Not Another Online First-Person Shooter!

As I write this article, memories of Counter-Strike games played over a local area network with friends come rushing back to my mind’s eye. Oh, yes, I’ve had my share of frags. What brings these synaptic snapshots to the fore is the announcement of the impending launch in North America of a new online first-person shooter, Mercenary Wars.

Uforia, the online games publisher that brought you Red War: Edem’s Curse, NosTale, and Three Kingdoms: Clash of the Feudal Lords, has recently announced plans to publish Mercenary Wars, a free-to-play, online military first-person shooter developed by NM Productions.

Slated for launch in September 2009, Mercenary Wars promises the same fast-paced action that draws you to other first-person shooters like Counter-Strike, War Rock, Wolf Team, and to a certain extent Gunz.

Now the question is, “Is Mercenary Wars just another Counter-Strike clone?”

My apologies to Uforia and NM Productions for the use of comparisons, but there’s no going around the fact that Counter-Strike gave the first-person shooter genre the break it needed to bust out of its niche.

Fortunately for the two companies, Mercenary Wars seems to have what it takes to break from the mold.

“We’re excited to be working on Mercenary Wars with NM Productions,” said JK Kim, chief executive officer of Uforia. “Mercenary Wars is going to bring a whole new level of intense, in-depth play to FPS fans and is an exciting new addition to our current porfolio of MMORPGs.”

Indeed.

So what makes Mercenary Wars different from its predecessors and competitors? Let’s hear it straight from the guys who are publishing it:

Unlike other first-person shooter games available today, Mercenary Wars features a unique stat system that players can use to upgrade and customize their lifelike characters. The combat in the game is designed to feel very realistic, while also allowing players to adjust their speed, accuracy, and health stats.

Mercenary Wars is set in the not-so-distant future, in a world where order and society as we know them are a thing of the past. The economies of the world have crashed and have been replaced with total chaos. New alliances have been forged and the world is now controlled by well-trained groups of mercenaries. Players must determine who to swear their allegiance to and fight side-by-side to the death, if necessary, in the quest to ensure becoming the new global powerhouse.

Aside from the stat system, Uforia says Mercenary Wars also has an innovative artificial intelligence system where computer-controlled characters can be used in several ways, ranging from practice to enhancing game play. Can’t imagine it? Think “bots”—you know, those sprites that run around in circles that own you in death matches.

Check out this video that features the game play in Mercenary Wars: