BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat

The Good
When Battletech was first advertised, the ad touted the game as being the first 32 bit graphics on the Genesis. The graphics are quite good for a Genesis game, with a lot happening on the screen at once. While walking around the mission map, you will be attacked by other mechs, tanks, helicopters, soldiers, jeeps, jets, etc. There are variety of explosions and many, many buildings to blow up. it is nice to be able to choose your weapons before each mission as well. One other nice aspect is the ability to play the game cooperatively. Once person can control the mech and the other controls the turret, it makes for some funny multiplayer sessions.

The Bad
The controls in this game are very hard to master, and the lack of any in mission saves make it overly difficult. You routinely are attacked from all sides, and from the ground and air. Add to this some levels are populated with mines and other hot spots, and you will find yourself restarting the missions over and over. Just watching that internal heat of your mech rise as you are attacked again and again can be very frustrating.

The Bottom Line
Battletech is a game in which the player controls a giant robot tasked with various missions ranging from eliminating an enemy spy to destroying whole bases. It is played from a top-down isometric view. Before each mission the player chooses which weapons to take on the mission, and then a drop ship drops the player's mech on the mission map. If you have played Jungle Strike or Desert Strike, it is similar to those games. It is a very difficult game because of the lack of in mission saves with missions can take up to an hour to complete. Control can be difficult to master as well, but if you are patient a surprisingly deep game lies underneath it all.