Mechwarrior: The state of the Heavy Metal and Video Games.

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What is it about big robots with enough firepower to level a small city that grabs the male geeks imagination? OK maybe just grabs this male geeks imagination, but you have to say that the Mechwarrior Sci-Fi franchises has been one of the coolest never to make it into mainstream.  

The Mechwarrior universe is right for TV or movies with its complex political systems and heroes, and did I mention the big 40 tonne robots/Mechs with enough firepower to level a medium sized city.  But it has spent the last 25 years in the tabletop game/RPG space, with a few good novels and a handful of popular PC games.

My love affair started with the Mechwarrior 2.  Crashing around the countryside in a Timberwolf (oops sorry that should be Madcat) was just too much fun.  Even if the graphics were a little dodgy, Mechwarrior 2 had the game-play and the depth that was normally reserved for flight sims.  So the even though you were cruising around, laying digital waste to the landscape, you really thought you were cruising around laying waste to the landscape, and as a teenager that was as cool as it could get.

The New Game

The last offering on the PC Mechwarrior 4, was one of the best games of the day and if I could find my copy I would be playing away.  The reason for the renewed interest is the news and the trailer for a new game in the Mechwarrior franchise. 

The trailer looks great, and often does, but if the trailer gives any insights into the game-play and interface, then I think I will be a happy camper.  It looks to have the classic sim undertones as well as all the new graphic hotness.

The Old Game

On to the other news in the Mechwarrior universe, that they are going to distribute Mechwarrior 4 for free as a download.  This is going to be great for those of us that are missing our disks, and also a great way to get friends checking the franchise out before the new game.

The only draw back is that I have been waiting for the download since early 2009, so with each check of the website my hopes are dropping.  I guess we shouldn't get our hopes up too much when one of the franchises with probably the worst legal history is battling to make something happen.

A New Game, from another Game

The other interesting bit of news is that some lads have put together a Mechwarrior mod for Crysis.  Called "Mechwarrior Living Legends", it promises to be a cross between FPS and Sim. You can find the trailer and the links to the downloads from here.  I'm still downloading and so haven't had a chance to play with it, but from the trailer I have to say that it looks good.

All things considered, I'm looking forward to the new game and am hoping that it will get the marketing it deserves.

Jason

..if it ain't Broken, then it soon will be *Alpha-Strike*

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