Killzone 2: Collector's Guide to Campaign and Warzone · Killzone 3: The Official Guide · Killzone Visual Design
Soundtracks Killzone 2 Original Soundtrack · Killzone 3 Official Soundtrack · Killzone Mercenary Official Soundtrack · Killzone Shadow Fall Official Soundtrack
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