Submitted by Madcat Zam on Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:03pm.
If you were a PC gamer during the 90's then you probably know where my name came from, and you would've heard about this little series called MechWarrior. This series is known for in-depth mech gameplay and interesting intros.
Mechwarrior 2 intro:
Mechwarrior 3 intro:
While all major iterations are different, there's some common gameplay in all of them. One common gameplay is limb damage. There's five areas you could hit on a mech. They're the head, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and torso. If you severely damage one of the arms then they can't use the weapons attached to the arms. If you severely damage the legs then they either can't move as fast or they fall over and become sitting ducks. If you blow up the head then they're dead (no pilot, dead mech). Likewise, your arms and legs could get blown off also.
MechWarrior 2: Combat in the 31st Century lets you join one of two clans in the game (either Clan Wolf or Clan Jade Falcon). You play through mission to mission while customizing your mech to an extent for a total of 30 missions in all. To a lot of PC gamers, it's considered the best game in the series.
The first game I played in the series was Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. In that game, you have two different options to play. You could either play without worrying about the economics and you'll just play mission to mission. Or you could play with economics where you have to buy mechs, sell mechs, repair mechs, hire pilots, select what mission contracts you want to be in, salvage mech parts from your last battle, etc. Sorta like the Armored Core series (love those series as well).
Mechwarrior 3 to me is definitely a true sequel to the mechwarrior series. At the time, the graphics were stunning and it feels great to shoot laser beams and not laser projectiles. Controls are a lot different than the previous titles but easier to grasp.
I really don't feel like talking about MechWarrior 4 but I remembered it as the most story-driven game in the series. If you have something to say about the game then please comment. I would love to hear what you guys think about the game.
Now, what happened to the series? From what I've read so far, Mechwarrior 1 and 2 was developed by FASA Interactive while being published by Activision. After the second mechwarrior was made, Activision sold the franchise to MicroProse. After 3 was made they sold it to Microsoft then Microsoft sold it to Smith and Tinker after FASA went under. And I don't know what Smith and Tinker is going to do with the series. It's too bad that Microsoft didn't kept the MechWarrior franchise, I wanted to see what this current generation's technology could do to MechWarrior.
Of course, I did left out a lot of games in the series. Like the first MechWarrior, MW2: Ghost Bear Legacy, MW4: Black Knight, MW4: Mercenaries, and others. If you guys want to talk about those games then feel free to comment. Plus, I'm looking for another Mech-ish game so any suggestions would be cool too.
Submitted by Keavy_Rain on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 4:31am.
Being a console gamer and Mac user I never had the chance to play these games but I do have a friend that, to this day, carries a torch for them.
He knows all sorts of stats, knows tactics, creates skins for his mechs, totally obsessed. Also, I like the idea of damaging limbs to reduce effectiveness. I know this was a big tactic in the Front Mission games, as well as some others. Fallout 3 being the most recent to use such a system.
The only Mech game I ever played was MechAssault on Xbox. My friend, the Mechwarrior lover, said that MechAssault must be related to Mechwarrior because they use a lot of the same mechs and terminology. All I knew is I liked MechAssault.
Submitted by Madcat Zam on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 7:19am.
Yeah, MechAssault and MechWarrior takes place in the same universe. Though I've never played MechAssualt before. I heard it's pretty good.
Again, it's too bad that Microsoft didn't kept the franchise cause I could definitely see MechWarrior being on both PC and consoles. I mean, you can kinda play MechWarrior with just a joystick. Why not a controller?
being a console gamer is no excuse. my uncle had that game for the SNES, quote from wikipedia:
"MechWarrior is a first-person action game for the Super NES based on the Battletech universe. The SNES game was based upon the original PC MechWarrior, with modern (for the era) graphics and using Mode 7 for the Battlemech mission sequences instead of the PC version's wire-frame 3D graphics."
but i was too young to understand it and rather played bugs bunny ;)
Mechwarrior is another one of those series of games that just ... went away.
A damn shame too. I used to spend hours opon hours playing MW3 deathmatch against my friends, trying to figure out the most efficient configuration for my mech, making alliances with each other only to betray each other ...
Submitted by r3drand0mh3r0 on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 7:50am.
me and my friends used to play MechWarrior 2 all the time, we would take turns fighting each other and playing on single player
i miss that game, i should look for it
A Crysis mod called MW:LL is being developped, it looks promising (they have a teaser and an alpha-ish gameplay trailer). They were originally going to use the Quake Wars engine, but decided to go with CryEngine before Crysis came out, I think Crytek is supporting them.
Submitted by Gemini000 on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 9:38am.
I own Mechwarrior 2, Mercenaries, 3 and 4, and still pop them in occasionally. All of them are great games, though I will admit, they can be extremely hard and unfair sometimes.
Another common gameplay element is "torso twisting". The mechs are like walking tanks, so they accelerate in one direction but can aim and fire in a multitude of others. It's a different control setup than strafe-walking in a first person shooter, and takes some getting used to, but works pretty well.
The thing I liked most about the Mechwarrior series in general was that they felt like simulators, providing you with an extreme amount of control over your Mech, such as changing HUD indicators, heat management, weapon grouping, subsystems, issuing team orders... Mechwarrior 4 simplified the system and thus didn't have the same kind of simulation feel the others had.
However, having played over 25 battles in the Virtual World Entertainment Tesla Pods, I can tell you that Mechwarrior 4 has a very similar feel to the original Tesla Pod version of Battletech... though the Tesla Pod version was far more in-depth since you had six REAL MFDs around you and were able to assign coolant priorities, adjust weapon power levels, it was truly a simulation in every sense of the word, though the new Battletech software in the Tesla Pods is just a re-tooled verson of MW4.
MW2 Mercenaries was also one of the first games I remember to have internet multiplayer. Buggy as Hell and laggy, but still a very fun thing to be able to play against people who weren't local.
A lot of people forget about MW2 Mercenaries, probably because it's the weakest link in the series. It was easy to miss key missions, and the buggy launching system sometimes screwed up your mission results, among other things. That, and the randomized missions were extremely boring. Though one thing it did have was the largest selection of mechs in ANY official Mechwarrior game.
MW3 is certainly my favourite in the series because it offered the biggest amount of customization and was the first to make the lasers, truly lasers, instead of pulses. There's nothing more satisfying than getting close to a mech and blasting its leg off with 12 Small Lasers in one shot! (Known as "boating", when you equip a mech with a large quantity of similar/same weapons. Something that's not acceptable practice in multiplayer.)
MW4 I find to be the easiest to pick up and play, but also the hardest to play with the mouse. I find having a good joystick makes MW4 better, whereas the previous Mechwarrior games play best with a mouse.
If we ever see a Mechwarrior V, my hope is that instead of making the game even simpler, we see a game that goes back to the simulation roots the series is remembered for. And I would love to see the cooling loop priorities from the 4.x Tesla Pod Battletech game introudced.
Submitted by SentryIII on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 3:08pm.
I loved being able to customize your mechs. It's a shame that no more Mechwarrior games are being made. I think it would really do well in terms of multiplayer, customization, and replayability. Let's hope that whoever owns the franchise now will be motivated to create a new game.
That game came with my family's first PC. I had so much fun with it. The RPG, miniature game (I don't mean MechClicks), and computer/video games were all great. I really hope they (whoever that is) don't let this series die =\
Submitted by LazyLeeUK on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 7:42pm.
When I was younger I LOVED the mechwarrior series and its universe. Although I never played the battletech table game which created it, I had all the mechwarrior games, the mechcommander games (brilliant in their own right) and watched the battletech cartoon (which is up on youtube for any nostalgia trips). It was a great franchise that was never properly done justice since its departure from the PC, but with todays console and PC technology they could easily rejuvinate the franchise if they wanted, lets hope they do!
i dun want this series to die,,,
this franchise was great, but then... damn...
not to mention that the mech warrior all look very cool! even the Flea, imagine if the flea or Uller mech was driven instead of cars.
not we gotta stick to gundam... bummer
I've heard so much about it.
Being a console gamer and Mac user I never had the chance to play these games but I do have a friend that, to this day, carries a torch for them.
He knows all sorts of stats, knows tactics, creates skins for his mechs, totally obsessed. Also, I like the idea of damaging limbs to reduce effectiveness. I know this was a big tactic in the Front Mission games, as well as some others. Fallout 3 being the most recent to use such a system.
The only Mech game I ever played was MechAssault on Xbox. My friend, the Mechwarrior lover, said that MechAssault must be related to Mechwarrior because they use a lot of the same mechs and terminology. All I knew is I liked MechAssault.
Yeah, MechAssault and
Yeah, MechAssault and MechWarrior takes place in the same universe. Though I've never played MechAssualt before. I heard it's pretty good.
Again, it's too bad that Microsoft didn't kept the franchise cause I could definitely see MechWarrior being on both PC and consoles. I mean, you can kinda play MechWarrior with just a joystick. Why not a controller?
being a console gamer is no
being a console gamer is no excuse. my uncle had that game for the SNES, quote from wikipedia:
"MechWarrior is a first-person action game for the Super NES based on the Battletech universe. The SNES game was based upon the original PC MechWarrior, with modern (for the era) graphics and using Mode 7 for the Battlemech mission sequences instead of the PC version's wire-frame 3D graphics."
but i was too young to understand it and rather played bugs bunny ;)
Too bad
Mechwarrior is another one of those series of games that just ... went away.
A damn shame too. I used to spend hours opon hours playing MW3 deathmatch against my friends, trying to figure out the most efficient configuration for my mech, making alliances with each other only to betray each other ...
Yeah, good times.
Mech Assault
Mech Assault was awesome... not as good as Murakumo, Gundam, Armored Core, or Gun Griffon. But it was better then Robotech :P and Eureka Seven.
I never played Mech Warrior... is it like Front Mission 4?
It's sorta like Armored Core
It's sorta like Armored Core except in first person and it's more sim oriented than action.
me and my friends
me and my friends used to play MechWarrior 2 all the time, we would take turns fighting each other and playing on single player
i miss that game, i should look for it
I remember
Mechwarrior 2 being awesome.I miss playing that game actually ill have to dig it up.
MechWarrior: Living Legends
A Crysis mod called MW:LL is being developped, it looks promising (they have a teaser and an alpha-ish gameplay trailer). They were originally going to use the Quake Wars engine, but decided to go with CryEngine before Crysis came out, I think Crytek is supporting them.
http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/
PS Mech3 was the best.
Thanks for telling me about
Thanks for telling me about Living Legends. I'll be sure to check it out.
Mechwarrior Was a Great Series
I own Mechwarrior 2, Mercenaries, 3 and 4, and still pop them in occasionally. All of them are great games, though I will admit, they can be extremely hard and unfair sometimes.
Another common gameplay element is "torso twisting". The mechs are like walking tanks, so they accelerate in one direction but can aim and fire in a multitude of others. It's a different control setup than strafe-walking in a first person shooter, and takes some getting used to, but works pretty well.
The thing I liked most about the Mechwarrior series in general was that they felt like simulators, providing you with an extreme amount of control over your Mech, such as changing HUD indicators, heat management, weapon grouping, subsystems, issuing team orders... Mechwarrior 4 simplified the system and thus didn't have the same kind of simulation feel the others had.
However, having played over 25 battles in the Virtual World Entertainment Tesla Pods, I can tell you that Mechwarrior 4 has a very similar feel to the original Tesla Pod version of Battletech... though the Tesla Pod version was far more in-depth since you had six REAL MFDs around you and were able to assign coolant priorities, adjust weapon power levels, it was truly a simulation in every sense of the word, though the new Battletech software in the Tesla Pods is just a re-tooled verson of MW4.
MW2 Mercenaries was also one of the first games I remember to have internet multiplayer. Buggy as Hell and laggy, but still a very fun thing to be able to play against people who weren't local.
A lot of people forget about MW2 Mercenaries, probably because it's the weakest link in the series. It was easy to miss key missions, and the buggy launching system sometimes screwed up your mission results, among other things. That, and the randomized missions were extremely boring. Though one thing it did have was the largest selection of mechs in ANY official Mechwarrior game.
MW3 is certainly my favourite in the series because it offered the biggest amount of customization and was the first to make the lasers, truly lasers, instead of pulses. There's nothing more satisfying than getting close to a mech and blasting its leg off with 12 Small Lasers in one shot! (Known as "boating", when you equip a mech with a large quantity of similar/same weapons. Something that's not acceptable practice in multiplayer.)
MW4 I find to be the easiest to pick up and play, but also the hardest to play with the mouse. I find having a good joystick makes MW4 better, whereas the previous Mechwarrior games play best with a mouse.
If we ever see a Mechwarrior V, my hope is that instead of making the game even simpler, we see a game that goes back to the simulation roots the series is remembered for. And I would love to see the cooling loop priorities from the 4.x Tesla Pod Battletech game introudced.
MechAssault was my favorite
MechAssault was my favorite Xbox game. I was really disappOinted with the sequel. It looks like good mech games are of the past. :(
I loved being able to
I loved being able to customize your mechs. It's a shame that no more Mechwarrior games are being made. I think it would really do well in terms of multiplayer, customization, and replayability. Let's hope that whoever owns the franchise now will be motivated to create a new game.
==========
SentryIII
Abandonware/Freeware PC Game Reviewer
http://www.youtube.com/user/S3JasonU
Mercenaries
That game came with my family's first PC. I had so much fun with it. The RPG, miniature game (I don't mean MechClicks), and computer/video games were all great. I really hope they (whoever that is) don't let this series die =\
Mech universe!
When I was younger I LOVED the mechwarrior series and its universe. Although I never played the battletech table game which created it, I had all the mechwarrior games, the mechcommander games (brilliant in their own right) and watched the battletech cartoon (which is up on youtube for any nostalgia trips). It was a great franchise that was never properly done justice since its departure from the PC, but with todays console and PC technology they could easily rejuvinate the franchise if they wanted, lets hope they do!