Very rough draft for a Mechwarrior online review.

[Pint]

This is 5 minutes of work and I don't write in this style ever, after rereading it occurred to me that I might need outside assistance to remake this into a usable article for the community. Mainly I need folks to tell me what parts suck and what parts are good, so my next submission reads more like a game review and less like a handful of words thrown on the screen. Tear it apart, my feelings will be in no danger, focus on content not grammar, this is more of a lengthy outline then a rough draft. Treat it as such.



Good day internet people! I will be reviewing the open beta release of Mechwarrior online by Pirahna Games. The game is free to play and uses the CryENGINE 3 as its coding base. I must admit before I engage in the nitty gritty of my thoughts of the game that I was a fan of the table top RPG and its game mechanics, having said that I believe that this previous knowledge of the games base material makes my expectations higher then they would be, not lower from a fans bias.

The game centers around multiple stories tall robots packed with lasers and missiles and armor plating. These robots, called Mechs, come in various weight classes which dictates how they are best used on the battlefield. This combined with how each Mech allocates its allotted weight into weaponry dictates much of the tactical aspects of the games play. It seems to me that this game is as much a tactical simulator (which included the normal map awareness and positioning) as a robot slug fest. The game play tends to be fast paced, and each match will never be identical mainly because of how open the maps are, which allows for differing scenarios of play to unfold. You witness and participate in this from the view provided by your Mechs cockpit with some sensor and tactical readouts, not too different from what you would experience from any first person shooter. I give the game a score of 4 out of 5 for its concept.

The graphics are good enough to give the feel of being in a little windowed room on top of a walking death machine, but not spectacular. The damage graphics are well done however, and it is quit satisfying when you see your pair of Gauss rifles hit an opponent with large sections of his Mech flying off and pinwheel away if his armor has been softened up enough. There is no destructible terrain in game which would have been a nice touch and add to the feel of power at your command when piloting even the smallest of the mechs which still weigh upwards of 20 tons. The maps have random and varying amounts of weather which is both well done and dreary, a rainy foggy day is never picturesque, but it does make for a nice change when playing the few maps they have in rotation over and over. The ingame sound is very well done, from the sound of your energy weapons firing and super heating the air as they travel to your opponent, to the sound of metal on metal when a ballistic weapons shell hits your Mech. I give the game another 4 out of 5 as a compiled score for its graphics and sound, the graphics being the weaker of the two.


After participating in enough matches you will have enough in game currency to purchase your first mech, this is where the real tactical decisions come into play. After purchasing a Mech you will be able to customize its weaponry loadout, the weight and speed of its engine and various other items that you can tinker with. You will soon find out that every set up has its pro's and con's and that it is up to you to figure out how best to mitigate the downfalls of your mechs design and how to get the most out of its strengths. This aspect of the game is very satisfying, but can be frustrating if a particular set up does not work as anticipated. It is worth mentioning that I can see how some players would find this portion of the game tedious and luck luster since making a viable set up either requires a previous knowledge of the game mechanics, which are very closely imported from the tabletop game, or don't have the time or patience to research the wiki to know enough to be successful in the design phase.

All in all the game has the feel of one that has the potential to be a presence on the Espots scene, I can see teams of 8 coordinating their build and how they approach each map to a high degree of coordination and effect. The hallmarks of all good competitive games are included already in the open beta. This is most certainly what will either keep people playing Mechwarrior or have it be a marginal title in the free to play universe.


My total score for the game, which gains a large dose of approval for its team based action and the ingredients present for a very competitive environment, to a 4.5 out of 5. It is a solid title for a free to play game, and has the potential to be a a major time sink for those who find the genre appealing.

[iLLusioN]

Other than grammatical errors I don't really have a problem with the writing. Definitely needs pictures. Throwing together a quick 2 minute game play video to show case the graphics and sounds probably won't hurt either. Maybe a screen shot or something of the design screen as well(assuming there is one).

[FragRaptor]

it is in beta why is anyone reviewing it?

[Pint]

it is in beta why is anyone reviewing it?

I don't understand why you would hold off until the full release when its an open beta and has the feel of a full release. Really all they have left to tweak is some of the damage outputs of the weapons, some graphical glitches and some game play balancing/additions. I think the reason its not a full release right now is the developer has aspirations of the title being a competitive platform for esports and the like.

[iLLusioN]

I don't see a problem with reviewing it...could possibly just call it thoughts on Mech Warrior Online and not give it a score, just describe each section if it's that bothersome.

[Imisnew2]

We reviewed BC2 during beta. A beta review is perfectly fine.