MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries

There are plenty of good things that can be said about Mercenaries over the other Mechwarrior games - More 'Mechs, more weapons, a much better campaign that requires a good number of play-through to see everything, yet.. some bad things can be said, too - after having us to pay 13 bucks twice for two mini-expansions to MW4, it then offers portions of them back up to us included with the game! Come on, that's just wrong. Regardless, the rest of it is very well done - the missions are very rarely tedious, and almost always keep you on your toes - and the voice acting is quite good. The only thing I wish for is a return to Mechwarrior 3's weaponry allocation system - I want my critical back! Anyway, if you've played any of the mechwarrior games and liked them - get this. Now. Or else. See you on Outreach!

I just have to say that I completely disagree with killer3000ad's disappointment with this title. I honestly think this is one of the best mechwarrior games I have ever played, and I have played every one since Mechwarrior 2.

The ability to choose your own path in the game, and take merc contracts in a semi non-linear fashion, really makes it feel like you are in control of your own merc company.

I thought the voice acting was quite good and really set the tone of the game for me. Mechwarrior 4: vengeance's voice acting was almost comically bad, this title does not continue that trend. I enjoyed the short conversations between the main character, "Spectre", and the intel officer, "Castle". I, at no point thought the main character sounded "unconcerned" or "bored", as killer3000ad had said. You are running a mercenary company after all, high emotion just doesn't factor in much. I enjoyed the different personalities of the different mech pilots you can recruit into your company too, even though they only have a few lines each. Also, the character "Duncan Fisher" that comments on the solaris arena matches is quite entertaining.

I found the soundtrack to be appropriate for the game, and feel that even though the old Mechwarrior 2 soundtrack is great, a similar set would feel out of place for this game. Though, they could have used a few more tracks.

I do like this game very much, but I have to say that it is a little bit too easy most of the time. After the first few missions, you will probably have 2 fully fit lances, and enough C-bills to make sure everyone is in something better than the "flea" light mech. On the other hand, later down the line one may find it difficult to come up with the necessary cash to buy every member of the team a heavy enough mech to turn the tide of a mission.

What I dislike the most about the game is that it is far too short. I really enjoyed playing it, and still fire it up once in a while today. I just wish the experience could continue a little more.

The latest in Mechwarrior combat for the PC platform. This time you align yourself with one of the great Mercenary Companies through a sponsorship program. Northwind Highlanders, Wolf Dragoons, Gray Death Legion, Kell Hounds... all of these Mercenary Companies have certain benefits when you join them, like early access to Clan weaponry and 'Mech chassis, or better payment plans.

Set against the height of the Federated-Commonwealth (Fed-Com) Civil War, you take on various contracts around the Inner Sphere. You'll fight for various houses and in different realms, but eventually you'll have to choose which side in the civil war will support, either Prince Victor on the Davion side, or Archon Katrina on the Steiner side. Luckily the conflict isn't that black or white, since there are four endings to the game. The others involve you joining Vladimir Wards Crusader Clan Wolf, or you claiming a large base on Canton.

The game takes you through the highlights of the Civil War as described in the Battletech novels, as well as Solaris VII, the gaming world. There you can compete in the Arenas fighting for cold hard cash. Placing first makes you the most money, and for each kill you score you gain a cash bonus of 200.000 C-Bills. It's tempting to go all out in each round, but doing so makes it hard to see it all the way to the top, the Grand Championship. Each round you fight you can dedicate your victory to either House Steiner or House Davion, or decide to remain neutral. The Solaris Championships are a good way to raise a lot of cash, especially since there are no extra costs in the terms of paying the salary of your pilots, or maintenance on your 'Mechs.

If not for the Solaris games, the game would be really short. The missions are certainly varied, but at times the game can get tedious. Replaying the game after you finished it with one Mercenary sponsor is only for the die-hard fan, I can't imagine a regular gamer wanting to go through all of it, and especially Solaris, more than twice.

A final note, since the franchise shifted from the clutches of Activision, there seems to be a much smaller role for background events. In the Mechwarrior 2 series, which was in comparison a true simulation of 'Mech combat as described in the books, in between missions you were treated on the large scale events through news feeds. Ranging from local news, weapon development and galactic events, players got a fairly good idea on how large the Battletech universe really is. This has been downplayed during the later games. In Mercenaries, this tradition is once more picked up, although not as in depth as the earlier games. It's good to see some traditions making a comeback.

It's a great addition, but of course shouldn't be bought without also buying MechWarrior 4: Vengenance, and MechWarrior 4: Black Knight.

It's got more mechs, more mods, more missions, better multiplayer.

Only two things bothered me about this game, first, the fact that a most of the stuff on the mech packs isn't included, such as the Kodiak mech.

Second, there is no live-action videos, as seen in most of the MechWarrior-style games, which is a bit upsetting, as they've always been a smooth mix of live-acting and computer generated graphics, to create a surreal futuristic effect.

Anyway, if you're a fan of the other MechWarrior/BattleTech games, I don't see how you can be disappointed with this one.

When I bought this game, I was expecting it to be an add-on for MW4: Vengeance, but it's really its own game. For $19.99, not bad!

The gameplay is identical to Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, aside from the addition of a market system, and the ability to assign 4 additional lancemates. The missions are each pretty unique, I never found myself playing the same type of mission over again in a different place. The arena missions are really fun, they're pretty much a battle royale of up to 16 Mechs in an arena-style environment. The AI is well-done, you will find yourself having to out-shoot and out-maneuver your enemies, sometimes while facing multiple enemy Mechs. There are 10 new Mechs and several new weapons to be found as well. My new favorite weapon being the Rotary Autocannon, a completely auto-firing cannon, which must be used carefully and in controlled bursts, or jamming will occur. At times, the free market will be short on certain types of weapons, which will have the user improvising and conserving. I found the game suprisingly short, it only took me about 9 hours to finish. But playing under a different faction, I am hoping to see more of the game. Plus, there is still multiplayer to try out! If you are a fan of the series, I recommend this game whole heartedly.

8/10.