Mercury: Cascade into Madness

[b]'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance' - Desmond Tutu[/b] [i]Mercury: Cascade into Madness[/i] is a vigilante game concept by [i]Matthew Ashworth[/i] that focuses on the female protagonist, Michelle, who is physically attacked by gang members leaving her mental state at breaking point as she spends months attempting to overcome her fears. We see Michelle develop her fighting skills during this inner turmoil that finally leads to her 'personal demons' challenging her cowardice during a night confrontation that steels her resolve into vowing vigilante revenge upon the gang who ruined her. The actress, Jodie Foster, describes a movie role where she plays a victim in [i]The Brave One[/i] with a quote that perfectly describes this RPGmaker game :- [quote=Jodie Foster]It's kind of about a vigilante, somebody who has been a victim of a crime and who can't quite get over it and then finds herself mowing people down.[/quote] The world in which we see Michelle gradually transforming into Mercury is a futuristic cyberpunk setting where advanced technology is abundantly in use throughout gang-riddled corrupt regions. MIchelle begins to gain allies throughout her early quest for revenge who all share the same purpose as herself, in a sense this plot writing is akin to the fictional DC world of Gotham City in its bleak, dark battles that are layered with twisted uprisings against societies' rules. The story can be seen as linear but, thanks to the varying ways you can shape Michelle's character with good, neutral or bad choices, there are multi-routes that branch outward adding depth to the story with its many side-quests and decisions on which allies assist you. This was my biggest admiration of this game as it not only allows multiple playthroughs but it also adds a variation to the ending too as well as giving the player complete control over how Michelle acts & fights whether it be through stealth, persuasion through charisma or just outright disregard for rules by killing whoever and stealing/breaking into premises to loot items. These decisions affect how the characters act towards you and guide the story towards a finale that is heavily impacted by Michelle's journey of retribution. The character's skills are learnt using SP (skill points) ranging from 1-3 as reward for each optional sidequest and main linear chapter completion, there is a variety of skills to choose from whether it be Lockpicking, Stealth and/or Charisma for the choice of what style of approach Michelle can adopt while the regular abilities involve the strengths such as Weapon handling, Focus and many others. Michelle can also learn Passive skills to use during battle that vary from recovery to boosts or debilitating attacks which are essential as the chapters progress. The AI of the enemies depends on the 2 settings available (Normal or Challenging) where the harder setting will see the enemy adapt to your tactics while also limiting the use of health 'stations' to 1 throughout the game's regions. There are 4 types of weapons with differing levels as the chapters progress and multiple armours that offer defence as well as status effect protections, these can be bought at regional Shop 'stations' or from Michelle's main ally - Allen at his store. The game has multiple game save slots from the [esc] menu that can also be deleted, the settings menu provides for varying screen resolutions alongside the usual sound/effects and it offers a Walk/Run choice as well as colour settings. There are over 50 Achievements that do require multiple playthroughs to unlock them unless you save each path choice and load each time to uncover all choices in 1 sitting! Some Achievements though do depend on the character choice developments of Mercury and her Good Vs Evil route choices. The OST is very effective at being reflective of the chapter levels by that I mean they set the mood of the story's action as it develops but it can be muted if players don't enjoy it. The character sprites are very well created giving a realistic look to faces and outfits that fit the cyberpunk world. [u]For any players who avoid games that have profanity be warned there is a lot throughout this game as well as graphic violence[/u] [i]Matthew Ashworth[/i] I feel did a great job in creating a believable story where the characters are immediately causing the player to react in a positive (or negative) way within a futuristic society that is extremely corrupted & heavily influenced by technology. It is a fragile world that has every character (and NPCs) reacting to the changing circumstances of the story and the player's ability to shape and choose which directions the story arcs in as well as what Allies are involved in battles is crucial to the player interest throughout the replays. I would love to see more adventures beyond [b]Outrage[/b] for Mercury and her Allies as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment to this game. ~~~Liked what you see? You can find more at [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32839633]Have a word[/url] ~~~