impressions - resident evil mercenaries vs.

 Resident Evil Mercenaries VS. is Capcom's latest iOS release. Taking the gunplay formula from the last two games in the series and adding a deathmatch / hi-score twist to it, Mercenaries VS. is actually quite fun.

The game offers 3 ways to play:
Online Match over Wi-Fi
Local Match using bluetooth
Single Player against computer controlled bots.
The game offers Team Deathmatch, Free for All, and Player vs. Player modes across three maps: "Dock", "Fort", and "Castle".

Players are able to choose from 3 different characters from the series: Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Albert Wesker. Each with their own different layout and weapons. I can only speculate that more characters will be released, nothing has been announced at this time.

Gameplay is the exact same as Resident Evil 4 for iPhone, and that's not a bad thing. The series' signature control-scheme translates well to touch screen. Movement is controlled using a virtual joystick on the left side while attacks are carried out through dedicated buttons on the right. Though unable to control camera movement, the game makes up for this with the ability to perform a 180 degree turn  by double tapping down on the joystick. Item usage is handled on the fly and gameplay online cannot be paused. Everything is streamlined, being able to access and use inventory items in 3 or fewer presses makes healing and switching weapons a breeze.
During matches, waves of zombies are unleashed at a higher rate as the match carries on. As this is going on you are tasked with trying to eliminate the other players. Longer matches can easily become very tense.

Graphically, it's definitely not the prettiest game on the iPhone (Infinity Blade is still the bar), but it is far from the worst I've seen.  The character models are definitely the most impressive things, visually. Levels, however, are fairly bland. They're enough to get the job done, letting the gameplay do most of the work.
Resident Evil Mercenaries VS. is definitely worth checking out, especially if you're already a fan of the other Resident Evil games for iPhone.