Customer Reviews

PowerHits: BattleTech (Crescent Hawk's Inception / Crescent Hawk's Revenge / Mechwarrior)

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A compilation of the first 3 battletech games in one package

1. Crescent Hawks Inception
-The other reviews were pretty spot-on, I'll only add on to them. The game is somewhat limited in scope, with very little re-play value. None of the story points change, and the only thing you can really alter is which mechs carry you to the end-game (which, unless you were lucky enough to escape the primary invasion in a Chameleon battlemech, you're limited to only a few light mechs to choose from... even if the entire 3025 weapons library is coded into the game... at least a few modifications exist for each mech!). One major downside is that when repairing your mechs, engine and gyro damage cannot be repaired. Still, the gameplay is pretty cool and the storyline is good as well. All I have stated is the negative aspects because all of the good stuff has already been covered. :)

2.Crescent Hawks Revenge
-You could pretty much consider this the forerunner to the modern MechCommander series, as it plays out pretty much the same way (just much less complicated graphics, lol). The storyline is a little more open-ended than the original, but follows the same characters up to a very pivotal point in Inner Sphere history. Mech variety is much greater, with an upgrade available for each one I think. This game is wicked-hard in some places and will definately have you kicking and screaming! :)

3.Mechwarrior
-The father of modern mech simulators. The mechanics and graphics of the game are solid enough (especially for their time... probably groundbreaking then). The gameplay is a mixed bag of really good mixed with really bad:

-The Good:
-You can travel to MANY different inner sphere worlds across every successor state, with the significance of the world determining what missions/mechs are available there
-Reputation system with each Successor house dependent upon the missions you do for/against them
-You can hire up to and command 3 other mechwarriors (from many available, with varying degrees of skill), forming a full lance
-You can buy/sell/maintain a stable of multiple mechs
-You do not have to follow the storyline to play missions (it just becomes a neverending game)

-The Bad:
-In-game maps are very generic and limited... only 3-4 different maps exist
-In-game missions are equally generic and limited. Capture, destroy, or defend?
-A finite amount of mechwarriors exist for you to hire... and once they're all dead, they're ALL DEAD. You will be stuck on your own if you don't manage/help out your team mates
-Your lancemates have no concept of teamwork and have no problems crossing someone's field of fire (even yours) to attack an enemy or target.
-The storyline has to be completed by a set date... a date that is just soon enough to make it really hard to build up a good lance to fight the last battle with. This does not affect gameplay, just makes it hard to complete the storyline.

Despite my gripes, I dearly love all three games, and I maintain an old Pentium 133 laptop just to run these (and other old DOS games) on. If you have a machine that you can slow down enough to run these, they're worth a play :)

I remember playing those games back in the early '90s when the Powerhits collection first came out. Back then, they were some of the most challenging and addictive games I can remember. The best of the bunch, no doubt is the original MechWarrior, which puts you in the cockpit of some of the best 'mechs of the original BattleTech game. Now, of course,the mechanics are a little broken (A Locust shooting off a BattleMaster's leg?) but that's half the fun. It's a must for anyone who doesn't mind close to 20-year-old graphics. The other two games follow the exploits of a (IIRC) mercenary company, the Crescent Hawks, as they gain revenge against House Kurita. The first one plays a little like Dragon Quest and games of that ilk (lots of puzzles and dungeon crawling), while the sequel is the closest thing there ever has been to playing an actual game of BattleTech on the computer. However, the game plays really slow and is very frustrating (the controls are not logical at all) and doesn't have the fun of the original board game. However the other two games (Mechwarriro and Crescent Hawks' Inception) are well worth the price of admission.

Besides, if you're a 3025 purist like myself (gloss; 3025 is the original setting of the first Battletech universe, later revised to 3050 and onward with a lot of munchkin equipment), You get a few extra goodies with the set. First, there's a full-color poster of the 'mechs in "Crescent Hawks' Revenge," and the manual is chock-a-block full of 3025 trivia and info.

NOTE: Get this collection while you can. Quite a few of the 'mech designs from all three games (i.e. the ones borrowed from the anime shows Macross, Dougram and Crusher Joe) were "banned" from public view after a copyright dispute between FASA and Harmony Gold was amicably settled in 1997. Since then, the game is no longer in print.

I bought a variant of this box set quite a few years ago (the games came on 5.25" floppy) on a whim, and was hooked on these games for months. Before you read the descriptions of the games, you should be aware that you probably won't get the full enjoyment from these games unless you were playing computer games when these games were new. The graphics are quite dated at this point, which is going to be a turnoff for any younger gamer.

Battletech: The Crecent Hawks' Inception:

A 3/4 perspective RPG adventure that is very fun, but rather short, for an RPG. It offers perhaps 20 hours of gameplay if you're trying to reach the end as quickly as possible, and perhaps thirty if you're trying to build up a nice squad and mechs. I was dissapointed by the variety of mechs in the game, though. Mechs cannot be bought, only salvaged from the battlefield, and I've only encountered light mechs in the many times I've played through the game.

Battletech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge:

A top-down battle strategy game, with quite a bit of storyline, too. The game has no RPG elements, which initially dissapointed me, as I wanted something more like Inception. However, I grew to like Revenge much more than Inception. This game is difficult in many places, and using terrain, weaponry, and tactics to your advantage is completely necessary. The mechs you have carry across missions, and when they're gone, there's oftentimes no getting them back. Coupled with the fact that it's nearly impossible to keep every mech alive in every mission makes for some great replayability, deciding who has to take it for the team in that mission. Later missions can play out very differently depending on choices you make in earlier missions.

Mechwarrior 1:

One of the first 3D games that I'm aware of, Mech Warrior was made for a 286 and had a full 3D environment with vector based mech models and a whopping 16 colors! A lot of fun in it's day, it of course pales in comparison with newer Mechwarrior games, but they can't run on a 286, now can they? I'm not sure what to say about this game. You're Gideon Braver, mercenary, and you go around accepting missions, making cash, and buying better mechs. It's worth an afternoon's play for anyone, and a few weeks' play by those who appreciate it.