MechCommander 2 Preview

Things are definitely looking good for the Battlemech franchise. First MechWarrior 4 and now MechCommander 2. In both cases, we're talking about excellent games, and a true tribute to the Battlemech universe.

I feel kinda funny writing these hands-on previews. Yes, I've received the BETA from MS and played the whole game through. And now I'm not supposed to review it, but preview it. In any case, I'm glad to say that the game plays smoothly enough even though it's a BETA. I had my eye on this one ever since I saw it at last year's E3; it had very good visuals and the gameplay promised to be a lot of fun. It turns out my expectations weren't unfounded. MC2 is a great strategy addition to the Mech series of games. The MC serial has gone from 2D to detailed 3D nowadays, and numerous tactical additions and clever resource management make it far more interesting and addictive than the original; but most importantly, MechCommander 2 designers have done a very good job at differentiating this game from numerous other 3D RTS games by giving it the unique MechWarrior twist. When you battle in MC2, you won't feel like you've lost 'just another unit'. In MC2, like in MechWarrior, the accent is on your precious Mechs, which cost money, and on the pilots, whose combat experience and stripes are the difference between a job well done and a heavy metal tragedy.

Clearly, the design team has shown great gameplay balancing skills and a lot of focus - they obviously knew what they were trying to create here, which is apparent in the way the game plays. It's not like they've thrown some gameplay ideas and mixed it all up to create an odd bunch of semi-creative Mech-like concepts. They went for a MechWarrior game with a strategy twist, and that is exactly what they achieved. Great job! The AI is well in place in the game, and the interface is simple and easy to use. The quantity of resource points is dictated by the difficulty of the particular mission and so is the maximum allowed mech tonnage. This ads a tactical dimension to the game, but it does not take away from the near constant action in the battlefield. Further more, some great tactical additions like air strikes and fixed artillery make MC2 all the more appealing to the commander (strategist) in you. However, when the push comes to shove, this game is all about fast-paced action delivered with a classical RTS user interface. And let me tell you: MechCommander 2 is full of it. Action that is...

In the game, the player takes charge of a band of mercenaries hired by the house Steiner to settle a rebellion by a few ill-equipped light mech piloting bandits. This of course means, that every mech modification and every new mech costs a lot of money. The intense action is in many ways dictated by how you equip your mechs, and how well you ascertain each particular mission. The pre-battle interface is easy to use and it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes before you're on your way. And once you enter the battle, you'll get flashbacks of your MechWarrior days. Not in a sense that you'll necessarily group your weapons, but close enough. The terrain plays an important role during combat. It is highly interactive and destructible, which obviously means that you'll have to learn how to use it to your advantage. Know that shooting from higher ground will get you far more headshots. Also, bear in mind that explosions may cause a chain reaction. If you use this feature properly, you can deal a whole lot of damage to the enemy by shooting a few conveniently placed fuel trucks, or indeed blowing up enemy mechs.