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Mech Commander Part 2 by ... Maurice Fitzgerald |
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Campaign System and AI The campaign that comes in the box is a straightforward setup of 30 linear missions which you must accomplish in order. I could wish for a dynamic campaign system, as I would love an endless amount of campaigning. But the scripted missions are of the sort that you can replay and find new tactical solutions each time. This is really critical to replayability, and the game is better served as a tactical simulation this way. You are not forced to kill everything that walks in this game either, as you can do minimum killing and still accomplish your objectives. Sometimes you will find your units performing a delaying action as you protect unarmed convoys. Your mechs will keep the enemy off them long enough for them to retreat to the extraction point. Things like this contribute to strategic play beyond the boundaries of an action game. As for the enemy AI, it acts much as I would expect given the technology and mechs involved. There is no combat micromanagement as I found in Cyberstorm 2. Here you click on an enemy and your mechs fire on it. Your own mechs will even fight without orders from you when self-defense is important, although the fighting will be limited and maneuvering will be minimal. You have several different ranges from which you can issue an attack order and this also gives you great tactical flexibility. These attack ranges are Short, Medium, Long and from Current position. Here’s where it pays to know your enemy as you can minimize his weapons effectiveness by staying either inside or outside their effective ranges. To see what your enemy has just click on enemy after hitting the I key and you can interrogate and get data on him. All data you get is full data that includes weaponry, armor etc. This way if you’re facing an enemy mech who has several medium or longe range weapons and no short range weapons you can order your units to close with the mech and engage at short range. This will nullify his weapons and increase your units survivability. It’s quick and deadly on the battlefield of the 31st Century and FI has given us an interface that is well up to the task
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 The only drawback I saw with the AI was some pathfinding issues. When I’ve ordered a Force Group to move from point A to point B, some mechs will occasionally move in a further route than the others. While this can give you headaches and can even sometimes threaten to blow your cover when setting an ambush (thankfully there’s always the backspace key that halts ALL units), it does not kill gameplay and I hope this can be addressed in a patch. The Future of Battletech on the PC As for the future of Mech Commander? Well, FI is already planning on an expansion pack which will have more missions and yes, the most requested item…. a mission editor! 6 more mechs are hoped to be included to help flesh out the inventory of mechs. The game has only been out 2 weeks and already has caused quite a stir in the online gaming community as leagues and units are popping up all over the place. Mplayer usually boasts between 30-50 game rooms in the Mech Commander area of up to 6 players each, and I can be found there with everyone else. The game comes a very in-depth 174 page manual that goes into not only the game installation and mechanics but also weapons and vehicles. To give you an idea of how massive Battlemechs are, the pictures of them in the manual are shown to scale with a human silhouette. There is also some background story info and a letter from his highness Prince Victor Steiner-Davion to all forces involved in Operation Bird Dog. The Bottom Line If you buy only one real-time strategy game this year, make sure it’s this one. This is a keeper by all standards and will set the tone for a new way gamers will look at RTS games. Between the engrossing and constantly evolving storylines of the Battletech Universe and the awesome gameplay, Fasa Interactive has made a serious first step into the PC game market. For achieving a rating over 90% we award Mech Commander a "Top Pick."
COMBATSIM.COM RATING : 96
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Last Updated July 7th, 1998 |
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