Immercenary

The player begins at the lowest rank in the Garden, number 255. The object of the game is to destroy Perfect1, who is ranked number 1. After eliminating a rithm, the player may then absorb its energy by walking through the cloud of static it leaves behind. Doing so gives a boost to one of three statistics: maximum defense (hit points), maximum offense (ammunition) or maximum agility (fuel).

The tougher the opponent defeated, the larger the boost that the player receives. The weakest are the "Goners", who are all ranked number 256. They will yield no increase in rank when destroyed, even at the beginning of the game, but may still provide a statistic boost. Picassos, Torks, Kilroys, Venuses, and Davids are more powerful than Goners, and each individual among them has a unique rank.

Immercenary is set in 2004. During the 1990s, Dr. Marcus Rand was experimenting in astral projection through time and space, and encountered a woman in the future who was able to sense his astral form. The woman (later identified as simply "Raven") told him that in her time, all of humanity is jacked into a virtual reality network called Perfect, and cannot jack out, leaving them to wither and die as their physical needs are left unattended.

Determined to answer Raven's plea for help, Rand focuses his research on projecting a person's mind to Perfect. When two test subjects died using his experimental technology, Rand's project was terminated and the use of the technology forbidden. Undeterred, Rand continued research using himself as the test subject. However, during his experimentation he received a near-fatal "psi feedback"; when found in his lab three days later, conscious but unable to move or communicate, he was committed to a rehabilitation institution.

In 1993, Electronic Arts producer Jim Simmons asked Five Miles Out co-founder J.D. Robinson to create a game which would fully demonstrate the capabilities of the then-upcoming 3DO. As all the members of Five Miles Out were RPG enthusiasts, they decided to make a game in an RPG vein.

Marla Johnson-Norris, who was a veteran of television production and had a small video production company, headed the production of the video segments. She recalled, "We shot video and film sequences of the characters and tested the quality of the imagery in the game environment. We had a film specialist with EA come out and work with us. We ended up going with high quality video instead of film – it actually delivered an equal quality for a lower cost."

GamePro gave the game a positive review. They praised the strategy involved in building and using the player rithm's stats, the simplicity of the controls, the use of a first-person perspective, and the compelling and well-paced storyline. They concluded, "It's not the longest or most difficult game you'll play. But when a game goes for something new, rather than rehashing old themes, it's worth noticing." Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "you've got a game that's familiar but different at the same time."

Retro Gamer listed Immercenary in their top ten 3DO games, commenting, "RPG overtones imbue with a mesmerising soundtrack and some incredible visual fusions to create one of the rarest experiences in games."