Home Gaming Digital Lifestyle Cheats Downloads Upcoming Product Finder
82%
PROS
Great multiplayer, gladiator arena, and overall 'Mercenaries' theme.
LOWS
A few AI problems, no graphic update, no movie like videos.
OVERALL
A great addition to the Mechwarrior clan; should be bought by people who love the series and those who are new to try it.
 |
|---|
If you think that Mercenaries is going to be the most graphically advanced of the Mechwarrior series, then you are wrong. Yes, I bring the review to a start with this line because that is the one thing I am really disappointed about in this game: the graphics.
If you compare the graphics of this game to Vengeance, you won't be able to tell a difference. They are the exact same thing. If you ask me, I think that the Vengeance graphics are now a little outdated, and a newer engine or some pixel tweaks could've really helped this game out a lot...
Other then that horrible point about graphics, the new Mechwarrior game is pretty good. This time, everything is about C-Bills. You are a mercenary who leads your lance group throughout different missions in order to get money. You travel to different solar systems for a wide variety of missions; like protecting escorts, destroying fuel supplies, or protecting a harbor. Landscapes are varied, and each solar system is different then the other. My favorite by far is Solaris IV. In this area, you get to battle it out gladiator style with other Mechs. This time, you won't get your team to help you out...
While fighting in the gladiator ring on Solaris, you will be fighting tons of other Mechs that are all trying to kill one another. Your objective is simply to try and kill as many Mechs as you can and be the last one standing. There is some strategy involved in this. You might see only three more Mechs left, and try to wait till that three dwindles down to one so you can wait before you get involved. If you rush into a fight with three other Mechs, the chances of you surviving are slim.
The maps for Solaris are nice like all the others, but I was hoping for something a little more interesting. There is a 'jungle' map which I think should have a lot more obstacles in it to make it more real. When you fight in the light Mech class in the jungle, everything is wide open, and its just a few trees that separate you from your enemies. Another thing you will love about Solaris is that when you compete, you get to hear commentary of the fight as it happens. Announcers will talk about their favorite Mech classes, and tell you the action in detail. This really makes the gladiator ring feel like a real sport.
The Mech lab is basically the same. You can spend hours in there tweaking your Mechs to perfection, or you can just trust the stock and jump into combat. This type of interface allows for easy usability, and younger players won't have to worry about all of the buttons to press. Utilizing the Mech Lab and new Mechs depends on your character. If you just like to play in combat, you won't really spend a lot of time looking at your new Mechs and tweaking them in the lab. If you like to spend your time in the lab trying to make the best team, the new Mechs and the Lab will be a delight. It's nice to be able to choose and have the best of both worlds.
Multiplayer is a blast. It's great to fight in 30 ton machines with your friends; either over the internet or via LAN. This is definitely going to please an entire party.
One more bad thing: there are not enough videos. Before and after each mission, there is a little video that just tells you your task, but in Vengeance, there were actual movie like videos. You will miss all of the video aspects, and if Microsoft included some, it would really make this game better. There are also some AI problems. In the gladiator arena, I would sometimes just follow a Mech and keep shooting at him without him even noticing. I could do this until he died, and it just made my job easier.
Overall, Mercenaries is a great edition to the Mechwarrior series. If only its graphics were redone, it got a nice patch, and some videos were added in, this game would be insane.
