BATTLETECH

TL:DR? This game got all the Battlemech parts right, and everything else wrong. The core gameplay is great. But everything else starts to detract from the experience. 1. Poor optimisation: The game is poorly optimised with stutters all over the place. It brute forces the processing so your CPU/GPU is running full tilt all the time. I had to artificially limit my 1080Ti to 60fps to get a smoother experience and more reasonable temps. This should not be happening. 2. Poor progression: The old Mercernaries experience is about making you feel like you are building an empire of Mechs. In this game, everything you do makes it more expensive to do more things. Instead of focusing of expansion, you're thinking how little you can make do with. 3. Waste of the universe: The old Mercernaries did a good job of fleshing out the universe with newsfeeds, even side missions made you feel like you've accomplished something. This game does not. The game has a giant star map of the Inner Sphere, but you NEVER get to explore ANY of it. You want to jump 10 systems away to see what contracts it may offer. Sure, if you don't mind bankrupting yourself. What a waste of an opportunity to make you feel like a true mercernary, galivanting around the Inner Sphere, kicking arse and taking names.

A very disappointing poorly optimized game that, frankly, only delivers in the story part - and I haven't advanced beyond the second mission. Part of it is, the game is simply very slow and very boring without much to consider from the tactical standoff. In TBS sense it has some value, and the story of returning a princess to her throne after she has been betrayed has been around since God knows when, but the entertainment value is... not so good. Overall it is probably what I expected from the alliance of Harebrained Schemes (whose games tend poor optimization and very slow overall pace, but surprisingly good writing) and Paradox (whose games typically lack depth while being overall somewhat playable - right up and until you discover said lack of true depth). Oh, and now after the game crashed my saves somehow went down the drain, so bonus points there.

I haven't played far into the game (haven't hit more than the start of the story yet), but so far it's interesting, and I can see how it'll be good to balance the various different pilot skills, mech bodies, weapons, equipment, terrain, etc. all against each other. (I already realized I built one of my pilots somewhat poorly for their role - scouts need mark target, not gunners.) However at all levels I feel like I'm fighting the UI. It's not that the UI is bad - it's just that it's not responsive. Clicking a button doesn't always take, dragging is hit-or-miss, selecting an item from a list is an exercise in frustration as it more than likely randomly decides to use another list item - I find myself thankful for the few keyboard shortcuts I've found, as (usually) they're more responsive and accurate. If the UI were fixed to be responsive and accurate (so you could actually expect the game to always respond on each click, and respond correctly), it would be a good game. As it is, it's only so-so, as the good parts are overshadowed by the fact that it may take you several minutes to do the most minor part of your action. The design of the UI itself isn't even bad - it's just that it doesn't *work.*

Full disclosure: I own this game on Steam and not here. With that out of the way on to the game itself. As a huge fan of previous work done by HBS, I really wish this was a glowing review, but unfortunately it is not. First the positives: This game really has a way of making you feel as part of the Battletech Universe. You get to be front and center in a story full of backstabbing, double dealing and all that good stuff the nobility tends to do, only with hulking mechs thrown into the fray. Developer employs pretty good writing to immerse the player into this world. Gameplay itself is also great in my estimation, when you can get the game to behave itself on technical side. Positioning is important. Recon of the enemy is a must. With smart tactical play even the lightest mech can be the bane of even the most armored foe on the battlefield. Mechwarriors gain experience and skills along four classes, two of which players can choose to specialize in. It will be familiar to everyone who has played Shadowrun games. Mechs themselves can be modified to your hearts content. There is wide variety of weapons and other equipment to choose from. Balistic, laser, missiles, support, plus stuff like jump jets and essential heat sinks. Your imagination, heat and tonnage are only limits as to how you outfit your mechs. There are also various planetary climates to consider when fielding your lance of mercenaries. Polar will make you all but ignore the heat, letting you rip into the enemy with everything you have, while desert will make you calculate each shot, lest your mech overheats and gets disabled in the midst of combat. While all of this is interesting on paper, the game is poorly optimized and load times are long, even on SSD. Gameplay and Mech Bay (outfit mechs with weapons and equipment) are poorly explained, and anyone not familiar with the setting will feel overwhelmed, as the game gives you many options all at once. There is a good game here, but needs patching.

I don't usually do reviews, but i felt i needed to this time. For a multiplayer advice don't ask me i don't care about that. The game can be nice from time to time where you get a nice mission which drops you nice weapon/mods or piece parts for BattleMech and you get to customize a bit your ship with some options that can be useful over time and on certain random events. But. Your options on the BMs are limited, eg : This BM can hold up to five laser guns but not this one, it's predetermined, can be a set-off for some, i try to just plan ahead. The story isn't much to look at, i mean it's pretty basic, i won't spoil it but you'll see it very soon if you play. The random events also are pretty basic, not much to look at, gain a little bonus or malus depending on your choice. The heat, and i'm not talking about the BMs heat, no i'm talking about my computer, this thing run as hot as the seven hells! It can be pretty sometimes, but i'm really not sure that making the game with unity was the smartest idea, it runs hotter than any other game i've ever played. The camera! For f*** sake this thing is INFURIATING me. Iv'e set it on never follow and it still follows every f***ing enemy when it makes a move, and then immediately put it back where i was, so if i was zooming in and an enemy plays, it goes on him and when he stops moving, poof back on where i was and i have no idea what the enemy does. This is PISSING me above reason. The maps are nice but except for the main story, you'll soon see the same sets coming back. Overall, nice to pass some time but i won't dive in, not nearly as much as the witcher 3 or metro or shadowrun (which can't really compare i know but i like a good story), so in my opinion, only worth 20 to 25 bucks, not a dime more. 2,5 stars (can't put a half though)