Robotic resurrection

QUOTE “Robotic resurrection

FREEWARE MECHWARRIOR 4: MERCENARIES IS NOW FREE

Microsoft has finally caved, permitting the free release if its 100-ton robot-bashing sim, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.

Its a copious package. A game of massive (if now slightly low-res) battlebots going metal to metal across varied and large arenas, but also an interesting sim with a few surprising additions.

You're in charge of a squad of mechs-a mercenary team that'll cause you to fret over their configuration, condition and costs. Things you probably didn't envision looking after when you first clapped eyes on these metal buggers. But if Mercenaries is as much about management as mechanical mashing, it's a worry tempered by the choice you have over what missions to fight, when and where. If you need to buy a more powerful add-on, you can choose to take time-limited military missions that'll throw staggering amounts of ammo at you. You can coast easily through the standard battles, but that's just treading water. Or oil, possibly.

In battle, you'll have to ponder the systems of your mech, worrying about overheating your vast lasers while fighting off a valley stuffed with enemies, routing coolant and dodging missiles. And all the time, you've got a squad to order around on the battlefield. It's a multilayered, complex and exciting robot stomper. Grab it now.

Size 1.2GB Link bit.ly/aeje4s “

QUOTE “It's like WWF wrestling, but with more lasers”

All of the above was taken from the September edition of PC Gamer magazine, page 89. I received my copy earlier this month. I hope you have yours.

While I am sure MekTek is thankful for the advertisement and the link to their web site (but the link is cryptic and does not say “www.mektek.net”), they are not mentioned in the article or even in the link (even though the link points to their web site). MekTek have put in untold numbers of man-hours on MW4 Mercs, maybe even more than the original team did. Maybe. They (MekTek) have given us MANY new battlemechs to choose from and more weapons than you could possibly use. Because of their work, others (including some of the MekTek folks) have also added many maps and even modified the single player game to be able to be played in multi-player mode (less the Solaris battles).

Now it is just my opinion, but it seems to me that the person that penned that article, just took an obligatory look at the download, played a mission or three and said 'yep, thats nice.' I am almost positive that the author NEVER went to multi-player mode and got online with some of the real players of the game. Even though I always enjoy running back through the single player game, it pales in comparison to going online.

What bothers me the most about the article is not so much that it is obvious to any MechWarrior fan that the author did not bother to go online, or even go in depth about the game and the additions MekTek made, but this simple statement, quote “It's like WWF Wrestling, but with more lasers”. What?

WHAT? MW4 Mercs is in no way like WWF Wrestling ( a male oriented soap opera featuring steroid laden goons faking their way through matches while afterwards having dinner and beers together). Mercs online is more like game of hide and seek and kill or be killed, quickly. Mercs can get VERY intense and leave your palms sweating, while you sit on the edge of your seat seeking that next enemy that you have very little idea of where they are and what shape they are in and what weapons they have left while you watch your temp gauge slowly descend back to normal operating temperatures and look over your radar to hopefully catch a glimpse of a red dot before you are the red dot.

Its pretty doubtful that any of you have ever stepped into the squared circle of the WWF to face off against John Cena or The Undertaker or whoever is the next greatest wrestler currently. But it very likely that if you are reading this, you have picked your favourite battlemech and loaded it to the hilt with your most useful weapons and electronics and the launched yourself into some world where the buildings are huge and landscape is vast. You and your team mates are on a mission to seek and destroy the enemy to keep them from meeting their mission objectives, which are most likely the same as yours, destroy all the other team in 30 minutes or less.

I would even say that if you are reading this, it is highly possible you played in a league match at sometime during your playing days. If you have, you know the intensity level. Two to twelve team mates are “dropped” onto some terrain that maybe be covered in snow or trees or buildings or lava or any combination. You all run passive except for your scout mech or your drop commander and you follow along closely so as not to be separated from your team and become an easy target for the enemy. Slowly you make you way around the map searching for those bad guys and a good place that is advantageous to your team to stake the battle. If you are good, or just lucky, you physically spot them before they spot you. Over teamspeak or ventrillo you discuss which mech to hit first and what the chain of command is should your DC get whacked, all the while maneuvering into attack formation. When the command is given, you either open fire or charge the enemy force at full speed hoping to take them by surprise and to come out alive. The weapons start blazing and mechs begin to explode. Parts are blown off and mechs explode shutting down other mechs close by making it tougher to determine who is on top of the scoreboard. After only two to three minutes, the dust settles and the ballistics are smoking while the lasers begin to cool down, a lone voice over comms says “good job gentlemen, we kicked their asses”. Now thats intensity.

So, yes, I am glad to see the freeware post in a world wide magazine publication, but I would have liked to see MekTek get some of the credit they deserve for so much work to such a great game and I would have liked to see the person who wrote the article actually “play the game”.