Photo: Gamespot.com
Appreciating Battletech takes patience and time. Born in the decades-old tabletop game of the same name (which also gave birth to the Mechwarrior collection of matches), the Harebrained Schemes version of Battletech puts the world into the genre most appropriate to its source: turn-based strategic strategy. It is a successful endeavor because playing Battletech very much feels like playing with a complicated board game, both for better and worse. There are deep systems available in its purposeful mech customization, detailed combat situations, and enjoyable dream of running an interplanetary mercenary outfit. But reaching the purpose of completely enjoying Battletech requires the willingness to weather its steep learning curve and laborious pace, which may occasionally veer into excruciating land.
You command a set of four battlemechs, each piloted by specialized and unique pilots, with the objective of either blowing up something or keeping something secure against outnumbering forces composed of hostile mechs and vehicles of war. The enormous mechs of the universe would be the lumbering, industrial behemoth type, bulky tanks with legs characterized by awful chassis and weapons overtly fused to their own limbs.
Observing a unit's activities play out can be a rather a procedure. Mech animation rate apart, there are often pauses throughout this series of activities that feel self-evident, and given the amount of turns that will need to be performed, long assignments have the capability to feel never-ending. At the time of writing, there's a debug mode you can utilize to help artificially alter rate, but these aren't officially endorsed options. By default, Battletech debilitating rate, along with the game's lacking tutorials, business difficulty, complex UI, and persistent technical stammers imply the experience of Battletech's early hours could be challenging to brave.
But it's well worth it. Having the ability to emphasise originally obtuse information lets you internalize and appreciate the package of mechanical nuances and makes it possible to recognize the game's comprehensive and hard-nosed approach to plan. Like any amazing strategic game, each choice requires multi-faceted risk analysis for the best possible result. However, the joy of great choices in Battletech does not come from bombastic maneuvers where your team just gets rid of a complete enemy squad with no scratch, because it may in XCOM or Into the Breach--that is an impossible situation here. Being truly successful in Battletech is dependent upon being ready to get into scrappy, aggressive fighting, and coming to terms with what an acceptable reduction might be to you in the moment, whether that is an objective, a limb, or the lives of numerous pilots.
With just four mechs to remove a larger variety of adversaries in a turn-based ruleset, with no allowances for mid-combat fix, learning how to maneuver your mechs so as to endure a reasonable quantity of harm becomes one of the most gripping features of decision making--how much can you push yourself to take on enormous chances? On the battlefield, this may mean something as straightforward as studying the strikingly diverse terrain in every map and finding the most advantageous place to hunker down, or using forests, woods, and hills as cover during an advance. However, on a more advanced and necessarily certain degree, it may indicate rotating your mech to present a fully-armored side to an attacking foe and vague a side damaged. Taking extra damage to a body part stripped of armor may lead to structural damage or loss of limb, necessitating repairs and replacement at significant cost, together with running a heightened chance of getting your mech pilot permanently killed.
Similar considerations are always in your mind while you're on the offensive. You might choose to temporarily switch off a number of your weapons when attacking to prevent overheating your mech, which may result in immediate, all-over inner damage.
With a comprehensive understanding of how each unit may impact another at various locations, with many abilities, weapons, and modifiers at play, your perception of unfolding conflicts becomes one of utter fascination in the minor details and outcomes of each attack. Seeing the battlefield in another way to be able to invent your own alternative strategies and formulating creative backup plans are things that start to occupy your thoughts, rather than the tempo. Pivotal turning points in a conflict can be narrowed down to the specific action, which may become strategic learnings for future use. There are still a few random elements which could occur, credited to the probabilities that induce attack calculations--blessed headshots that immediately injure your pilot irrespective of armor durability are the prime unfair case--but no matter the greater attention and time spent on each different action means that the nervous feelings that come with even the most insignificant of expected hits and misses are amplified tenfold.
Battletech also offers you an intriguing ability utilized to preserve your squad--if a mission gets overpowering and dead pilots are nearly sure, you may opt to immediately withdraw from a mission, in the expense of sullying your standing with the factions that hired you and surrendering your paycheck. The latter is a particularly vital consideration, because cash quickly becomes a enormous concern in Battletech's effort and starts to influence all your choices, both on and off the battlefield.
The dynamic between the strategic battles and logistical management means virtually every choice you make feels like it's rippling, tangible consequences elsewhere. The campaign sees your customized character rise to the direction of a mercenary company that has accrued an enormous debt, with monthly obligations to meet each month. Obviously, everything costs money, from post-mission repairs, mech maintenance, pilot wages, ship updates and even travel prices--this is a game about company management as far as it is about controlling a squad. Accepting missions permits you to negotiate a contract to ascertain what your charge should be in connection with your own post-battle salvage rights (beneficial for maintaining and updating your mech configurations in addition to unlocking new versions) and faction standing, which opens up more rewarding opportunities. Ask too little cash on a mission you take carelessly, and the price of mission-ready repairs then may send you into bankruptcy. Without sufficient salvage and spare cash to have fun with, you are impeded in your ability to play one of the most crucial and fun elements of Battletech: customizing and building individual mechs to enhance the combat capabilities of your squad.
There are close to 40 distinct models of inventory mechs, varying in tonnage and intended functions. However, the joy of spending time at the mech bay is experimenting with various configurations using the components you have available. Taking the opportunity to fine-tune that equilibrium and seeing your choices translate into a more efficient unit on the battle feels exceptionally worthwhile.
The main plot starts with the coup of the head of a parliamentary monarchy--your customized character's childhood friend--and proceeds as you regroup years after to rally forces and take the throne back. The recorded details of this literary history and politics between factions are meticulous--glossary tooltips for universe-specific theories clutter the game's text. However there are enough broad strokes and recognizable feudal parallels to enjoy it at face value, and the thorough presentation--well-written and varied personalities, beautiful 2D cutscenes, inspired soundtrack, crunchy sound style and persuasive radio chatter--do more than sufficient to fully sell this new mecha fantasy.
But if you've got the will to decode it, albeit, in a deliberate and punishingly plodding pace, you can end up completely engrossed in its kinetic clashes.
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