If you needed any proof that the futuristic cyber-dystopia of M.E.R.C. is a miserable place, consider this: it rains all the time. Neotopia, the last city standing, is a damp, cold hellhole. What's worse: you cannot buy raincoats for your mercenaries. Now that's just cruel.

Other than that, I feel right at home with the game's blend of real-time tactics and the logistics of managing your mercenary company. Tasked with eliminating the evil Manta syndicate, you hire a bunch of specialists and send them on various missions. Ordering your team of four heavily armed goons around the decrepit, wet city feels pretty solid. Sure, the camera stays locked on your team and can only be zoomed in and out, but the game controls well for the most part.
The lack of a minimap might be M.E.R.C.'s biggest drawback, especially when you consider that all streets and buildings look samey. One early mission had me searching for the extraction point for almost five minutes. My poor guys, tired and wet, kept getting lost in the green-greyish scenery.

Everything else held up surprisingly well. Sure, occasionally my team would take cover on the wrong side, getting shot in the back, enemies would shoot through walls for whatever reason, or minor pathfinding issues cropped up, but then, M.E.R.C. is an Early Access title and these flaws can probably be fixed.

However, when everything works as it should, it's a lot of fun. Flanking a group of enemies with your two squads, cloaking and at...