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.
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.
