Originally Posted by BBH
Contrary to what anyone might think, I do like MERCS. It's a very good game. But it just so happens that Shock Troopers is a much, much, much, much better game. So here we go, with the definitive comparison...
GRAPHICS - Okay, we all know that Shock Troopers came out 7 years after MERCS and has an unfair advantage in this regard, but keep in mind that the hardware that Shock Troopers runs on.... was also released in 1990. Saurus just had graphic artists that wanted to put more time into fully animating the characters than Capcom did.
MUSIC - Taste is subjective, but I honestly don't know how anyone can enjoy the music in MERCS more than the badass tunes of Shock Troopers. The soundtrack of Shock Troopers is what hooked me on the game, it's the perfect mix of rock and jungle tunes, it works so beautifully to make a very memorable aural experience. MERCS... I can hum the Stage 1 and stage clear tunes in my head, but I can't really remember how any of the other tunes go. They're just so bland in comparison. And while we're on the subject of sound, while MERCS does have some great death screams, Shock Troopers includes a wide range of voices for every character (they even included the names of each voice actor for the characters in the credits).
STORY - Let's be honest, neither storyline is anything groundbreaking. Even then I'd still give the edge to Shock Troopers anyway, rescuing a scientist (and his daughter) before a madman uses him to develop a killer drug to build an invincible army, is a little more interesting than the whole rescue the President thing. The Shock Troopers cutscenes do a lot more to advance the story too, much better than the brief statements between levels in MERCS.
CHARACTERS - Haha, this shouldn't even merit a comparison, Shock Troopers wins here hands down. Eight different characters, all with different characteristics regarding their gun (single or double shot), bomb type, speed, and endurance. Joseph, Howard, and Thomas from MERCS? All the same sprite with different colored pants (it's actually blue red and yellow, not blue red and green BTW). It doesn't matter which character you play, they're all generically the same and have no personality.
WEAPONS - Yeah, the flamethrower in MERCS is pretty rad. It's fun making it twirl around and roast bad guys all around you. But... there are only four main weapons in MERCS to choose from. There's more weaponry to pick up in Shock Troopers, besides the regular single/double gun Shock Troopers has its own counterparts for the grenade launcher (although very rare), spread shot, and flamethrower (but the Shock Troopers flamethrower FUCKING SUCKS. Yes I'll admit it, that weapon blows hard). And then you've got the Buster Beam which is way cooler than any weapon in Shock Troopers. There is one "weapon" type I'll concede to MERCS though... vehicles. It's a shame that Shock Troopers didn't have any vehicles to ride like the jeep or tank in MERCS, but then again the vehicles in MERCS don't last very long either (enjoying the tank huh? oh shit, look out for those rows of land mines!). But, there is one method of attacking that MERCS lacks...... the close-range attack. Stabbing enemies is damn fun and a nice change of pace from just mowing everything down mindlessly, as it forces you to use a little cleverness to get close enough to the enemy without getting hit first... and those close-range attacks are the key to high scores and getting life-up items back. (Try killing a human boss with a close-range attack...)
CHALLENGE - Both games are challenging but still very doable on one credit, which is always something I like to see. But with the amount of damage that some attacks do on MERCS you have to play very carefully at times... but it's also a problem when you know a bullet or missile is coming and your slow character can't get out of the way in time. Therein lies the genius of Shock Troopers - with the roll button you can dodge any attack as long as you use it intelligently. There are no unavoidable "cheap hits" in Shock Troopers... when you take damage, it's always your own fault. Add in the multiple routes and different players may find different routes to be easier/harder for them.
REPLAY VALUE - Come on, this is a no-brainer. Once you've played MERCS once, you've seen everything there is to see in the game. Meanwhile Shock Troopers has three different routes to play through (some levels even have alternate routes through them), and being able to make teams with the 8-character roster also helps since it's fun trying to find the best team to suit your playing style, or the best team for a certain route. Shock Troopers also has a much deeper scoring system for those that enjoy playing for high scores. Maybe I'm just biased though since I have the highest score in the world on Shock Troopers. In MERCS it's actually possible to max out the score at 999,990... can't really go for higher scores after that.
I could go on, but I think this is getting long enough. Fact of the matter is: Shock Troopers > MERCS, now and forever. (and stop playing the "it's not fair because Shock Troopers is newer!" card, because I think both Land Sea Air Squad and Time Soldiers are more fun than MERCS too, and both those games came out in 1986. So THERE.)
