MechWarrior 2

Ahh… I remember the days of my youth, happily playing my 'mech games, blasting crap to bits in a 11 meter tall death-machine. Yes, I was a Mechwarrior dork, and the series still has a special place in my heart. Mechwarrior 2 was the template for the "modern" MW games, and still fairly entertaining.



First, story is really important, and FASA (the creators of MW and Battle tech, MW's twin) has done a super job of bringing this universe to life. In a nutshell, the story arc takes after the Roman Successor states, except a couple of millennia later. The various states squabble together until an unknown faction known as the Clans burst in and start the slaughter. The various MW games tell the story of the conflict.



MW2 (unlike the most of the MW games) has you playing as the Clans. Two campaigns are available, either the Jade Falcon, or the Wolf campaign. All the elements of the clans are here, including Trials to gain rank and the like. Both campaigns are fun, if a little drab. A quick word of warning, the Wolf campaign is really, really hard. Insanely hard. Beware.



There is also instant action, which is non-story based and allows you to set your own scenarios and test out new configs. This adds tremendously to the replay amount.



The environments aren't super good, as the graphics really feel their age. Keep in mind that MW 2 is pretty old, so don't expect Doom 3 graphics.



There is a fair amount of 'mechs, all customizable, BUT (there is a but), you have two limitations. Weight, and crits (think of it as space). Other then that, you have a great deal of flexibility concerning your load-out for the mission. I did find a significant problem (well, not really a problem, nor a bug, but an abusable mod). The Nova, a 55-ton medium 'mech, somehow can destroy pretty much anything in it's way. (At least when I use it) Why? Is it my mad ski11z? The AI sucks? A strange bug? None of these. I'm not super good, the Ai is pretty good, and MW2 is fairly bug free. The Nova has 12 ER-medium lasers, and since MW2 doesn't have weapon groups, I can jam on the spacebar like a disgruntled chimp, and send a seething hail of laser bolts into whatever I see. In theory, the fact that shooting builds up heat should counter this, but I can slap the override ("O", duh), and continue to fire. As long as I remember to press the override, I suffer no consequences. Quite odd.



The 'mechs are more destructible then in the later games, which is good. Arms, legs, torsos and the like can all be shot off in a spectacular fashion. Also, this is the good old days when destroying a 'mech destroyed it's fusion reactor, awarding a nice pretty explosion. When a reactor goes critical, a huge explosion engulfs the bottom of the 'mech, and arms, legs and head fly in different directions. If the pilot is lucky, you'll see the ejection pod. Nice flair.



There's probably multi, but I'll bet no-one plays this anymore. What a shame.



This is a decent game, I'm not giving it a super high score because while it's nice, the other MW games are so much more innovative. Think of this as the first CD from a band you'll know will produce some great things. MW2 is a good start.

3 star(s) out of 5

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