MechCommander 2 Preview

If you thought we've seen enough Mech games for a lifetime, you're dead wrong! (Forgive him; Bunny's a compulsive antagonist of all action games... He just sucks at them, that's all. -Ed.) There is a steady supply of games with giant robots having it out, but only MechCommander has that seasoned, strategic-tactical appeal. The combination of units from BattleTech and a great story seem to do the trick (remember that female General that molested our MechCommander from the start of the game? No wonder he had enough and turned solo). With its isometric view and real-time combat, the original was something exceptional back then (two years ago). FASA Interactive are already hard at work on a sequel that will have the same action elements with the addition of up to date, glitzy graphics...

Many thought that the first MechCommander by FASA Interactive/Microprose was a much-needed attempt to bring closer the atmosphere of the strategic battles in Battletech Universe. Unfortunately, they also felt that many of the game's much-ballyhooed features fell short of their mark. The main reasons for the consumers' negative response were the robust interface and the missions' difficulty. I liked the original, and I can't wait to play the sequel. The concept of the first game - commanding a detachment of heavy metal behemoths, was generally accepted as an original approach to RTS games...

MechCommander 2 will stick to the basic (and widely accepted) storyline that made Battletech universe so popular in the past 16 years. Players take on the role of a hired gun, MechCommander (our boy from the original turned freelance). He is presented with the challenge of commanding armies of robots for one of the three Noble Houses of the Inner Sphere, in order to help it shift the power balance in the part of the universe known as Chaos March. The year is 3063, and the war between The House of Davion and The House of Steiner is in progress. The House of Liao also appears, together with all the special characters of P&P Battletech games.

Our hero, MechCommander, is in a safe place, far away from the battle, in a ship circling in the orbit above the planet. His job is to give out orders to MechWarriors, and strategically deploy them in the field. His role is to gain control of all the strategic locations; his tools - skill and cunning... MechCommander will salvage his enemy's equipment and apply it against them, and use the terrain features to gain the upper hand in battles. The Mechs, on the other hand, can tear through walls, jump over the hills with jump-jets, knock down trees and create absolute mayhem... The general idea is to take your rookie, "tin can" Mechs, and shape them into a 30 ft (and taller) steel veterans, that get the job done, period. Microsoft still hasn't produced the final list of all Mechs that will appear in the game, but you can see some of them in screenshots running merrily across a detailed 3D terrain: Atlas, Raven, Wolf, Enfield, and Blood Asp (House of Liao's vicious power player) and my personal favorite - MadCat. There is a total of 15 new models, and four never-before-seen by the fans of the Battletech universe. Mechs pilots' profiles will play a key role in the game, making it more complex than the original. (And adding a bit of RPG, I gather - Ed.)

In this way, the developers want the players to devote more attention to their Mechwarriors, to care for the big lug (and the frail pilots). As the pilots gain experience and advance from Rookie to Veteran, they also acquire special skills. They can, for example, become proficient on one type of Mechs, become skilled at taking aim at the enemy - acquire expert gunnery skills. They can also become proficient at scouting, which enables them to spot the enemy without the help of sensors or radars. The sequel should appeal to both the newbies, and hard-core players. And this is certainly one of the biggest differences in regard to the original. It is obvious that Microsoft's team hopes to make the game as commercial as possible, and reach out to a wider audience. The sequel will have a fairly low lurning curve (if you're a first-time MechCommander), with a comprehensive tutorial that will introduce the newcomers to the history of the Battletech universe. Players will be allowed to switch difficulty settings in between levels, and save their position while in the mission. The most important thing is that the developers abandoned the Fog of War system; the entire map is now visible from the start of the mission. They also wanted the players to depend on tactical planning of actions, as well as using Mechs, and units in a rational manner. To this end, the entire terrain is visible, along with a presumed satellite view of the map, but you won't know whom to expect as your enemy. MechCommander 2 will include detailed briefings before the start of each mission. That way the player can plan possible defense and avoid enemy Mech patrols on his route to the objective. The gameplay will be focused on the dev. team's primary goals --- strategy and detailed planning of the best approach for the given situation, which means they've reduced the number of puzzles (hidden parts of the of the map, special enemy, etc...) to a minimum.