BATTLETECH

So I played this on Steam AND on GoG both at release, and now with the final update's out. The bad parts first, the game takes time. Most Story fights will take an hour or more to compleate. With that, most side missions can take 15 minutes to also an hour. The story is pretty streight forward. I'm an easy please so that don't bother me none...besides...this is giant mech's blowing things up. Do you REALLY need a complicated story with subtifuge, intrigue and betrayal all with a twist? No... you want giant robots shooting, razing, and slugging it out on the battlefield... also the story is squarely in the Inner Sphere. If you're looking for Clan stuff, it's not here. The great parts If you played the original table top version, you'll be right at home. The numbers are a bit 'off' from those values but that is because things are updated. The variaty has seem to hit pretty well now. When I first played, all I fought was Jenners and Locusts. Then somewhere, out of of nowhere, I started fighting Dragons and Stalkers. It seems there were some updates that threw in some different chassies and mechs from when I first played, and thats always good. Also some of the side missions got some variaty. On top of that, sometimes a mission will be 'kill this lance' and you get ambushed by a 'friendly' lance. So, you get your fair share of screw jobs. The other stuff... Now for some reason you'll almost always come out with an injured mechwarrior, a mech that took some crit damage and or lost a limb and need time to repair and heal. This CAN be avoided, but hey, for SOME reason you'll catch an LRM to the head. Now when I take into count ALL my drops, this actually happens maybe 10 percent of the time (or when im stupid) but it SEEMS to be 'all the time' as I don't need it to happen 'RIGHT AT THAT TIME'. So, I mark it as a good thing. Final peace, theres mods too, but use those at your own descresion. Id buy this if your into strategy or battletech.

With just shy of 560 hours on record, I think it would be redundant to say I like the game. Instead let's talk about the Pros and Cons. Pros? Almost unlimited creativity and customization. Having cleared everything the game can throw at you, there are virtually no missions where not having a certain mech or build or strategy results in a game over immediately. The life management sim aspect is a mile wide and several feet deep. Lots of RNG but for better or worse the random events rarely have a lasting impact outside of losing a pilot or gaining one. Some of the events even have sequel events that can pay dividends later on. Hint: you want to build a pool. You can absolutely overlevel and walk through missions the game sets up as snatching victory from the jaws of death, because there's an infinite amount of side content. Doubly so with the Flashpoint DLC. Patches have also greatly increased the amount of control you have over difficulty and certain gameplay elements, such as number of parts necessary to build a mech and if it comes fully equipped and an Ironman mode. The story is extremely well done in my opinion, easy 7.5/10 with some truly detestable villains. Cons? A select few missions are complete bullcrap. Doing a base defense against waves? You best believe enemy mechs are going to spawn within walking distance of them, often getting a turn before you can even see them and destroying your precious bonus C-Bills and buildings. There's a certain story mission I won't detail because Spoilers, but trash Mechs and NPCs against overwhelming odds isn't super fun. The game is also...janky. Running slow for no reason, loading saves can break missions, etc. It has gotten better with modern hardware and patches, but still. Also the RNG Seed is only reset if you reset the whole mission. Overall? Buy the game and DLC, mod it as you like, and remember to come up for food and water.

Pretext: This is my first review on GOG, I sunk 550+ hours in Battletech and am a long time tabletop player and backer of the kickstarter campaign In BATTLETECH you are in charge of a small mercenary unit in a pretty backwater part of known space (the periphery). Between the combat missions where you control up to 4 Mechs (big Robots weighing 20-100tons each) you need to manage your supplies and morale. Supplies can be done by salvage - just be sure you're good enough to make use of what you get. Morale should be kept in check as you gain pretty powerful options in combat based on morale. The Tutorial does a pretty good job of getting you in the game and the setting. Speaking of setting: one of the biggest plusses of the game is the music. It just gets you (well me at least) in the right mood. The game had various issues at start. Mostly stability and performance wise, some features - like difficulty settings - were missing. Several updates later another game mode has been added. In this career mode you start out with a random lance and try to make your fortune. The campaign itself is not bad, but not extraordinary either - though the cutscenes and voice acting are good and really feel "battletech". - which is one of the main design goals of HBS, which they have nailed pretty head on imho. I like the game mechanics, even though they deviate pretty far from tabletop sometimes (initiative system). Having contracts of a given difficulty turn out harder or easier adds some spice - really a plus. I'll try to sum things up a bit: The good - MECHS! - look and feel of the game - Sets a great foundation for more to come (=> addons/Season pass) - turn based strategy - living game, as in: PDX and HBS keep adding content to the game The bad - still some stability issues For me this game is everything I hoped for after waiting for 28 years after Crescent Hawks' Revenge for another BattleTech game (MC/MW didn't scratch that itch). Yes this review is biased.

Some of the design choices in this game beggar belief. Take your pick. There's the inexplicable decision to lock down the majority of locations until after the main campaign has been finished. There's the total lack of cosmetic or mechanical customisation (6 of 8 pilot skills are passives) turning pilots into interchangeable blank slates. Or there's the absence of any internal conflict outside of low morale events you'll never see because its virtually impossible to go broke even on higher difficulties. Imagine commanding a mercenary ship where everybody gets along and an employer showers you with riches for completing missions that are significantly easier than side jobs. Welcome to Battetech. A child slamming two action figures together could come up with more compelling drama than this. All this stuff would be somewhat forgivable if the mechs blew each other up real good, but we don't even get that simplest of pleasures. The combat has no bite, lacking lethality and leaving one feeling detached from the battle, with the closest thing to a game-changing move being the jet jump strike. Its a curious thing for Battletech to avoid any exciting gambles outside of this one solitary instance despite how much it would compliment its heavy RNG nature, but I suppose it makes about as much sense as the rest of the game.

Nic de Arteaga May 20, 2019, 8:25 PM (12 hours ago) to me I have been a mechwarrior game fan for a long time. Everything about the game is great, story, tactics, customize mechs, death and destruction, etc. etc. BUT FFS this 1 year old game still crashes on the regular. I started an Ironman game to increase immersion, and now if it crashes you lose your progress from when you last closed the game! Unbelievable. You expect me to buy DLC when you can't even get the base game to work properly after a year? Get real. Step your game up.