MechCommander 2

MechCommander
Studio	FASA Interactive
Publisher	Microsoft Game Studios
Erstveröffent- lichung	July 19, 2001
platform	Windows
genre	Real time strategy game
Subject	BattleTech
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Keyboard & mouse
medium	CD-ROM
language	German English
Age rating	USK

MechCommander 2 is a real-time strategy - video game of the American developer FASA Interactive for Windows . The successor to MechCommander published by Microsoft in 2001 is a licensed product of the BattleTech franchise. The game has been released under the shared source license since 2006 .

action

The setting of the game is the Planet Carver V, which was previously ruled by House Liao (Capellan Confederation), but has now been conquered by the United Commonwealth. The local ruler, Mandarin Cho, was killed. However, within the Commonwealth there are already signs of decomposition between the ruling houses Davion and Steiner, which were linked by marriage. In this fragile location, the houses avoid anything that could upset the balance. When a band of bandits roam the territory of House Steiner, the player is recruited as the commander of a mercenary force to solve the problem. A plot follows, divided into three campaigns.

The first campaign consists of the pursuit of the bandits, on behalf of Steiner's Commander in Chief Colonel David Renard. There are also battles with Liao units and the leader of the bandits turns out to be a former Liao officer. The increasingly aggressive acting Renard decides to give up the restraint and orders the attack on the headquarters of the bandits, although it inevitably leads to fighting with House Liao. With the annihilation of the bandits and their leader, the commitment to Haus Steiner ends.

The second campaign involves contracting House Liao's mercenary troops. Mandrissa Anita Cho, the widow of the previous ruler, wants to regain sovereignty over the planet for her son Jason Cho. In covert operations, among other things, they are supposed to destroy the interstellar communication system and incite the two houses of Steiner and Davion against each other through targeted attacks. The plan works and the formerly allied houses fight each other. Anita Cho therefore sees the time to restore her rule and also intervenes in the conflict. But House Liao's troops are defeated and Cho has to negotiate a truce with House Steiner. Renard promises to split his rule over Carver V if House Liao will in return help him destroy House Davion and the mercenary troops. The player has to get his group to safety from the advancing groups of Haus Steiner and Liao and is saved by a planetary resistance group under their leader Baxter.

In the last campaign, the mercenary troops put themselves at the service of the resistance group who, with the support of the House of Davion, want to liberate the planet and make it independent. The Liao Palace is destroyed in the course of the campaign, Colonal Renard is killed and the high command of Haus Steiner is destroyed. Baxter becomes president of the now liberated planet and renames it Liberty, while the mercenary force withdraws to the periphery.

Gameplay

The game principle corresponds to the predecessor. The player controls a task force of different mechs from an isometric perspective through various missions and deployment scenarios (including basic defense / conquest, liberation and escort missions). One of the most noticeable changes compared to the predecessor is the use of a 3D graphics engine, through which height differences and cones of vision play a greater role than in the predecessor.

As before, the player controls a limited number of mechs through the missions. The mechs are equipped with weapons and support systems before the missions, whereby the player is limited by the number of free installation slots and the weight. As a result, preliminary planning considerations and the tactical procedure during the mission are once again in the foreground in order to survive against numerically superior opponents. The mech pilots also gain experience through kills and successfully completed missions, which improves the combat skills of the mech. Other equipment and mechs can be looted on the maps during operations. Resource points can also be looted, which can be used to repair mechs and buy additional equipment.

In the multiplayer mode, which allows both local and online battles, up to eight players can compete against each other in the modes Deathmatch , King of the Hill and Basic Conquest.

reception

Meta-ratings Database Rating Metacritic 80% reviews publication Rating 4players 85% Eurogamer (UK) 7/10 GameSpot 7.7 / 10 Games world 84% IGN 8.2 / 10

MechCommander 2 received mostly positive reviews. It achieved an aggregate rating of 80% on Metacritic .

"Exciting missions, appealing graphics and a variable level of difficulty ensure that MechCommander 2 is again one of the outstanding strategy titles. However, in addition to the optical refurbishment, there are hardly any really relevant game innovations to report compared to the predecessor, with a probable third part, a gameplay rework will be inevitable if you want to continue to receive top ratings. "

- Thorsten Wiesner : Golem.de

“MechCommander 2 is a significant improvement upon the original in numerous ways, particularly in the interface. At the same time, it fails to address the more general design issues that kept its predecessor from being the ideal strategic implementation of the BattleTech universe. Although it falls short of being a strategic version of MechWarrior 2, MechCommander 2 still has so much going for it that only the most die-hard BattleTech fans will be disappointed. Those simply looking for a visually impressive, enjoyable real-time strategy game set in the BattleTech universe should find that MechCommander 2 fits that description well. "

“MechCommander 2 is a huge improvement over the original in a number of ways, especially the user interface. At the same time, the game fails to resolve the fundamental design problems that prevented the predecessor from becoming the ideal strategic implementation of the BattleTech universe. While it doesn't make a strategic version of MechWarrior 2 , MechCommander 2 is good enough that only the die-hard BattleTech fans will be disappointed. If you are only looking for a graphically impressive, entertaining real-time strategy game in the BattleTech universe, you will find that this description fits MechCommander 2 perfectly. "

- Bruce Gray : Gamespot

In 2006 Microsoft released the game's source code under its shared source license to demonstrate the power of the XNA Build development environment for commercial computer games.

Web links

• MechCommander 2 at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} MechCommander 2. In: IGN.com. July 23, 2001, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} MechCommander 2. In: Metacritic. Retrieved December 23, 2018 . 
3. ↑ David: Test: Mech Commander 2. In: 4Players.de. May 9, 2001, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Tom Bramwell: MechCommander 2. In: Eurogamer.net. September 23, 2001, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Bruce Gray: MechCommander 2 Review. In: GameSpot.com. July 19, 2001, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
6. ^ Ronny Mathieu: Test: Mech Commander 2. In: Gameswelt. August 24, 2001. Retrieved December 23, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Thorsten Wiesner: MechCommander 2 - Demanding robot battles. In: golem.de. August 30, 2001. Retrieved December 23, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Dan Fernandez: Mech Commander 2 Source Code Available for Download - Dan Fernandez's Blog. In: Microsoft Developer. March 20, 2006, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Daniel Flesh Bourne: MechCommander 2 Shared Source Release. In: Neowin. August 18, 2006, accessed December 23, 2018 .