BATTLETECH

Good for what it is

Well its giant robots shooting other giant robots.... Whats not to like.

This game provides for hours of fun. The strategy is great and the storyline is entertaning. I only wish the expansion packs were not so pricey.

With the addons this game is days of fun

I was eager for this game when it first released, yet it crashed my computer twice in the first mission and I decided to give up. After coming back to it years later, I find it mostly stable and fairly enjoyable. The main downside is the learning curve. The game does not give a good enough tutorial: how exactly am I to properly use light mechs? Should they be moving full speed each turn to scout and hope to avoid fire? Am I supposed to stealthily hide them from the enemy and outrange their sensors? It doesn't help that the very first mission puts the player against a lot of enemy turrets that bombard the player from off-the-screen with long-range missiles and gives no idea how to actually evade or counter them. It takes some failures to eventually learn that the turrets can be disabled by hitting the power generator, and that this should be the player's priority. After learning the ropes, the game finds an enjoyable pace. Most of the strategy revolves around choosing the right mix of mechs to support one another, and building their loadouts. There is some use of terrain. Story missions can be pretty difficult, but as long as the player picks more side missions and buys some heavier mechs without advancing the storyline, the difficulty is mitigated. Side missions are procedurally-generated, however, and can quickly feel repetitive. Overall, the game has managed to be fun.