Customer Reviews

Mech Commander 2

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

... cuz the guy who wrote the first one obviously has no idea what they're talking about.

Bassically his points were as follows:

a) It doesn't include his favourite 'Mechs and he thinks the Clan Mechs are made up. b) It's a 3D engine, and "all 3D strategy games suck, 2D is much better" c) You can bring in reinforcements by air d) "It's a mix between MW4 and Force Commander"

I'll go through each one first:

A). The Mechs in are very good. Each of them has a distinctive purpose and feel. There aren't many Clan Mechs 'cause the game takes place in the Inner Sphere and all the Clan Mechs are real, not made up. I don't know where that guy was coming from.

B). It's a very good 3D system incorporating true LOS and very nice looking terrain and buildings. The camera system is as good as that from Homeworlds. 3D RTS's do not suck. Homeworld, Earth 2150 and Ground Control are all far superior games to most 2D games. Mechcommander 2 can join those ranks as the 3D system truly works well.

C). The reinforcements are very useful and add an element to the game. There were sensor probes, camera drones and artillery in the old game, so I don't really know what the other reviewer was on when they made that comment. The addition of Karnov Salvage Craft and the drop in repair truck makes the game more fun and gives you greater tactical flexibility.

D). The game is NOT a mix between FC and MC. While I was happy (not extatic) about FC, it did have some major flaws (not being able to scroll diagonally was one of them). FC sucks big time compared to MC. MC is nothing like it.

What else...The acting is good. Much better than Mechwarrior 4 (not that that'd be hard). They help the story move along and you blieve who they are (ie. overbearing people are meant to be over bearing, outspoken people do get outspoken).

Also, the game addresses many of the things mission from the first game. You can save and load missions whilst IN a mission. There is no black shroud, instead true LOS and many other improvements.

The graphics are amazing and altough the Mechs are a little blocky (to cut down on poly count) the game still looks great. Sound effects are beefy, with Autocannons and PPCs sounding brillient.

My only gripe is that Fixed Arty pieces have too shorter range and I cannot find a use for them except in base defence.

It's a great game, and I can't wait to get something more "stable" than the beta. The game truly captures the "BattleTech" feel and holds you in right until the very end.

BYE

I would like to be able to write a review for Mech Commander 2, but I am unable to play this game on any computer in my house. It seems that Microsoft has chosen to add a copy-protect program-- "SafeDisc"-- to render the CD-ROM incompatible with every single drive I have. A readme file included with Mech Commander warns the user of this problem, when it is too late.

Unfortunately, Microsoft neither includes a warning on the box, nor posts a list of incompatible drives on the Web-- as of this writing. Those who have not yet purchased Mech Commander 2 should be aware that, among many other drives, the CD-ROM fails with the following: Sony CDU5211, Sony CDU77E, Acer CD-624a, Memorex CD-RW2224, Plextor CD-ROM PX-32TS (SCSI), Sanyo CRD-256P, and the Yamaha 2216E, 4416SX, and CDR6416S-VK. The full list is probably much longer. Microsoft does indicate that the Sony CDU77E should work if it is configured as a master drive, but all of the others listed are right out.

I am personally going to contact Mircosoft about getting a replacement disc. I suspect a patch will not arrive, since this is a hardware issue, and Microsoft obviously will not do anything to override a system they just spent money to install and distribute. It may behoove the reader to write Microsoft for a full list of incompatible drives.

Since the original "MechWarrior" came out in the late-80s, I've loved each and every installment of the computerized-Battletech universe, including this one. MechCommander 2 puts you in strategic command of a "squad" of mechs (officially referred to as a Lance.) It's the difference between tactical (MechWarrior) versus strategic control (MechCommander), action (MW) versus strategy (MC)... but it all comes down to huge robots spewing destruction and mayhem.

Pros: Good atmosphere, solid graphics, fantastic battle sound effects, an easy to use interface for customizing mechs, faithful to the original, adjustable difficulty.

Cons: Too few missions, frustrating limits on deployment tonnage

All in all, this is a fantastically enjoyable game. The acting and mission-briefings give a nice feel for the direction of the game and let you feel like you're a mercenary with a soul, but the plot is linear and there aren't any really surprising twists. As a whole, the gameplay is superb, enabling you to go right into the missions with minimal "training", and the camera is very well designed, letting you maintain an optimum view of the fight.

The graphics are very good... not quite excellent, but they certainly didn't skimp here. It would have been nice to zoom even closer to the Mechs and see battle damage, but to be fair it's a useless feature if you're really trying to wage war and would have taken too much processing power on slower systems. The sound is also well done, but left me wanting more. I miss the rumble and stomp of listening to hundreds of tons of metal stomp across the landscape. You get to hear all the sounds of the battle (weapons firing, explosions, etc) and those are very well done, but the game would have been much more immersive if you could hear your Mechs tromping the fauna.

The weapons were very nicely developed, with a good balance between the different systems (missles, energy, ballistic, etc.) You definitely have to strategize here and plan the outfitting of your Mechs carefully. If you have a bunch of 100-ton mechs, all with long-range weaponry, it'll only take a few 30-ton mechs with decent short-range weaponry to get in close and whittle your armor away like snapping, ankle-biting poodles. Planning is the key, and the interface for customizing your Mechs is well layed out for the experience and novice MechCommander alike.

Finally (and this is my only major gripe) the original Mech Commander was billed as Company-level combat: meaning you commanded forces of up to 16 Mechs, ranging from 30-100 tons each. In this installment, the number of mechs you can field is limited by the maximum tonnage you can deploy. The largest this ever reaches is the final mission, at 450 tons. In case you're counting, that means four 100 ton Mechs and a 50 tonner. Frankly, that's a huge waste of potential, especially when I had about 10 assault Mechs (each weighing 80-100 tons) ready and waiting for deployment by the last mission.

But that's my only real complaint. As a whole, this is a supremely enjoyable game, and I'll be playing it through again very shortly.

The 3D engine in MC2 works fine. The review above was probably playing the preview version, which was a beta. Before the two patches- incidently things that were NOT promised to us at all when we won the preview- the game was quite choppy and suffered from numerous bugs. After, it runs quite well.

MC1 had a problem with the camera. Namely, you were either too far in or too far out. MC2 fixes that problem. As well, sometimes it is to your advantage to tilt the camera to get a better view, but it by no means required.

The camera control is simple. Mouse wheel zooms in/out, right click tilts. If for some reason you manage to get disoriented, there is a key to restore the view to default. The terrain also adds true line of sight- no more seeing where you've been, you must have a unit there- and advantages to holding the high ground, namely headshots.

You have the same amount of control as before. More, actually, since the aimed-shot feature actually works, unlike MC1.

The mechlab is fine and isn't any more of a problem to handle than MC1s. Since you don't have to track pilot health, number of weapons available, or pay for mech repairs, it's more streamlined.

The pilots have new "specialty skills", which means that you no longer just slap the best pilots in the biggest mechs. Some have skills like Sensors or Scouting, which extends to the view range, or Light mech specialty. All these mean you have to place the right pilot in the right mech.

There are 8 Clan mechs, some of which only appear in multiplayer. Most people probably don't care about this detail, but since the game is set in the Inner Sphere (IS) it doesn't really make sense to have a large amount of Clan mechs. None of the Clan mechs are new for MC2, FYI.

The actual gameplay is fine. I played through the campaign and never called in much of anything except a repair truck or salvage craft. Someone else might have done it differently. Unlike MC1, there are ussually several ways to complete each mission. The friendly an enemy AI is good, with a few minor pathfinding issues. The mechs automatticly move to the correct range for their weapons, cutting down on the micromanagement present in the first game. The addition of line of sight and sensors allows mission designers to put more surprises in the mission, ambushes where they would not work in MC1.

More, the mission design is better. One mission, for example, has just one objective: get out in 10 minutes or less. On the way, though, you have options of completing secondary objectives for more cash, better weapons, and salvage. This sort of thing was unfortunately rare in MC1.

The game has some issues, a small amount of lame acting, but is very good overall.

The game arrived with such agressive copy protection that it refused to execute on my system. A long phone call to tech support resulted in a 14 day wait for a replacement disc. The replacement was a little better. It crashes and locks up the system half way through the introduction unless the sound is disabled. Another Long toll call to Washington State reveild the following information. The game is broken under Windows 2000 direct x8.1 with many older sound cards. It will not run using the native VIA sound on the MB. I pulled out my trusty Soundblaster PCI128 andhad the same problem. I replaced it again with a Soundblaster PCI512 and again had exactly the same problem. Microsoft tech support informed me that my best hope to get it running would be to buy a new Audigy sound card. I have spent hours updating all of the drivers in the system to the most recent versions and have even flashed new firmware in the the CD Drive and updated the BIOS. IF YOU BUY THIS GAME NOW YOU ARE PAYING TO BE A BETA TESTER. Wait for either a Direct X fix, a game patch or perhaps better sound drivers.

Seems like all the reviews for this game are good, but a word of caution. microsoft has come up with a new "advancement" in CD security, "SafeDisc". This came make MechCommander 2 unusable by many types of CD drives. They list some in the readme file... but by then you have already bought it and are out the cash. And the readme list is also incomplete. I hope microsoft plans on patching this soon otherwise I have a pretty nifty coaster for my drink. Wish I could play this damnable game and give it another good review, thanks a bunch billy boy.

Well, I was looking forward to this game a great deal because I have enjoyed the first game alot. Unfortunatly due to a bug in the Microsoft security check to make sure that the cd is in the drive, I cannot play the game at all. They give no support on their web site and there is no sign of it being fixed. Don't buy this game unless you want an expensive coaster.

The original Mech Commander was very challenging and rewarding when missions were completed, and indeed exhilarating when the campaign was won. Then came Mech Commander Gold (MCG), with all of its newer features and commands for easier gameplay. MCG's new campaign didn't have the oomph that the first, original campaign did, mainly because the new controls made things a little too easy. Mech Commander 2 continues this trend, with an intuitive interface that somewhat oversimplifies the game into something that can be beaten in several days. I won this campaign in two days on the normal setting.

I liked this game because I am a Battletech fan. However, while it has both good and bad points (following below), it just lacked the challenge of the first one. After successfully winning that difficult game, I quickly dispatched this one into the past-game void.

Good Points

1) Lots of Battletech-y stuff to play with and blow up
2) Interesting storyline (albeit some over the top acting)
3) Good LOS rules
4) While the game is rather linear, as noted in other reviews, the idea of being a mercenary band is interesting

Bad Points

1) Easiest setting is too easy, hardest setting is too hard (taking two Bloodasp assault 'mechs against infantry and getting torn to pieces)
2) Campaign is too short, too easy for veteran Mech Commanders
3) Mission Editor is complicated to learn and use
4) All 'mechs (Clan and Inner Sphere) follow limited Omnimech rules, like most other offerings from FASA Interactive

Overall, I would give this a 3 1/2 star rating, depending on one's level of experience with the Mech Commander series.

I've always been a big fan of the Mechwarrior and Battletech universe, and have played all the games they came out with. I absolutely loved Mechcommander 1, and couldn't wait for the sequal. When it came out, I wasn't dissapointed. MC2 has the same interface as the first one, making learning time short for experienced players. The new player can catch on quickly as well, so there's no problems there. The graphics and sound are supperb, and the missions are interesting. Even the characters you see in cutscenes are fun to watch, making the game interesting to follow. The missions are well done, and require some thought to get through. Many are like puzzles; they can't be won the traditional way, but the tools are there to do it if you can find them. My only complaints are that the campaign is woefully short, and the tonnage limitations are abysmal. You can only carry so many 'mechs into combat, and that means you keep using the same pilots over and over. Not bad in itself, but it means you never really develop enough pilots they way you'd like. Expansion packs would be well appreciated, here.

you can get a patch from gamecopyworld.com and then the game runs fine. one of the very few drawbacks is thae fact that it takes ages to load but other than that it's an awsome game.

P.S. you can get hacks for it at cheatchannel.com