A fun remake that is actualy quire true to the original game in terms of story, map layout, and "vibe", but, it's considerably more difficult than the original or the enhanced edition. I just came off completing the Enhanced edition and this is consistently harder. There is less ammo, and the enemies hit harder and fight smarter. Cyberspace sections are longer and combat is more difficult, particularly in later levels. I'd recommend this to anyone, though skew more toward new players with modern gaming expectations. For anyone old enough, or who already played the original game, or who enjoy old school game mechanics, I'd recommend the Enhanced Edition first (or even the original depending on your patience), then this. All are worth playing, for different reasons.
A nice refinement of the classic. Better controls, higher resolutions, control configuration, mouse look controls. Just makes for a more modern experience. I played and finished the original when it first come out, and now I can revisit it with refined controls. Still love the look and feel, moreso than the (still brilliant) sequel.
In the early game I focused quite heavily on doing non-story mercenary missions to build up my lance tonnage and level my pilots. Combat, starting out fairly simple, did eventually flesh out to require some more lateral thinking when I found my 4 mech lance taking on 8 or more mechs coming at me in waves. Using mobility and terrain became imperative to success and rarely did it devolve into the toe-to-toe slugfest I feared. I loved initiating melee combat and stomping on a ground vehicle never grew old. In general the turn based ruleset worked great, though it is highly recommended you disable most of the combat cinematics and animations to speed things up. There are enough mechanics away from the combat to keep you occupied. Mechs need to be repaired and refitted and you can modify their weapons, armour and equipment. Pilots need to be trained across 5 (?) attributes which add bonuses and unlock new skills, both active and passive. I trained each to have a particular speciality like indirect fire (using a catapult with many many missiles) or long range with autocannons, or melee. The dropship itself can be upgraded in many different areas such as medical facilities, mech repairs/bays and so on. I won't go into the story too much as it's fairly generic fare. Someone loses their position of power, you used to work for their clan, now you're a mercenary. That person engages your mercenary group to help take the power back. After a bunch of things™ happen, you come to a bittersweet conclusion involving guns and explosions. Tidy, but unremarkable. When the story ends you can embark on an endless series of randomly generated mercenary missions picked from locations all over the galaxy (or at least the portion the game is set in). VERDICT: I really enjoyed it. A definite recommendation for lovers of stompy robots, science fiction, or turn based tactical combat games. Final Word: RECOMMENDED https://belligerentoldergamers.blogspot.com/2019/11/battletech.html
