BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge

The Good
This game was my attempt to take the turn-based rules for BattleTech and make them real-time, to simulate the pressures of command. Thus, what I called a "Real-Time Wargame" was a prototype of what would later be called "Real-Time Strategy." I think the game accomplished this goal. Also, allowing the player to command just about every Inner Sphere 'Mech Type, plus a number of vehicles and go against some Clan 'Mechs was something cool. Finally, the scripting language we used to make the scenarios dynamic, and allowed players to build their own stratgies worked really well.

The Bad
The biggest failure of the game was inadaquate feedback into the specific damage each 'Mech took (I generalized it to make it simpler, but it was kind of frustrating). This simplification also hid the fact the game worked EXACTLY like the board game, so users could not tell easily what affected their combat rolls. Also, I wished I had designed a "phased action" game to go along with the real-time one (i.e. so you could play exactly like the table-top version). That was a feature lots of hard-core players would have liked.

The Bottom Line
A fixed, campaign-based RTS (i.e. you do not build structures or units, and your actions in one scenario will affect your next scenario) with AI personalities.

Check it out if you can find one!

The Good
- the storyline: it sticks very closely to the BattleTech RPG/boardgame universe, and by the time you're through with the game you have a sense of accomplishment. Hey, even the little merc team you play in MechWarrior 1 makes an appearance!

• the graphics and controls were TREMENDOUS for the time being. Actually, while Dune 2 is often heralded as the first ever real time strategy game, this game could be considered it as well, although it was a vastly different game than the Dune's, Command & Conquer's, etc. This game beautifully combined the boardgame mechanics (which is turn-based, by the way) in a real-time strategy game which gives you a sense of urgency.
  
  The Bad
  Nothing, really, if you're a BattleTech fan. The only nitpick I have is that the boardgame designers didn't really get the kinks out of all the clan-equipment yet and thus "hybrid rules" are used: a clan ER PPC and an inner sphere ER PPC were identical, etc. Nothing major though.
  
  The Bottom Line
  If you're a BattleTech fan it's well worth a look.