Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D was never a game people paid for. It was a free unlockable option when you beat Resident Evil 4 and 5. It offered something rewarding after running through an already excellent campaign. This little unlockable game gave you a few Resident Evil characters that you could pick at your choice and run through a few stages where you just run and gun under a time limit. It was a fantastic addition and gave you a reason to be competitive about your score for each mission. It was not the traditional Resident Evil horror, but it was still a welcomed feature. Now Capcom has made it available for full retail price on the 3DS, but was it worth it?

First, let’s get past this whole deal on the save file. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D has a feature where you can only have one save file that CANNOT be erased. This has caused a great many people to feel the need to boycott the game, but people need to realize that Capcom isn’t doing this just to screw you over. Konami and Sega have already done this on the 3DS, and for a game, that’s not marketed at $60 and has an arcade feel to it, it’s not that big of a deal. Granted, it’s not entirely good news, but it’s no reason to boycott the game if you are a fan. The one thing you lose if you buy it used is the surprise of unlocking new missions and characters, but just fork over a few more bucks, and buy it new. But now that I have pointed this out, let’s move on.

There's not much when it comes to story — if there were, there’d be an explanation to why Krauser is alive and kicking. The game basically takes previous zones from RE4 and 5 and makes them available here in one game with a much larger group of available characters. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, however, does feature an in-depth tutorial to help you become familiar with the controls and the play of this series if it is your first, which was very helpful.

The game features eight characters, which all have unlockable outfits, but does not include Leon ... what the hell, Capcom? Though, the addition of Claire was something that made my heart VERY thrilled. The game has about 30 missions to choose from and offers a bit of customization to the characters. You can unlock three stats for each character, which may give you better health or better accuracy with a certain gun. There also are character weapon load outs that can be unlocked via 3DS coins, so you can go into a level with different weapons.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D does have achievements to unlock and online and local play, which works super well. And if you want to beat every mission with a superior ranking, you will be finding help online, because some of these can be hard. Not to mention the game also includes a demo to the 2012 Resident Evil game, and it plays quite well.

The mechanics in Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D work great. Once you get used to the 3DS controls, it works perfectly. One new addition to the game, though, is the ability to walk and shoot, which is a first for the series. As you move, you cannot move your gun around and shoot; you just shoot from the hip, but this does help in those tight situations that almost made you throw the controller in frustration in previous installments of Mercenaries. You also can choose to shoot from a first-person mode or the original third-person mode. The first-person mode is neat if you want to see down the sight of your gun in 3-D. The bottom screen holds a map of the area that can be used as a world camera and has quick access buttons to your herbs and weapons, making it much easier to run through your inventory. To reload, you can just tap the gun, or to get a quick heal, you can quickly press an herb; this is a welcome feature.

Overall, nothing feels out of place, and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D plays just as well as the console versions if not better, with the new customization and touchscreen features. The core concept is to kill as many zombies as possible before the time limit is up. You can destroy timers to add time to the clock or attack the enemies with melee attacks to increase the timer. Killing so many enemies in a row allows for a higher multiplier on your score. That is as simple as it gets.

The graphics are up to par with the Resident Evil 4 modes but seem a bit cleaned up. The character models have much better textures and offer a few more animations, which are up to par with the Resident Evil 5’s models. One thing I have noticed was in the background, the AI will move almost in still frames and be very choppy until they approach you, and then it’s nice, solid motions. I am not sure if this is due to too many NPCs on the screen or just the engine they used. It’s not a huge deal, and you quickly overlook it, but it can be frustrating with the bigger enemies when you are trying to shoot a specific spot from far away. The 3-D effect is very easy to stare at without getting a headache. It has been the best I have seen so far, and I can honestly spend most my time in the 3-D mode unless I am moving around in frustration.

The sound is another thing; at times, it sounds like you are playing through the speaker of a cellphone. It can be very muffled and just feel cheap, as if your speakers were blown. But this is only with the characters and AI’s grunts and words, though the music comes through fine.

I am a big Resident Evil fan and with a game like this available, it is the perfect pickup and play game, because most missions run around 5 minutes. So it’s perfect for a hand-held title. Because I buy all my games new, I honestly don’t care about the save file issue, and for the price, you shouldn’t either unless you could care less for the series or these minigames. I recommend Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D to anyone who is a fan of Resident Evil, though, and wants a good game they can play on the go online and off. There is a lot to unlock and keep you busy, especially if you want to get SS on all missions or want to see who can get a better score with your friends. Aside from Zelda, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is my most-played 3DS game, and I would definitely say you should pick up a copy.

Check out TreavorClark's video review at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2t7HIBJzSA.