Mercenary Kings gives you the classic feeling of Metal Slug with an RPG element that will have you grinding on enemies to collect supplies to upgrade your gear for hours.

You have the choice to play two characters, King and Empress, and they are both infantry experts. The rest of the mercenaries are M.I.A. and Colonel Tasker thinks that CLAW is behind the whole thing. CLAW is an organization and the main antagonist in the story ran by Commander Baron.

The story itself is pretty straight forward and basic, but I felt it was the right story to use. I really started to get into it more and more as I continued through the levels.

The learning curve on this game is huge. I found myself dying over and over on the first mission. You get a set time limit on each level so it is difficult to finish because I found myself exploring the whole level top to bottom and the time really doesn’t permit that type of play.

The game is played with only the keyboard so if you are a keyboard and mouse kind of guy like I am, you might have trouble adjusting to the keyboard only controls. After a while you do get used to them and I find that the controls compliment the game in places where a mouse just wouldn’t.

I would even say that more 2D side scrollers should use this style of controls.

The type of missions vary from collecting a certain amount of coins to even rescuing a hostage from the grasps of CLAW. It does kind of get repetitive for some missions, but the upgrades you can obtain make it worth while.

You start with a basic pistol and it’s actually pretty powerful for a default gun. After you get the materials you need to upgrade it, that pistol can turn into a shotgun, a sub machine gun, or even assault rifle. The combinations of barrels and grips are almost endless.

The reloading mechanic for your gun is very similar to the Gears of War franchise where if you reload at the right time, your bullets get a boost in power and you also reload faster. If you screw up the reload, your gun becomes inoperable for a few seconds and you are left without a way to protect yourself.

If you are looking for a classic shoot em’ up game with a solid RPG element, then this is the game for you. Mercenary Kings is out now on PC and PS4. 4 out of 5 Stars