Mech Commander Gold Review

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(More customer reviews)Mech Commander the original version was a good enough game, but Mech Commander Gold offers some much welcomed improvements. The original game offers explosive real time action mixed with the need for a cunningstratigic mind as you command up to twelve 'mechs in real time combat.After missions, you repair your mechs and claim salvage with which to planthe next mission. Also, you can purchase new 'Mechs or more experiencedpilots to control them. The values of the Gold add-on are new missions, sixnew 'Mechs an excellent ammo-conservation mode (this alone warrentspurchasing Gold) and a nifty waypoint system. All in all I'd say MechCommander Gold is one of the most enjoyable Mech games on the market. Addto this a large network of Multiplayer Leagues, and the fun continues asyou engage in combat with Mech Warriors from around the globe.

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Product Description:
Giant walking tanks return to the battlefield in this award-winning real-time strategy masterpiece. MechCommander Gold lets you take command of up to 12 MechWarriors in the heat of battle. Issue real-time tactical commands as you designate the target, attack range, and movement orders. With new controls and difficulty settings, MechCommander Gold will let you know what it means to command.

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Steel Battalion Review

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(More customer reviews)Steel Battalion is not a game.
It is an experience.
No simple review could possibly explain the intangible thrill there is in simply starting up the massive VTs that you will spend the next great many hours of your life driving.It's the sort of sheer adrenaline-laced high you got the first time you drove a car on a freeway at just a -little- over the speed limit.It is, put simply, incredible.
So, enough of that, let's get to the review.
Gameplay:
Steel Battalion is, in every manner of the word, a simulator.Do not expect mechassault, armored core or even mechwarrior.This is MS Combat Flight Simulator on legs, with much bigger guns.This is really what it would probably feel like to pilot one of the first mechs.VT's (Vertical Tanks, as the game calls mechs) are not nimble, agile or even speedy.They are tanks with legs.They are slow, heavy and plodding.And you'll love every step they take.Of course, the most obvious gameplay factor is the controller.Basically, the controller is three panels and footpedals.The left panel houses a gear shift (similiar to a car, but it only goes straight up and down), a few toggle switches (used during, and only during, startup), and a horizontal joystick (that is, a joystick with only an X axis).This joystick controls the direction your VT moves in, and also is topped by an analog stick (which is almost identical to the XBox controller's) which controls the independently moving camera.The center panel of the controller houses mostly buttons (all of which light up green or red, by the way), along with a radio dial that's used to communicate with your wingmen and call supply choppers.The right panel houses the second joystick, which moves along both axis, a few buttons and the eject switch (complete with plastic flip-up safety cover).The joystick controls you weapon aiming and firing.Lastly, the foot pedals connect by a wire to the controller base.There are three pedals: accelerator, brakes and strafe.Strafe basically allows you to dash forward, backward, left or right.This is used to evade weapons fire as well as rebalance your VT if you start tipping.
So, what does this all mean?Basically, it means some major mech a$$ whupping action.VTs control like tanks, with manual gear-shifting and independent weapons aiming.In terms of missions, most are either "clear the area", "destroy a target" or "infiltrate a city".The small number of defensive missions is legitimized by the fact that this game takes place during an offensive invasion of a rebellious island, a situation with little need for defensive maneuvers.The whole game has a WWII-like atmosphere, with most battles involving almost exclusively heavy-armor battles.
Graphics:
Steel Battalion's graphics are bizarrely beautiful.Basically, the game gives up extreme levels of polygons for overall atmosphere.However, this is hardly a problem.The entire game takes place either in briefings or in gritty, dark combat.Briefings are handled very militarily, using topographical tactical maps, satellite photos, symbols and arrows to lay out mission objectives.Dry, sure, but very realistic and moody.During battles, however, things get even more dramatic.Basically, the whole game has a sort of Saving Private Ryan-esque grain to it.Colors are washed out, explosions spray dirt and smoke encompasses the vast battlefields.However, under all this grit and grime there's a sort of grim beauty to the world of Steel Battalion.All VTs self-shadow, and animation is dead-on.Weapons fire gives off flares, explosions are dramatic and glorious, and models, both animate and inanimate, are detailed and extremely well textured.This is truly and XBox-worthy game.By far the most impressive moments take place in cities.It is in these townscapes that you truly realize the sheer size of your VTs.Most buildings, which are extremely detailed, only go up to your waist.Light glares off windows and rooftops just as in real life.In a port, huge gas tanks explode when shot, spewing flames and debris and hurling nearby tanks an trucks.Basically, this is a gorgeous game.The only real graphical problem is some popup during a few missions, most noticably the second one, when a cityscape snaps into view in the background.However, this never really hurts gameplay, and the aesthetic loss is by far balanced away by the rock steady frame rate.
Audio:
There's no music in this game unless you buy a boombox (in game), which gives off [bad] tinny music.Other than that, the sound is unbelievable.Hearing this game in 5.1 is nothing short of amazing.Booming, bass-filled thunderclaps erupt from every step of the huge metal monsters that are VTs.Weapons fire starts with the sound of mortar shells and ends somewhere near the hounds of hell themselves.Your VT gives off engine noises like three tanks strapped together and rolling at full speed.Every hit you take gives off creaking and groaning effects from the bending of metal and shattering of armor.You will hear every single noise, from the ejecting of huge shells from your machine gun the the crumbling of tremendous skyskrapers, and it all sounds real.Very, very real.
Finale:
Basically, but this game. ...People will tell you that you're a fool for spending enough for a console on a single game.Ignore them.This is worth it.Even if no other game ever uses this controller (which is unlikely, as a XBox Live-enabled sequel is confirmed in the works), it's still worth it.Trust me.The only thing preventing you from buying this game right now should be figuring out where to put it.
...

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Product Description:
Steel Battalion players operate a strategic, battle mech weapon through 12 action-packed levels, fending off dozens of adversaries while attempting to diffuse a riot that has ensued on a Pacific island ruled by a military dictatorship. Players use a diverse arsenal, including plasma torches and an MK21-6 twin-pod rocket launcher. The game includes an exclusive 40-button controller that has been designed to immerse the player in the role of a VT (Vertical Tank) pilot. It includes trigger buttons to fire weapons; foot pedals to accelerate, boost, and brake; and levers to shift gears and move left to right. Gamers must use the full potential of their VT's abilities in order to survive the battlefield. Mastering the controls of this tactical vehicle allows players to feel as if the VT is part of their own bodies.

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Mechwarrior 2: Titanium Trilogy Review

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(More customer reviews)I reviewed the original and I say this is so much better though one of the songs is missing it's still graphically compared by todays standard but key word is that this game is a classic for any hardcore btech fan.

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Product Description:
The Titanium Trilogy includes the original Mechwarrior 2, Ghost Bear's Legacy - the expansion pack, and Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. The Titanium Trilogy is the ultimate edition of the #1 selling 3-D combat simulation series-now equipped with an enhanced 3-D graphics engine. The Titanium Trilogy includes the all-new hardware accelerated and original versions of the award-winning series. Unleash an arsenal of gameplay adventures: boosted frame-rates, stunning texture mapped graphics, dazzling color and Windows multiplayer mayhem.

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Mech Warrior 4 Mech Paks: Inner Sphere Review

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(More customer reviews)The Inner Sphere pak is great!
It's what a lot of MW4 players have been waiting for, and it doesn't dissapoint. The IS pak comes with 4 new mechs (Zeus, Dragon, Highlander, and Hunchback), 1 new weapon (Heavy Gauss), 1 new component (IFF Jammer), and 2 new maps (Coliseum, and GageTown).
The IS pak also comes with the 3.0 patch and it fixes A LOT of bugs in the game that cause certain mechs not to take proper or any damage.
You NEED Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance to be able to install the mech pak. You can use the mechs in instant action and in multiplayer only. You can also play others who DON'T have the IS Mech Pak yet (they have to have the 3.0 patch too), but they won't be able to choose any of the extra stuff.
CONS:
The only thing i didn't like about this expansion was that it didn't have any new missions like MW4: Black Knight did.
Some people have said that Instant Action doesn't work too well with this new pak, but i haven't had any problems. I think they fixed the problem with your team not respawning in Instant Action when you have more than 1 life, but the catch is they respawn after you get destroyed. For each life you loose, you get your partners back.
Once you install MW4:IS you won't need the CD for a while, because you can't run the game from the disc. You can only run it from the Mech Warrior4: Vengeance CD (either cd1 or cd2 will work). That makes it seem like a waste of money though.
Don't expect to see a highlander running around in the MW4 Missions.

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MechWarrior 4 Compilation Review

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(More customer reviews)The MechWarrior 4 series of games has been around a very long time and has a very active online support community. League play still goes on. In fact, I am a member of one online team (Lords of Destiny) and was a member of a team playing the old NetMech version of MW2, the Northwind Highlanders). However, be warned: Microsoft does not support this franchise, having put all of its MechWarrior work into the Xbox and abandoned the PC years ago. The two latest Mech games are Xbox only. This is not that bad since they are not as good as the older PC games in graphics, game play, or customization of mechs. Also be warned - the two additional Mech Packs of Inner Sphere and Clan Mechs are NOT included in this package and still must be purchased separately - M$ is squeezing every dime out of the franchise that it can. On the other hand, the MekTek community has supplied dozens of additional Mechs, weapons, and maps, so you can get a lot more for free (contributions cheerfully accepted, of course!). Still, if you like SF games, and especially if you like the giant mech concept, this package will give you the "pick of the litter." Grab it while you can as undoubtedly people will continue to play this game for years to come.

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Product Description:
MechWarrior 4 Compilation brings you thrilling high-tech combat action, in a future where it pays to be brutal. This collection includes MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and the Black Knight & Mercenaries expansion packs.

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MechWarrior 4: Black Knight Expansion Review

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(More customer reviews)Seems a little weird, all that work you did getting Ian Dresari into power, and now you gotta fix that mistake.Well, you're a mercenary now and that doesn't matter anymore.You start out with some lighter mechs now instead of a shadow cat, but eventually you'll get upgraded.There are several new Mechs and new weapons (X-Pulse lasers rule).Nothing as far as mechs or weapons have been left out, everything that was in MW4 is still here.Graphics are as good as MW4, and gameplay is definately better.More communication with tac-officers just lends more flavor to the game and reminds you that nothing ever goes right in a war.Tactics you used in MW4 work the exact same -- never charge into a group of enemy mechs or they'll team up and waste you, lancemates still don't know what Mech repair bays are (argh!), and never run directly at a calliope turret.Theres new vehicles too, including a tank with two new surprises for you, to clarify, two AC/20's.
As far as equipment goes, you dont' always get to keep what you find.Since you ain't running the show, if the boss says you get medium mechs, that's what you get, even if you salvaged an atlas in a mission.Also, certain events might cause you to lose equipment (like your base coming under surprise attack and you gotta evacuate, etc).weapons that have been destroyed in battle are lost forever, and mechs with severe damage need to sit out of combat for a mission or two (depending on whether they are 'Damaged' or 'Crippled') while they are repaired.
Bottom line, if you liked Mechwarrior 4, or even think MW4 just needs a pinch of salt, by all means get this expansion.There's plenty of single player levels to go around in case you were wondering, and if you didnt like Casey Nolan, you get to kill him!what more do you need?

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Product Description:
Microsoft picked up the venerable MechWarrior gauntlet with its impressive-looking and -playing MechWarrior 4: Vengeance. Fans of that game, and of the franchise itself, have a lot to look forward to when the new Black Knight expansion pack stomps its way onto shelves. It uses the same graphics engine and requires MechWarrior 4 to play, but it adds an entirely new campaign and 20 new missions. Black Knight will allow players to play the missions in any order they like, even repeating some of them as they wish.
The new missions are nice, but the most dramatic change was made at the request of the legions of MechWarrior fans who believed that the vanilla story in MechWarrior 4 didn't live up to BattleTech's dark, feudal roots. The new story casts you as a Black Knight, a mercenary working for House Steiner (the bad guys from the previous game). Our Microsoft rep grinned with glee when he described how your first missions in Black Knight will be to hunt down the characters from MechWarrior 4. The character on the top of the fans' hit list? Annoying wiseass pilot Casey.
New to the game will be the black market, which is an area where you can buy or sell equipment for your Mech Lab. This gives you an even better reason to be precise with your shooting, as you can salvage more equipment from your adversaries. New multiplayer modes will also be available. They include Absolute Attrition, Strongholds, Siege Assault, Giant Killers, and Clan vs. Inner Sphere. --Andrew Bub

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MechWarrior 4: Vengeance Review

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(More customer reviews)The short: Great gameplay, great engine, excellent interface, awful story and acting. A fine addition to the Mech series of games. A solid, stable, fun game that doesn't require that you played any of the previous three to have a complete blast with it.
The long: I respectfully disagree with the review that gave this title one star because you can't make any Mech into a supermachine. That is precisely what makes this game better than all the ones that came before it. I have played ALL of the MW games, including the Virtual World cockpit sims, and this is the best yet. The game has been totally changed (and by the FASA guys themselves) from being just a computerized version of the paper game into a solid computer game that more accurately conveys what it should be like to be in one of these machines.
The shortcoming of the previous games was that Mech models didn't matter. You could take any one of them and put in any weapons, any equipment, any armor. You were limited only by total weight, so what was the difference?
Now there IS a difference. The missile racks on a Mech now really do have missiles in them (or nothing), and you can really hit those racks and blow them up. In the prior games you could hit a Mech in the waist and it would count as a "torso side" hit, regardless of what the structure of the machine was supposed to be. Now it plays far more like you'd think the real deal should. Two 75-ton Mechs are now completely different if they're different models, and you can play them with different tactics. You can use your knowledge of their structures to hit them where it hurts. Shouldn't it have been this way all along?
Game balance is totally different: Legs are way tougher to hit and to damage, so you can't cheap out as easily with leg or even head shots. Mechs accelerate, decelerate, and reverse faster, so if you crash into somebody, you don't ballroom dance with them at close range until somebody dies (and the meltdown from a death at close range is now greatly to be avoided--very cool); you can break off easily and continue to run and gun. Every Mech battle is now the extended duel it should be--no easy way out, and no cheap argument-ending superweapons like the Ultra AC/20. Now you've got to actually fight. If you don't like solid tactical fighting, then go play any first-person shooter, ninnies.
Weapon select and grouping is now totally different; the HUD is much simpler and more effective to use, and the Mech lab is equally simplified and effective. Wingman command is perhaps the best such game interface yet invented; very quick and it works.
Missile play also is done right this time; long-range missiles launch in an arc to the target, short-ranges are dumbfire and Streaks always hit without needing a lock. Other toys like AMS and BAP really work now, and have a noticeable effect and advantage during play. The new way that the missiles launch in a ripple-shower (instead of all at once) is more fun. This means that evasive action works. Now rather than either getting hit with the full load or totally missed, you can do things like dodge some and try to let AMS handle some, and everything in between. It also means that you need skill and strategy as a missile marksman, which wasn't really the case before.
The Mechs themselves have never looked better. They're highly detailed, distinctively blacken on damage, limp, stagger, run, walk, recoil, fall, and DIE awesomely. The graphics look great. Weapon effects are intense and the sounds are rich and throaty. You feel like you're dealing out some hurting even if you're only scratching paint when you unleash a machine gun. The AI is no longer dirt-stupid, puts up a great fight and won't sit there while you snipe from long range or pull other tricks that used to work. It's much more equivalent to the great bot AI that you see in first-person shooters like Unreal Tournament or Quake.
The single-player campaign is 25 full missions, far longer in play time than MW3. Unfortunately the story is as awful as most other computer games. Starcraft or Half-Life this is not. I can't remember seeing worse acting since high school, so I can't give this five stars. It's solid in just about every other way, though. I look forward to any expansions that may be on the way.

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Product Description:
Are you up for the challenge with two Mechwarrior epic campaigns?MechWarrior 4: Vengeance places you in the center of an epic campaign of battle, birthright and betrayal as you command an awesomely armored 40-foot high 100 ton BattleMech.????Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight Expansion Pack includes all-new a??Mechs, vehicles, weapons, missions and more await each new recruit in MechWarrior 4: Black Knight. Do you have what it takes to make it in the Black Knight Legion? Time to find out.

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