BATTLETECH

First of all, I do like the game. I haven't played much (halfway into the first real campaing mission), but I do like the atmosphere. Unfortunately the game feels so slow. The UI does not always respond and I've spent more time looking at loading screens than actually playing.

Buy this if you enjoy turn based strategy, giant robots, decent writing or, naturally, Battletech. Outside of that, the game is pretty repetitive and dry. All of the developer's focus was put into the battle aspect of the game and it shows: the graphics, animations and effects during battle are solid. Once you leave that, however, you are left with a parade of still images and minimal animations. There's some basic character interaction and managing your expenses month to month, but that's pretty much it. The strategy aspect is where this game shines -- and that's the only place it does. Cons-wise, the graphics engine is pretty poorly optimized. I got fairly long load times and consistent stuttering on my rig -- and my rig can run Witcher 3 on max settings. Didn't encounter any bugs, though, and the game ran consistently, if jerkily in places. All in all, it's not a bad game. Just not a great one, either.

The good stuff Beautiful art and a decent battletechy storyline. A good and enjoyable digital interpretation of battletech combat if a bit to slow at times with exelent customisation of mechs. Good music and sound effects and the mechs feel clunky and masive as they jump, run and stomp down tanks/buildings. An awesome a new Battletech game so why is it not enough? Long load times running an a high spech rig on an m2 samsung evo thats not ok for a low effort game like this that shuld be able to load a level in a mater of seconds on a toaster. Stinks of poor optimisation. Voiceacting is sparse as in really sparse and way of in consitancy. In a conversation one charakter is silent and another sudely says somthing and its just confusing it is as if either money or time ran out for voice actors part way thru the development. GFX is mainly stills and minor animation with some still 3d characters without lipsync animation that's just boring and kind of creepy. The sheer lack of animation in the campaign hub screens sinks of halfbaked game rushed out. Horrible resolution support for Ultra wide screens (unplayable in native resolution) and UI scaling. Its a 15-25$ game in quality value in my book since it feels like an early access game. Do i like it? Yes, would i recomend it to a friend? No i'd say wait for a price drop after they are finished milking the fans or after a few patches.

Battletech is a Turn-based tactics game in the vein of xcom. Unlike xcom however, getting through a mission without damage is impossible. Battles are about mitigating the amount of damage that happens. As a Mercenary commander you are tasked with not only piloting a mech but managing all the minutea of such a company. From buying upgrades to paying for your ships fuel. its all a very well tuned balancing act. The story cutscenes may lack flair but the story is strong enough to cary you through. Some things worth noting are the artsyle (its battleteck it always looks good) and the soundtrack. Battletech also comes with a multiplayer mode along with skirmish against the AI. This mode allows players to mix and match thier lance (a squad of 4 pilots and their mechs) to duke it out in multiple arenas. Overall I cant recommend Battletech enough.

Pros: - Feels like Battletech - Fun progression building up your mercenary lance and capturing heavier mechs - Well-designed turn-based combat Cons: - Agonizingly long load times (I'm talking "bring a book to read while you wait for things to load" long) - Surprisingly linear game play: Not the open-ended sandbox you'd hope for - Stability issues, game crashes - Repetitive, predictable missions - Limited to one lance of 4 mechs: You'll never own vehicles or be able to field more than 4 mechs - Every campaign plays out identically, little replay value If you like Battletech and can get this game on sale, you should get your money's worth. But you're just as well off if you skip this one and wait for a much better sequel to eventually be released.