MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries

The Good
MechWarrior 4 falls somewhere between the stark realism of MechWarrior 3 and the pyrotechnic comedy of MechAssault.

It strikes a very good balance between the two. For MW4, a completely revised weapon loadout system was invented, in which 'Mechs have points of varying size upon which weapons can be mounted. Although simplified from the MW2 and MW3 systems (which are about as close to Classic BattleTech rules as you can get without pulling out a pen and paper), the system is limiting in a way that makes sense. Missile boat 'Mechs, like the Catapult, should never be able to mount Autocannons on their missile racks. Some 'Mechs have 'Omni' points which can mount two or three different types of weapons - this is the clear distinction which makes Clan 'Mechs better when stripped of equipment.

Yet, on the subject of Inner Sphere versus Clan technology, the game designers decided to blur the advantages a bit. In MechWarrior 2 and 3, as well as MechCommander, Clan weapons were simply better versions of Inner Sphere weapons. In MW4, there is a trade-off that must be considered. While there are direct Clan revisions of Inner Sphere weapons (like the Ultra Autocannons and the missile weapons), most of the Inner Sphere weapons are favorites at close range due to favorable damage to heat ratios, while the Clan weapons typically extend range at the cost of increased heat output. Inner Sphere has the Medium Laser, while Clan has the ER Medium Laser. The Clan version has 33% better range and 20% better damage for the same size and weight, yet it creates double the heat of the Inner Sphere counterpart. Which is better? It depends on the mission.

And the missions are very well crafted. The terrain in MechWarrior 3 was, for the most part, horribly flat and boring. With all the attention spent on terrain detail - buildings, trees, roads, bridges, et cetera - there was very little attention paid to topography. The terrain in MW4 is, by contrast, varied greatly. There are dense urban landscapes, rolling plains, mountain passes, tropical peninsulas, and more. And since the terrain affects the range at which you're bound to engage the enemy, it also affects how you load out your 'Mechs between missions. Stacking up with ERPPCs and Gauss Rifles is no longer an end-all solution.

Maxing out your weapons payload at the expense of speed is no longer useful. I mentioned in the MechWarrior 3 review that 'Mechs weren't allowed to twist their torsos (or at least, not using the mouse), and as a result, fights played out more like turret matches. There was no point in being fast because strafing was not an option. MW4 has fixed this in a very simple way - the mouse controls aiming AND twists the torso. And since the enemy is going to engage you as such (light 'Mechs tend to be frustratingly fast and dodgy, as they should be), you'd better learn how to do the same. Hooray, a 'Mech game in which piloting matters!

My final and biggest praise of this game has to be in the mission progression. From the start, you get to choose between multiple planets upon which you can run your missions. Eventually, missions will favor either Steiner or Davion, and inevitably you have to choose a side to fight with against the other in the FedCom Civil War. Though this conflict is central to the game's plot, you have other choices to make as well - play arena matches on Solaris? Fight the Clans? Join the Clans? There are rewards and costs to every decision you make along the way. But you can definitely expect to play through this game at least three or four times before finding yourself bored. Replay value is a great plus.

The Bad
I mentioned before that the slight loss of realism between MechWarriors 3 and 4 was an acceptable loss. But there were still some things lost that I would've liked to keep.

Weapon effects, for starters, are either just as nice or downgraded from MW3. The Autocannons, Gauss Rifles, and Lasers are virtually identical in graphic. Yes, you do notice that Autocannon and Gauss rounds don't travel instantaneously, but that boring beam graphic really doesn't do justice to a 180mm slug smashing into your opponent's chassis. I greatly preferred the 'burst of fire' style graphic seen in MechWarrior 3, though I hated the way recoil would throw off the bulk of the burst.

Every 'Mech blows up. I'm pretty disappointed by this because MechWarrior 3 got it right: Most 'Mechs are disabled when the pilot either ejects from the 'Mech or is killed in the 'Mech. You can cause a 'Mech to explode in MechWarrior 3 by grossly overheating it with flamer weapons, but the resulting explosion is exactly what it's supposed to be - a small thermonuclear detonation, and as such, it cripples anything within a large radius. In MechWarrior 4, every 'Mech explodes when it is killed, regardless of whether you did so by blowing off both of its legs or busting the engine. And the explosion is so small that you have to be at spitting range to be affected by it, but this is still frustrating when the AI decides to hump your leg (as the light 'Mechs are bound to do). It's neither realistic nor fun: It's just frustrating.

I only have one gripe about the missions: They're too easy. Yes, the end missions can be difficult, but there's no curve. There's just a flat line of 'pew pew, everything's dead' up until the end of the game, and then suddenly things get ugly. This is because the Solaris matches can be played to generate as much money as you could possibly want or need for the best 'Mechs, pilots and guns, and you can do this very early in the game. If you want a challenge, you can ignore the Solaris missions, avoid using Clan tech, play with one hand tied behind your back, etc. But I like a game which can reward me for being resourceful while still presenting a challenge. The reward for being resourceful in this game is a cakewalk.

The Bottom Line
This is definitely my favorite MechWarrior. It's not perfect, but it gets about as close as possible without alienating either arcade FPS players or hardcore BattleTech junkies. Plus, nowadays you can download it for free from Mektek.net, and it gets patched frequently with new 'Mechs and features. So not only is it a good game which stands alone; it's a good game which is still getting better.

The Good
The gameplay is the same good ol' fast paced 'Mech action, and now you get to trade 'mechs, weapons, and pilots on the market. I liked how you could buy 'mechs fully equipped rather than be limited to what you could salvage from the battlefield. And now eight pilots can go into battle at one time! And if you want a break from the normal action, you can always go to Solaris VII for some gladiator 'mech battles. It has a great story too. The voice acting was done well, and the dialogue was great.

The Bad
The Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance engine is a bit dated, and the graphics could use an update. Heat is very annoying, as always, at least you can turn it off. I really hated it when I was in a huge 'mech and smashed into a lightweight 'mech and the smaller one wouldn't fall over, which isn't realistic.

The Bottom Line
If flight sims intimidate you, this game won't. It's got all the greatness of any other action-sim game, but it's a lot more fun then spending five hours learning how to fly a virtual plane ever will be. If you're a fan of flight sims, use your joystick with Mercenaries. If you like first-person shooters, Mercenaries is fully compatible with keyboard and mouse, and is extremely easy to get into. If you've never played a computer game before, Mercenaries is still fun! PLAY THIS GAME!

The Good
Mercenaries managed to capture the flair from the first Mechwarrior title, except the contract negotiation and dynamic campaign with extended missions. You are in charge of a new merc outfit and depending on YOUR performance you can grow at the optimum rate, or even go to Solaris VII to prove your own worth as a Mechwarrior. Loads of weapons, "Black Market" to trade weapons and mechs, loads of mechs, multiplayer, it's almost a Btech player's dream

The Bad
No graphical upgrades, still balanced toward the larger mechs (i.e. a bit too powerful), many mechs are in the extra cost expansion packs, as are some of the weapons (though you don't need them for SP), no true dynamic campaign (the whole thing is multi-branch scripted) not enough reference to the existing "lore" other than the initial bits.

The Bottom Line
Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries is the last iteration of the Mechwarrior 4 series. After introducing Mechwarrior 4, Black Knight, and the 2 mech packs (Inner Sphere and Clans), Mercenaries is basically what FASA and Microsoft has learned from the entire series distilled into a single game.

The graphical engine did not get upgraded, as they need to maintain compatibility, but all the bugs have been fixed and performance tweaked. The MW4 series is a bit faster than MW3 and a bit more action oriented, and the new engine works well enough for that.

Sound remains about the same as well. Nothing major, though some of the new weapons sounds pretty good.

The main difference is you are now running your own mercenary company, instead of working for someone else, or a planetary government / alliance. You are really on your own, work for the highest bidder. You start your career allied with one out of four sponsors, which basically gives you a default orientation and bonus. One starts with more cash, one with more techs, one with better mechs, and one with better weapons! From there on, take on the various missions, try to earn as much money as possible by fulfilling mission objectives, and try to obtain salvage. Capture enemy weapons and sell them.

When time is right, Solaris VII becomes available, where you can choose to fight on mech to mech action in various classes, and hopefully be crowned "grand champion". Winning gives you a huge bonus paycheck.

As missions get harder, you'll need to hire additional help, and you can take many mechs into the battle, subject to mission drop weight limits. You'll need to hire mechwarriors to pilot them and weapons / ammo to outfit them, of course. Employees cost money. As it is your company, it is all up to you.

At the end, you can choose your allegiance toward Davion, Steiner, or neither, as you have fought from one end of the known galaxy to another in this long campaign, and you do need to choose sides, as choosing one side will preclude missions on the other, and so on.

Some missions require tactical finesse, while others rely on speed, teamwork, and more.

Single Player campaign, as mentioned, is quite good, with lots of branches and lots of apparent freedom. Individual battles can be hard, but not overwhelming, at least not after a bit of practice.

Multiplayer has no "commander" view, it's basically every one for himself, though there is chat support which would offer some sort of coordination.

All in all, MW4:Mercs is the most satisfying of MW4 series, giving players a true taste of being a mercenary (Black Knight expansion doesn't really count in that sense) and adding Solaris VII is a brilliant touch. Multiplayer is a lot of fun if you find the right people. All in all, a great time to be had, just wish they added more of a "dynamic campaign" to the MP.

The Good
Well, Mercenaries, the newest expansion pack in the beloved Mechwarrior series, tries to pack as much fun into the Mechwarrior series. Hopefully it will push it into the top of the huge array of mech games. Unfortunately it isn't perfect.

As well as pro's go, a definite uplift is the arena-battle type mode where you are placed in the arena with other mechs and you battle it out for prize money. This adds a definite good side to the game.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the visuals are showing their age. In the past, Mechwarrior 4 had been great to look at, but with that same engine, it is falling behind from other games.

The missions could also have been a little more varied than simple kill everything till you get there missions.

The Bottom Line
Unfortunately, Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries isn't the game everyone wanted. If you're a fan of the Mechwarrior series and have blown away countless hours, this is a good way to expand further into the game and get some more mech action. If you're not a die hard fan, I reccomend you stay away. That's why I rate this game a * 2 out of 5 *.