In the next millennium, the galaxy is divided into 'houses', each governing their own star systems and resources, much like the countries of today. And true to this model, some houses have alliances and others are at war. The political situation is volatile, and although there is an intricate political storyline to this game, it's not an essential part of the game play. So if you're an arcade action junkie, you can have just as much fun as those who like to get into nuts and bolts as it were!
As Gideon Braver, son of royalty, you're in exile due to the warring clans & mercenaries executing politicians for their own ends.
You're alone in the bad world and it’s up to you to put an elite team of Mechwarrior mercenaries together and hunt down the bad guys! For those not familiar with what a BattleMech is, it's a huge robot that is piloted by a human that fights with both firepower and physical might.
This game sports graphics that were truly ahead of their time. Though only 16 colour, the 3D engine is quite advanced and the game alternates between managing money & your team, following leads to further your mission, and ducking it out with your enemies on the battlefield. The 2D graphics are awesome and it's still amazing what these artists were able to pull out of 16 colors. The sound was rather average,
made for the PC speaker, each laser and missile making a unique noise. The soundtrack supported the Adlib card though and the music is quite groovy.
Missions vary between capturing bases, defending bases, and executing enemies - rather simplistic but at the time this was as good as it got! There is enough of a selection of Mechs to keep things tasty - from the humble but speedy Locust, the versatile Phoenix and Shadow Hawks, all the way up to the butt-kicking Marauder and Battlemaster. The 'jump' feature was a brilliant inclusion - get up in the air to deal out some dearth-from-above - but watch that heat or you'll shutdown and be vulnerable! Some nice inclusions were realtime damage updates, the ability to go into map mode and command your team even if you've been disabled, and finally, the possibility of dying in battle - meet the wrong enemy and they'll keep firing after you've been disabled - lights out!
This was born in the infancy of 3D battle games before they became run of the mill. Therefore this game deserves respect as they wrote the whole thing from the 3D engine up! Before texture mapping, before lightsource generation, there was just good old filled 3D vector wireframe, and this was a really cool effort. A great snapshot in time and definitely worth a look for a nostalgic Battletech fan.
