MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy

Last updated
MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy
MechWarrior 2 GBL cover.jpg
Developer(s) Activision
Publisher(s) Activision
Designer(s) Chad Findley
Writer(s) Sacha Howells
Composer(s) Jeehun Hwang
Series MechWarrior
Platform(s) DOS, Windows
ReleaseNovember 1995 (DOS)
June 1996 (Windows)
Genre(s) Vehicle simulation game
Mode(s) Single-player

MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy is an expansion pack to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat .

Contents

Gameplay and story

MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy is the follow-up expansion pack for MechWarrior 2 that was released in November 1995. The expansion pack allows players to play as Clan Ghost Bear and gives access to 14 new BattleMechs, some new weapons, twelve new missions and some new environments, such as outer space and underwater. It also adds new songs to the soundtrack. If players complete the 12 missions of the regular campaign without being killed or failing one mission, they enter a five-mission competition for a "blood name".

Ghost Bear's Legacy takes place after the Refusal War, and is the story of a new Ghost Bear warrior living in the Inner Sphere who initially repels raids by mercenaries but is enraged when the Draconis Combine steals the genetic material of the Clan founders Hans Ole Jorgensson and Sandra Tseng. The Ghost Bears send units to track down the culprits but find the matter is more complex than they first thought. The Draconis Combine has been framed for the raids and the BattleMechs used in the raid were captured by Clan Smoke Jaguar several months before. A search through the Clans for the culprit ensues.

It is found the Smoke Jaguars lost the BattleMechs in a raid by Clan Wolf. After the Refusal War, the Wolf Clan divided into the Crusader faction under Khan Vlad Ward and the Warden faction. Sending units to investigate, it is soon discovered the Jade Wolves, two rogue Galaxy Commanders of the Crusader Clan Wolf, stole the material in the fake raid. The Wolves allow the units sent to investigate Clan Wolf in Exile to honorably withdraw and the stage is set for the final battle.

Reception

Shane Mooney for PC World said "some of these tough missions are well thought out and involve strategy as opposed to having you just wander around blowing away any mech unfortunate enough to cross your path". [1]

German magazine Power Play gave the game 87%. [2]

Florian Strangl for PC Player gave the game 80%. [3]

Martin E. Cirulis for Computer Gaming World magazine issue #139 gave the expansion pack 4 out of 5 stars citing the pros as "a good story, 14 new Mech designs, new weapons from the Battletech universe, and new environments." and the cons as "combat physics in the new environments don't seem entirely realistic. The new career track probably won't pose a long-term challenge to experienced players.". Overall, Cirulis concluded that "Ghost Bear's Legacy is still a damn good expansion package, one that actually fleshes out the Battletech universe for computer gamers, rather than just delivering "more of the same". The Bear's bellowing roar is worthy to take its place with the Falcon's angry cry and the Wolf's Noble howl." [4]

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 videogames, Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.

MechWarrior is a series of video games set in the fictional universe of BattleTech.

<i>MechCommander</i> 1998 real-time tactics video game

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.

MechWarrior: Dark Age was a tabletop wargame by WizKids set in the BattleTech universe that uses the Clix system. The game's miniatures are pre-painted models of infantry squads, vehicles, and giant walking war machines known as BattleMechs or more simply "'mechs".

<i>Battle Realms</i> 2001 video game

Battle Realms is a real-time strategy video game published and released by Crave Entertainment and Ubisoft in November 2001. It was the first game created by Liquid Entertainment. An expansion pack Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf was released in November 2002. In 2012, the game was re-released on GOG.com. In 2019, the game was re-released on Steam as Battle Realms: Zen Edition, in its early access state with functioning online multiplayer.

<i>BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Inception</i> 1988 video game

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is a turn-based adventure/role-playing video game released in 1988 by Westwood Associates and based on the BattleTech franchise. It was one of the first commercial ports of the licence, and featured some of the franchise's worlds, institutions, political figures, and weapons, particularly the three-story tall BattleMechs. It was followed by a sequel, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge, though that game featured significantly different gameplay, falling into the real-time tactics genre rather than adventure/role-playing.

<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.

<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>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 BattleTechMechWarrior game universe.

<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</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

MechWarrior, known in Japan as Battletech (バトルテック), is a first-person action video game for the Super NES set in the BattleTech universe. The SNES game was based upon the original PC MechWarrior, with updated graphics that utilized Mode 7 for the Battlemech mission sequences instead of the PC version's flat-shaded 3D graphics.

<i>MechWarrior 3050</i> 1996 video game

MechWarrior 3050 is a 1994 mech-based video game developed by Malibu. The first BattleTech based game to be released for the Sega Genesis, it was originally titled simply BattleTech but was later ported to the Super NES by Activision as MechWarrior 3050. The Sega Genesis and Super NES versions are nearly identical, except for their titles.

<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.

MechWarrior (role-playing game) Science fiction tabletop role-playing game

MechWarrior is a role-playing game set in the fictional BattleTech universe.

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

BattleTech is a Mecha turn-based strategy video game developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released on Windows and OS X on April 24, 2018, with a Linux release to follow. 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>MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries</i> 2019 video game

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a BattleTech mecha game developed by Piranha Games and 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, has been 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. It features ray tracing powered by Nvidia RTX as well as DLSS.

A detailed timeline of the BattleTech fictional setting stretching from the late 20th century to the mid-32nd describes humanity's technological, social and political development and spread through space both in broad historical terms and through accounts of the lives of individuals who experienced and shaped that history, with an emphasis on (initially) the year 3025 and creating an ongoing storyline from there. Generally, BattleTech assumes that its history is identical to real-world history up until approximately 1984, when the reported histories begin to diverge; in particular, the game designers did not foresee the fall of the Soviet Union, which plays a major role past 1990 in the fictional BattleTech history. Individual lifestyles remain largely unchanged from those of modern times, due in part to stretches of protracted interplanetary warfare during which technological progress slowed or even reversed. Cultural, political and social conventions vary considerably between worlds, but feudalism is widespread, with many states ruled by hereditary lords and other nobility, below which are numerous social classes.

References

  1. "PC World" via Internet Archive.
  2. "Power Play Magazine (February 1996)". February 5, 1996 via Internet Archive.
  3. "PC Player German Magazine 1996-03". March 5, 1996 via Internet Archive.
  4. Computer Gaming World Magazine (PDF). Ziff Davis. February 1996. p. 202.
  5. "MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy (1995)". MobyGames.
  6. "Game review". www.oldgames.sk. Retrieved 2021-03-06.