MechCommander

Last updated
MechCommander
MechCommander Coverart.jpg
Developer(s) FASA Interactive
Publisher(s) MicroProse
Hasbro Interactive (Gold)
Designer(s) Ross Babcock
Tom Dowd
Mitch Gitelman
Tim Ryan
Steve Scott
Denny Thorley
Jordan Weisman
Programmer(s) Glenn Doren
Artist(s) Todd Labonte
Writer(s) Tom Dowd
Joel Machak
Jordan Weisman
Composer(s) Duane Decker
Series BattleTech
Platform(s) Windows
Release
Genre(s) Real-time tactics
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer

MechCommander is a real-time tactics video game based on FASA's BattleTech / MechWarrior franchise, developed by FASA Interactive and distributed by MicroProse in 1998. An expansion pack, Desperate Measures, was released in 1999.

Contents

Gameplay

Players assume the role of the commander of Zulu company from the Federated Commonwealth's First Davion Guards, a member of the Inner Sphere (IS). [4] The planet Port Arthur must be taken back from the Clan Smoke Jaguar. [5] The game's campaign progresses through 30 different missions broken into 5 operations with 6 missions apiece. [6] Each mission consists of a number of objectives which may include destroying enemy units, capturing or defending enemy units, protecting friendly units, and capturing and defending bases. Some missions must be completed within a certain time limit. [7]

Battle scene MechCommander screenshot.jpg
Battle scene

In each mission, players controls a limited number of units which are either mechs or support vehicles. [8] This control is through a simulated aerial viewscreen above the battlefield. [9] Each mission restricts both the combined tonnage and the number of units allowed. Briefings are supplied prior to the start of the mission which lists the objectives and other relevant information. A wide range of strategies and tactics may be used on any given mission, and players can customize their forces for each one. [7]

In between missions players can repair and refit mechs, assign mechwarriors to each mech and purchase mechs, vehicles, mechwarriors, and components. [6] These items are purchased with Resource Points which are awarded for completing previous mission objectives. [10] Few mechs, vehicles, mech pilots, and components can be purchased at the beginning of the campaign, but more become available as the game progresses. However, only IS technology can be purchased. Clan technology such as weaponry and new mechs must be salvaged from the battlefield. [11] Salvaging equipment is an important feature of the game. [5]

Each mech is piloted by a mechwarrior. Pilots increase in skill as they use them during missions. [7] The more missions and kills a particular pilot has, the more experienced and valuable he or she becomes. [11] If a pilot gains enough experience, he or she will increase in rank. The four ranks from least to greatest are "green", "regular", "veteran", and "elite". Rank determines how effective a pilot is in a certain class of mechs (light, medium, heavy, or assault). [12]

MechCommander: Desperate Measures

MechCommander: Desperate Measures is an expansion pack that was released in 1999. [13] Set immediately after the liberation of Port Arthur, the player once again assumes command of Zulu company in a campaign to liberate the desolate planet Cermak in the Periphery, taken by a renegade Smoke Jaguar, Star Colonel Marcus Kotare (a character that was featured briefly in MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries ), for an unknown reason that is revealed later in game. [14] Once again, the player starts with inferior Inner Sphere mechs (pilots and mechs from original campaign cannot be exported into expansion), though both mechs and pilots are better than in the start of the original campaign. The expansion features a total of three campaigns. Aside from the missions, the expansion also includes a new soundtrack, new landscapes along with redesigned and new buildings, new weapons, three new mechs for each side—Stiletto, Bushwacker, and Mauler for IS and Shadow Cat, Nova Cat and Turkina for the Clan, and new vehicles including Alacorn, Pilum and Regulator tanks, as well as ammo trucks that also doubled as mobile bombs and Centipede scout vehicles. [15] Desperate Measures also acted as testbed for the concept of custom NPC mechs that had their own names (like Kotare's Turkina), weapon configurations and overall superiority to the standard modifications. This idea was carried on to, and greatly improved in, MechCommander 2 . A compilation called MechCommander Gold was released in 1999 that includes the base game and the expansion. [16]

Reception

The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. [17] Next Generation called it "a good first effort, and FASA is to be commended for trying something different in the overcrowded field of RTS games. Unfortunately, it lacks polish, and the repetition of each mission drags down the fun factor." [21]

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated the game for "PC Strategy Game of the Year" at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, although it ultimately lost to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri . [24] The game was a runner-up for Computer Games Strategy Plus ' 1998 "Real-Time Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to StarCraft . The staff called the former game "great", but argued that "only StarCraft was stellar". [25]

Due to its science fiction setting, MechCommander received an overt recommendation from The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy), to the point of Sci-Fi's logo being present on the box art. Along with Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy , it was one of the few games to ever be officially recommended by Sci-Fi. [26] [27]

Reviews

Related Research Articles

BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark is currently owned by Topps and, for video games, Microsoft Gaming; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.

<i>Starsiege</i> 1999 video game

Starsiege is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege (1994), Battledrome (1994), and Earthsiege 2 (1996). This universe also includes action game Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games Mission Force: Cyberstorm (1996) and Cyberstorm 2: Corporate Wars (1998). It also includes the sequelsStarsiege: Tribes and all subsequent Tribes titles. In 2015, this game and the rest of the Metaltech/Tribes series were released as freeware by Hi-Rez Studios, but Battledrome and the Cyberstorm series were not.

<i>Battlezone</i> (1998 video game) 1998 video game

Battlezone is a first-person shooter real-time strategy video game, developed and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 1998. Aside from the name and presence of tanks, this game bears little resemblance to the original arcade game of the same name. Activision remade it into a hybrid of a tank simulation game, a first-person shooter and a real-time strategy game.

<i>Command & Conquer: Red Alert</i> 1996 video game

Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy video game in the Command & Conquer franchise, developed and published by Westwood Studios in 1996. The second game to bear the Command & Conquer title, Red Alert is the prequel to the original Command & Conquer of 1995, and takes place in the alternate early history of Command & Conquer when Allied Forces battle an aggressive Soviet Union for control over the European mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Weisman</span> American video game designer

Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.

<i>Metaltech: Earthsiege</i> 1994 video game

Metaltech: Earthsiege is a mecha-style simulation video game developed by Dynamix and released in 1994.

<i>MechWarrior 4: Vengeance</i> 2000 video game

MechWarrior 4: Vengeance is a vehicle simulation game, developed by FASA Interactive and published by Microsoft. It was released on November 22, 2000. It is the fourth game in MechWarrior series. It takes place in BattleTech universe where the pinnacle of all war machines are huge, heavily armed robots called BattleMechs. The player pilots one of these "'Mechs" and uses variety of available weapons to battle enemy 'Mechs, tanks and other vehicles. An expansion pack, MechWarrior 4: Black Knight, was released in 2001, and a subsequent stand-alone expansion, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, was released on November 7, 2002. Two smaller expansions, Inner Sphere Mech Pak and Clan Mech Pak, were also released in 2002.

<i>MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat</i> 1995 video game

MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat is a vehicle simulation game developed and published by Activision, released in 1995 as part of the MechWarrior series of video games in the BattleTech franchise. The game is set in 3057, and is played as a tactical simulation that incorporates aspects of real-time first-person combat and the physical simulation of the player's mech. It is a game recreation of the "Refusal War." The player can join one of the clans, Clan Jade Falcon or Clan Wolf while engaging in up to 32 missions.

<i>MechCommander 2</i> 2001 video game

MechCommander 2 is a 2001 real-time tactics video game based on the BattleTech/MechWarrior franchise, developed by FASA Interactive and distributed by Microsoft. It is a sequel to MechCommander.

<i>MechWarrior</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

MechWarrior is the second video game released in the BattleTech game series. MechWarrior was the first video game to offer the player a chance to pilot a BattleMech from the view of a pilot. With this game the player has a great deal of freedom when compared to many of the follow-up MechWarrior games, which include choosing missions, buying & selling mechs and parts, hiring lance-mates, and traveling throughout the Inner Sphere. Underneath the major game mechanics, the player had the option of following a role playing style story arc that would unfold over five in-game years.

<i>MechWarrior 3</i> 1999 video game

MechWarrior 3 is a vehicle simulation game, part of the MechWarrior series. It featured a new 3D accelerated graphics engine at the time of its release. The game contains over 20 missions, with access to 18 different mechs. A novelization called Trial Under Fire was written by Loren L. Coleman.

<i>MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries</i> 2002 video game

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries is a vehicle simulation video game for Microsoft Windows, released in 2002. It is a standalone expansion of MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, based on the BattleTech/MechWarrior game universe. The game was developed by Cyberlore in tandem with FASA Studio. This studio would also be responsible for MechWarrior 4's previous expansion, Black Knight - as well as both the InnerSphere and Clan Mech Packs.

<i>BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Revenge</i> 1990 video game

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge is a real-time tactics game based in the FASA BattleTech universe. It is a direct sequel to BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception, though the gameplay is considerably different from that of the first title, which was primarily an adventure/role-playing game. Developed by Westwood Associates for Mediagenic, and produced by Scott Berfield, the game serves as a prototype for what later became Dune II, the first real-time strategy title on the PC.

<i>MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries</i> 1996 video game

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is a video game released in September 1996 as a stand-alone expansion to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and the last BattleTech game made by Activision. In this game, the player takes control of an Inner Sphere mercenary squad, with control over finances and free choice of missions.

<i>MechWarrior</i> (role-playing game) Science fiction tabletop role-playing game

MechWarrior is a set of role-playing game rules published by FASA Corporation in 1986 that were designed to be used with FASA's previously published mecha wargame BattleTech.

<i>MechWarrior Online</i> 2013 video game

MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play vehicle simulation video game, officially launched during September 2013 by Piranha Games for Microsoft Windows. The game takes place within the larger BattleTech universe.

<i>BattleTech Trading Card Game</i> Collectible card game

The BattleTech Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) set in the BattleTech universe. The game was developed by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) for FASA and released in 1996.

<i>BattleTech</i> (video game) 2017 video game

BattleTech is a Mech turn-based strategy video game developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released on macOS and Windows on April 24, 2018, with a Linux release on November 27, 2018. The developers set aside US$1 million to create the game, and turned to Kickstarter to secure funding for additional features, including a single player campaign, an expansion of that campaign, and a player versus player multiplayer mode.

<i>Heavy Gear</i> (video game) 1997 video game

Heavy Gear is a 1997 computer game made for the Windows 95 operating system, based on the Heavy Gear role-playing game. A sequel, Heavy Gear II, was released in 1999.

<i>MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries</i> 2019 video game

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a BattleTech mecha game developed by Piranha Games released on December 10, 2019, on Microsoft Windows. It is the first single player MechWarrior game since 2002. It was initially available as an Epic Games Store exclusive title, which, like other games with Epic Games Store exclusivity deals, was met with criticism. On May 7, 2020, it was made available through Xbox Game Pass for PC. On May 27, 2021, it was made available on additional platforms including Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Steam and GOG, in addition to the DLC pack Heroes of the Inner Sphere, Call to Arms, and Rise of Rasalhague. It features ray tracing powered by Nvidia RTX as well as DLSS. Piranha Games will be releasing a stand-alone sequel called MechWarrior 5: Clans on October 3rd, 2024.

References

  1. ↑ GameSpot staff (June 24, 1998). "New Releases [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on June 17, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Microstore". South Wales Evening Post . July 24, 1998. p. 12. Retrieved April 7, 2024. PC CD Rom//Mech Commander//£37.99
  3. ↑ "Pick of the Consoles". The Sydney Morning Herald . June 27, 1998. p. 197. Retrieved April 7, 2024. Other strategy titles to be released this month include MechCommander (to be released next month), X-Com Interceptor, Dark Reign 2 and Hexplore.
  4. ↑ House, Michael L. "MechCommander - Overview". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Easley, Joel (July 25, 1998). "MechCommander puts you in control of universe". Public Opinion . No. 5. Gannett Company. p. 1C. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Reed, Jim (August 14, 1998). "Mechs go real-time". The Tampa Tribune . No. 194. Tampa Media Group, Inc. p. 38. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Clarke, Stuart (July 25, 1998). "Battle Stations". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 50201. Fairfax Media. p. 14. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Mayer, Robert (July 14, 1998). "MechCommander". Computer Games Strategy Plus . Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  9. ↑ Alderman, John (July 21, 1998). "MechCommander on the Move". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Loyd, Case (October 1998). "One Small Step for MechKind (MechCommander Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 171. Ziff Davis. pp. 267–68. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 Ferris, Colin (July 1998). "Mechcommander [sic]". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 16, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Kasavin, Greg (July 8, 1998). "MechCommander Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  13. ↑ Tringham, Neal Roger (September 10, 2014). Science Fiction Video Games. CRC Press. p. 334. ISBN   978-1-4822-0388-2 . Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ Bell, Joe Grant (August 25, 1999). Susan De Cicco (ed.). Mechcommander Gold. Prima Games. ISBN   978-0-7615-2227-0 . Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  15. ↑ "MechCommander Gold (Game)". Giant Bomb . Red Ventures. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (October 19, 1999). "MechCommander Gold Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  17. 1 2 "MechCommander for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  18. ↑ Cirulis, Martin E. (July 16, 1998). "MechCommander". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  19. ↑ Bergren, Paul (October 1998). "MechCommander". Game Informer . No. 66. FuncoLand. p. 64. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  20. ↑ Ward, Trent C. (August 18, 1998). "MechCommander". IGN . Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  21. 1 2 "MechCommander". Next Generation . No. 46. Imagine Media. October 1998. p. 120. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  22. ↑ Olafson, Peter (September 1998). "MechCommander". PC Accelerator . No. 1. Imagine Media. p. 88. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  23. ↑ Poole, Stephen (September 1998). "MechCommander". PC Gamer . Vol. 5, no. 9. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on March 9, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences . Archived from the original on November 4, 1999.
  25. ↑ CGSP staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998: Real-time Strategy Game of the Year". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  26. ↑ "MechCommander Back Cover". MobyGames . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Nightlong Front Cover". MobyGames . Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ "The Duelist # 34". February 1999.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.