Reviewed: August 1, 2001
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Microsoft Games
Developer
FASA Studio
Released: July 19th, 2001
Genre: Strategy
Players: 8
ESRB: Teen
8
8
8
9
8.2
System Requirements
Recommended System
Anyone who is familiar with strategy games whether they are computerized or of the "old-school" pencil, paper, and dice variety has probably played or at least heard of Battletech. I admit I fall into the latter category, as I have never played any of the strategic Battletech games, but I am a big fan of the spin-off MechWarrior series. There is just something that is very cool about jumping into the pilot seat of a giant robot and fighting other robots while smashing up the countryside. I've even visited my local Battletech Center a few times and literally gotten in the pilot's seat to fight some impressive network games with up to eight other mech pilots. And one of my secret pleasures is to pop in my VHS copy of Robot Jox at least once a year - sure it's a silly (if not outright stupid) movie, but giant fighting robots simply rule!
MechCommander 2 is the latest sequel to the popular Battletech franchise from FASA Interactive, which was recently acquired by Microsoft. Unlike the MechWarrior series, MechCommander takes you out of the pilot seat and puts you in a strategic command position where you order computer controlled mechs from the safety of the command bunker. The appearance and gameplay of MC2 is quite similar to just about any other RTS games such as Command and Conquer, but with a few notable exceptions.
Having just come off a three-week tour of duty with Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising it was literally a shock to return to the conventional isometric RTS genre. Granted, the game world and objects are modeled in 3D and you have full rotational and zoom capabilities, but it is hardly a substitute for hopping into the pilot seat to deliver the destruction from a first-person perspective.
MechCommander 2 consists of 24 missions and three campaigns. The story is a bit weak and you will probably start to disregard it about halfway through the game in favor of just getting to the next scenario. You will end up caring more for your pilots than you will the back-story.
You might want to take note of the system requirements for this game. While these are minimum requirements the game is quite playable on such a system and anyone with a computer built in the last 5 years should have no trouble in loading and playing this game. Naturally, a bigger system will improve performance and allow you to run at ultra-high resolutions, but no fancy system or expensive upgrades are required to play this game.
Normally my biggest complaint about almost all RTS games is the resource management. FASA has cleverly hidden, or at least disguised this tedious task by allowing you to salvage fallen mechs from the battlefield and take control over enemy resource centers. These resources can be spent during the game on such luxuries as Airstrikes, Sensor Probes, or even scavenging an enemy mech and have it join your team. I was disappointed that the enemy instantly recognized converted enemy mechs. I was hoping for some covert-op opportunities where I could sneak my newly acquired mech into an enemy compound and do a little inside demolition. You also earn money for completing your missions and you can use these funds to buy new mechs or upgrade your current ones.
Between missions you get to buy new items and upgrade your mechs. This is very important, as the status of your mechs and pilots is persistent throughout the entire game. If you fail to repair a heavily damaged mech before entering the next battle you may very well lose that pilot and his mech early into the next mission.
There is also a skill/experience system that awards your virtual pilots with promotions and bonus skills for performing well in the mission. You have full control of how you train these pilots, which really helps to include you in the game even though you mainly just sit back and issue orders. Your pool of pilots is limited and when one dies he is not as easily replaced as his mech. Losing a pilot that you have been carefully training through several missions can be an almost emotional experience.
Since you have no direct control over your robots you will be pleased to know the AI is very good. Mech aren't terribly fast so it can take awhile for them to move across the terrain, even at their running speed. Also, some mechs aren't as fast as others so you have to keep an eye on the heavier mechs to make sure they don't fall behind and get ambushed. Enemy AI is also quite good and I've even witnessed some smaller scout mechs retreat back to their heavier "big brother" mechs before turning to fight you.
The command interface is excellent and you can issue a variety of orders with a few clicks of the mouse or keyboard shortcuts. There is now a waypoint system that allows you to plan a route for you mechs. This is very handy if you need to circumvent an enemy stronghold or plan a route through a dense forest or through the mountains. The pathfinding is excellent and the mechs normally find the best path from their current location to your desired waypoint, even if you don't plan their exact path.
The maps are modest in size and in a bold move by FASA are completely revealed at the beginning of each mission. Most RTS gamers are familiar with the concept of the "fog of war" where you can only see a limited portion of the map around you as you explore the terrain. At the beginning of each MC2 mission you can see the entire map in both the mini-map and in the large 3D view. What you do not see are any enemy mechs or other vehicles. This is all cleverly handled by the use of sensor nets. Long-range sensors will spot enemy signatures but they are only displayed as a diamond-shaped icon until you get within visual range whereupon they are revealed to be anything from a giant BattleMech to a non-threatening jeep. You can even equip your scout mechs with advanced sensors to get detailed info on a target from great distances.
The "fog of war" is a valid concept for historic and non-technological RTS battles such as Napoleon, WWII, or Gettysburg, but having the entire landscape available in a futuristic game such as this is much more realistic. You would certainly have satellite recon data at your disposal prior to each mission, and it certainly does help in planning your offensive and defensive strategies.
You will be glad to know you have the ability to QuickSave within a mission. This is a wonderful features; especially in the later missions that can often exceed an hour in length. Each of the 20 missions vary in objectives and complexity ranging from assault and base assimilation to convoy escorts and even rescue missions. Your objectives are clear at the beginning of each level and they are checked off as you accomplish each goal. The list will often grow with additional objectives. Even though the objectives are presented in numeric order you can often choose the task you wish to do first. This allows you to complete the goals in order of increasing difficulty so you can build up your resource reserves and possibly increase the size of your taskforce before tackling the harder objectives.
While some objectives are mandatory to complete the mission there are often voluntary objectives that you can choose to do. These will reward you with a greater cash payoff at the end, but you must always make sure you have enough resources and strong mechs to complete the primary goals or you stand to lose everything.
MechCommander 2 is now in 3D and while it looks and plays much like the 2D isometric games the fathered the genre, you do have the ability to rotate the maps and zoom in and out several levels of magnification. There is an exquisite amount of detail to the maps. While the terrain can get rather boring and repetitive the actual objects such as units and structures are amazingly detailed and animated. My only complaint was that I constantly wanted to zoom in to admire the graphics but the game almost forces you to play from the furthest magnification just to keep things under control.
The subtle touches the animators have included will keep you in awe throughout the game. Buildings crumble, burn, and smoke. Mechs reflect their damage realistically and even continue to walk a few steps after taking a fatal hit before falling to the ground in a metallic heap.
The use of colored lighting makes for some spectacular battle sequences, especially in the night missions. Missiles create huge explosions with concentric shockwaves emanating from the center of the blast. Rockets leave smoke trails as they fly toward their target and the terrain scars in real-time leaving only scorched earth after the smoke has cleared. Your mechs even leave footprints as they traverse the landscape.
The main screen features a transparent compass overlay that always shows the orientation of your view compared to that of the mini-map. The mini-map also shows your cone-of-view in its window. Even on a modest system you will be tempted to play MC2 at ultra-high resolutions, and you can probably get away with it most of the time. Note however that scrolling and rotating the main view, especially when there are a lot of mechs or combat action going on, is extremely jumpy, even on a powerful system. I also found no way to have the main view "track" my mechs, so I constantly had to move the camera to follow my units when they walked off-screen.
The opening movies and mission briefing are actual FMV's with real actors. The acting and sets are right on par with Command and Conquer, but still fall short of the cinematic masterpiece that is Wing Commander. While there are no noteworthy actors like Mark Hamill or James Earl Jones, the cast of MC2 does a sufficient job of delivering the story. Even the little thumbnails for each of your mechs include video clips for each pilot.
The overall presentation of the game is excellent with animated menus that look like part of the game. Even the installation routine features some great graphics with sound and informative tidbits of data for you to read during the copy process.
The sound and music in MechCommander 2 are excellent. The soundtrack delivers an emotional punch and creates a great sense of atmosphere. The dialog is delivered by adequate voice talent that gets the story across, but it's nothing to rave about. The script is decent, but the game would have been better if they could have gotten professional people to read for the more important roles. The radio chatter during combat is decent enough and you overlook the quality for the simple fact that it is there and livens up the game.
Sound effects on the other hand are amazing with weapon effects and explosions all sounding just like you would imagine. The mechs and other vehicles all have their own unique sounds and the entire sound system is top-notch.
There are over 20 missions and each one can take between 30 minutes to an hour or more near the end of the campaign. You can easily expect 40-50 hours of gameplay in the campaign mode. I found it disturbing and downright shocking that there was no Instant Action or Melee mode available. You either play the campaign or the multiplayer mode.
MechCommander 2 comes with a well documented level editor that is as powerful as it is complicated. If you choose to take the time to figure it out you will be creating your own missions and campaigns in no time at all. It's features like this that virtually guarantee that MC2 will continue to flourish with a wide variety of user created missions and campaigns long after you have finished the solo levels.
The game also features a comprehensive database for all the BattleMechs, weapons, and a complete history with focus on key individuals. While this may seem trivial to most casual RTS gamers, true Battletech fans will drool over this detailed and fully illustrated encyclopedia.
MechCommander 2 supports up to eight players on a LAN or on the Internet (using Microsoft Gaming Zone) controlling up to 32 Mechs in a variety of popular multiplayer game modes including; elimination, king of the hill, capture base, territories, last man standing, last man on the hill, and complex mission.
The multiplayer interface looks complicated but in fact is quite simply to use. You can host a game or locate one to join in no time at all. The mission-based scenarios for multiplayer are quite good and offer some unique challenges you won't experience in the solo campaign.
I managed to find a few people to play with (and against) on the Game Zone and while we never had more than 5 players there was never any noticeable lag. Three of the players were on cable and another and myself were on dial-up connections. Since MC2 isn't pushing huge amounts of polys and textures around at blazing rates like Quake Arena or Unreal Tournament, there is less demand on your data throughput for this game.
MechCommander 2 is more of a tactical game than a strategic simulation. Building up your pilots alongside your mechs is an ingenious derivative of an otherwise stagnant genre. The tedious task of resource management is actually integrated into the game in a fun and challenging way.
When you finish the campaign you can take your aggressions out online or master the level editor to create your own new missions and campaigns. If you enjoy the Battletech style of games or if you are a MechWarrior veteran wanting to get out of the cockpit for a while, then this is a great game that will offer countless hours of fun and challenging combat action.