THE Game To Beat

With an estimated fan base of nearly 4 million, the Battletech Universe has become a true franchise. The board game has sold over 600,000 copies and 3 million supplements and has an average audience between the ages of 13 and 35. The 38 novels have sold a whopping 2.2 million copies and have even spawned a card game, a 13 episode animated series and a 20 million dollar toy line. Not to mention one of the greatest selling sims of all time with the Mechwarrior 2 series from Activision.

Wow, with a background record like that Fasa Interactive and Microprose had a lot to live up to. Battletech fans can get very particular and their expectations are very high. Microprose  is paving the way for their upcoming title Mechwarrior 3 by whetting everyones appetite for more mech mayhem by publishing this new real-time strategy title Mech Commander.

In their first ever foray into the PC market Fasa Interactive have proven themselves to be a comer with their first effort Mech Commander. The goal of both MPS and FI has been to bring the Battletech experience to the PC in a very real and engaging way. Their goal has been attained with the latest release and this is by far THE real-time strategy game to beat this year. This one will have much deserved success and I hope will be only the first of many in a series.  

More than just a story 

Set in the year 3059 you are in command of Zulu Company of the First Davion Guards, as part of “Operation Bird Dog”. The goal of the operation is to liberate key planets that the Smoke Jaguar Clan has held since the invasion of the Inner Sphere 9 years ago. With 30 campaign missions stretching through 5 phases of the OP, your tactical expertise will be constantly challenged and living up to its PR slogan: you will truly feel what it is to command.  

Quick Background Story 

With the advent of the Kearny-Fuchida Jump Drives interstellar travel became a reality and the populations of the Earth now known as Terra reached for the stars and began to populate the galaxy beyond our solar system. As colonies sprang out over 150 light years of space mankind forged the Star League and peace flourished. After 200 years of peace the Star League began its collapse and the leader of the Star League Defense Force Aleksandr Kerensky, disheartened by the tragic loss of the ideals he held closest to him, led a mass exodus of his army and their families into the Periphery beyond known space. With the collapse of the Star League the successor states were born and mankind fell into centuries of conflict over who was the overall ruler or Star Lord.  

Kerensky and his troops themselves had further problems when settling in and as time went by they split into Clans, taking their names from animals of their home planets like Clan Wolf, Jade Falcon and Smoke Jaguar. Having a caste system in place with the Warrior as the superior caste, the Clans evolved by using genetic engineering for their warriors. Taking a “giftake” or DNA sampling from warriors who had proven themselves in battle, the Clans were able to produce more superior forces with each succeeding generation. Never letting go of the great Aleksandr Kerensky’s vision of a reunified Inner Sphere under the banner of the Star League Defense Force, they bided their time for the right moment to invade and once again reclaim Terra.  

In 3050 the Clans invaded and decimated many worlds in a short period of time. It wasn’t until Comstar and their troops stopped the invasion cold with a proxy battle for Terra on the world of Tukayyid that an uneasy 15 year truce was initiated. Now in the year 3059 the Inner Sphere, filled with nations once locked in battle, has been brought together again in the form of the Star League Defense Force and is taking the war to the Clan homeworlds.  

This is a VERY short and sweet rundown on the political and military situation in the Battletech Universe: there are over 38 novels, countless board game scenarios and field manuals from which you can gain further background if you want. As I said earlier this is one of the richest and most involved storylines ever created, so it’s hard to shrink it down to a couple of paragraphs, but now you get the gist. 
 

The True Meaning of Real-Time Strategy

When I saw the demo of the full version at E3 my mouth watered. When I played the demo I drooled. Now that I have the full version I need a bib! This game kicks some serious ass and is THE tactical RTS to beat this year!

This is one of the titles I had mentioned in my Commandos – Behind Enemy Lines review along with Commandos and SWAT 2 that would be changing the face of RTS gaming, for the better. I have not always been a big fan of RTS games because they tend to degenerate into more of a build, build, build, mine, mine, mine ad nauseum situation that bores me rather quickly. Mech Commander steps above that and brings true strategy to the otherwise action oriented RTS genre. 

With Mech Commander there is none of that drudgery. As a commander in the field you command Mechs and troops, not engineers. In this game you concern yourself only with tactical decisions, both on and off the field. On the field you command up to a full Battlemech Company of 12 mechs and vehicles. Off the field you are responsible for repairing, outfitting and configuring your mechs as battle damage carries from mission to mission. You procure mechs, vehicles and equipment through your Battalions inventory pool, from here you also aquire pilots.

This is all done through the use of Resource Points or RP’s, which you receive after each battle for accomplishing your mission objectives as well as from selling battlefield salvage. The more objectives you accomplish and more salvage you aquire the higher the RP's awarded. You also have the choice of selling that salvage or repairing mechs acquired in battle, which can help you when you see the difference of Clan tech vs Inner Sphere tech.  

Clan tech is superior to Inner Sphere tech in that the mechs are capable of carrying more weaponry and armor and weapons recharge at a faster rate and have a farther range. This is due to the fact that Clan components, weapons and armor are smaller and lighter. The Inner Sphere is working to bridge the gap, but the advantage still belongs to the Clans. So if you are facing a similar sized opponent, he’s still better than you.

With this in mind you will want to keep the Clan mechs you can salvage from battle as they could be very helpful down the road, and this is one game you should keep a steady stock of ready to go mechs and pilots. In one mission you may only be able to take one Lance (4 mechs) but then the following mission may have you taking 2 Lances (8 mechs) or more. So keep your mechs repaired and ready and your best pilots rested when possible as even pilots get fatigued or injured in battle and you need to track them as well.  

Click to continue . . . 

This is where MC really appeals to me in the management sense: it lets you truly be a Mech Company Commander. When you lose a pilot you’ve seen grow from a Green newbie to a Veteran you will feel the loss as the more experience your pilot attains the better he is. Not only is he or she a valuable asset to you because of their abilities but also because of the qualifications on a mech.

A Green Mechwarrior with little experience is only “checked out” on light mechs and so on up to Elite ranking. A Mechwarrior may pilot a mech outside of his abilities but at a penalty, as he will not be as good in it as a more experienced pilot. As the missions go on you will see the need for more experienced pilots as the mech is nothing without the proper pilot.

Beginning with the dramatic opening video sequence you are sucked in and there's no turning back. The story is set in the year 3059, and you are a Mech Commander with the First Davion Guards. The game you have is said to be "software representing a revolutionary step forward in integrated command and control". You are able to command your forces not from a command Mech anymore but from the safety of your dropship. From here all your commands are issued to your units for them to follow.

From this interface you will also control which forces go into the field, purchasing equipment and pilots from the Battalion Inventory pool and matching up the right pilots with the right mechs. This game doesn't have you building factory's or mining for ore, you draw from what is available and salvage what you can from the battlefield.

Mechs are customizable and can be refitted with different weapons and equipment if you don't like the variations available to you. Though not as customizable as the mechs from MW 2 series, you can easily customize them to fit your likes if you don't like the 3 variants of each class made available to you. There are 18 mechs in this game: 10 IS and 8 Clan, and each mech has 3 types. The 3 types of each mech are Armor intensive, Weapons intensive and Jump capable. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and it's up to you as a Mech Commander to make those decisions. You will have access to the 10 IS mechs from the inventory pool, but Clan mechs must be salvaged from the battlefield.

Game Mechanics 

A straightforward tactical game like Mech Commander should have a fairly straightforward command interface, one that gives you all the pertinent info without drowning you with data. FASA Interactive has done a great job here at giving you only what you need and nothing else in a small but easily readable multi- function display that sits in the top left corner of your map view. This display can be either open or closed depending on your needs or preferences in gameplay, but it should always be open as sensor data is constantly updated and fed to you through it. You have the choice of using your MFD or a combination of keyboard and mouse commands to issue orders to your mechs and see them carried out immediately on screen.

From the MFD you direct air and artillery strikes as well as sensor probes and remote camera views to uncover the “fog of war” on your battlefield map. Your mechs and vehicle damage indicators are nicely arrayed across the bottom of the screen with icons for each individual mech. Damage is graphically shown through color shades on the mechs icon, providing you with quick glance information. Using this you can decide what to do with each mech, if he’s too damaged do you risk him or send him in anyway?

Your units are broken up into 3 Force Groups with access to each as easy as a function key. F1-F3 brings up the corresponding force group allowing you quick and easy access to individual lances. Using this you can very easily coordinate multi-axis attacks on enemy positions or you can send one lance ahead while you send another on a diversionary attack. You can also set one Force Group in place as an overwatch as your movement element heads toward the objective. This has what every player wants in a tactical game: all the important info at your fingertips in a very powerful and easy to use interface.

Another important aspect of combat is the ability FI has given us to "call our shots" by using aimed fire. Using aimed fire means you can order your units to aim at specific parts of the mech to attempt to either disable (ie 'leg') the mech or to even concentrate all fire at the cockpit to kill the pilot. This way you can "kill the meat and save the metal" allowing yourself some primo salvage with limited repair costs to you after the battle.

The downside to this is that your mechs must be standing still and that any shots that do not hit the indicated area miss completely. This is actually very realistic as you would need to stand still to more carefully pick your shot and you would miss completely if you were aiming at a smaller target area and failed to hit it.

Some of the other orders you can give your units include "Guard," where they can escort and protect a vital area, building or convoy. The "Capture" order allows you to capture important buildings and vehicles and this is the one you'll use most often. When attacking an enemy compound for example, you can move in and capture not only the HQ's and components warehouses (which ups your salvage) but you can also capture missile turrets. The turrets, once under your control, will augment your battlefield forces. Turned on your enemy, they will help you make short work of them. Another great use of the capture order is to capture a mech repair bay so that you can continue to fix your mechs in the field quickly during the scenarios.

The last orders I want to cover are Mine, Shutdown and Ejection. No, this is not to mine for ore but to lay minefields! Looks like FI thought of everything for this game doesn't it? Nothing better than laying a minefield and watching your enemies walk right into it, slowing them down and chewing up their armor while you can hit them from ambush positions. Shutting down your mechs can be one way you can avoid an enemy patrol or hide from a pursuing enemy. This one can come in handy but be careful as it will take a couple seconds for your pilots to power their mechs back up.

Lastly, the ejection order is what you give to a pilot you don't wish to see perish in the field when their mech is all but lost. It's easy to get so caught up in battle you forget about the pilots but keep a close eye on them because once they're dead, they're gone. Don't worry SAR teams have a 100% recovery rate so you WILL get your pilots back if they eject.

Looks Almost Like A Movie 

If you’re a mecha fan like me you’ve probably seen those horrid movies like “Robot Jox” and cringed when you watched the battle scenes, wishing someone would just do it right. Here’s where this one sparkles like a pure diamond. From the dramatic opening video sequence down to beautifully rendered terrain with  mech animations, and dynamic explosions so life-like you’ll feel you are there: this one’s a real beauty to look at.

While beautiful, terrain doesn’t matter if it doesn’t serve a line of sight purpose. In Mech Commander terrain does matter as it can restrict LOS weapons which can be used to your advantage or can work against you. With close to 100,000 frames of animation your mechs power up and spring to life right off your PC screen, with attention to detail that is both amazing and extremely entertaining. Issue a full power move order by holding the space bar and clicking on the area of the map you want your mechs to move to and watch. As your mechs move through a group of trees you hear the sound of wood splitting and see the trees felled with no effort, after all it should be easy in a 30-meter tall armored walking death machine.  

Enemy tank crews bail out of their vehicles when you destroy them and you can go ahead and stomp on them and be met with a satisfying crunch! Each mech leaves his footprints behind as you move and the animations of the mechs are wonderfully done, especially in battle as you watch the mechs move and the torso's twist while engaging targets. Vapor trails spew forth from missile racks as your mechs engage enemy vehicles and mechs and lasers dart out in short pulses of light. Your pilots when shot out of their mech call out "ejecting" and you see a pod shoot out of the mechs cockpit straight into the air, nice little touches like this give me the warm-n-fuzzies!

PPC’s look like PPC’s should, whips of lightning lashing out to savage enemy Battlemech armor. Energy weapons and missiles alike have radiantly glowing shadows, lighting up the ground they’re flying over. The sounds of weapons fire are not only ear candy but also important audio cues, which will help you know who’s getting shot up.

Put this together with the constant audio and FMV visual inputs from your pilots a la Wing Commander with your pilots telling you things like “they’re chewing me up”, and “my armor’s like paper”, and you have full knowledge of who’s effected and how much. These things could have been left out and in favor of icons only, but FI has given us fantastic detail to bring the game to life and get you involved. Mech Commander plays great and is one of the best looking strat games this year.

Continue on to Part II