Gabriel Iacoboni

I gave this game four out five stars because it fulfills the basic requirements of mechwarrior game. There are a decent mix of Mechs, the variety of opponents is interesting, and the instant action option is fun if you just want a 100 tonner to crush things. Still, I felt there were some things missing from the game to make it a true five starrer. 1. For all the customization available the limited number of weapon hardpoints on each mech is a downer. It would be nice if we could customize not just the actual weapon but the type of weapon (ie. instead of a energy hardpoint how about a missile hardpoint). 2. The lack of actual aerospace assets or ability to fight dropships is a downer. In prior games you could fight and destroy dropships and you actually fought more than VTOLs. 3. The game admittedly has some bugs. Damage a Mech's legs and it will hobble for a few and then go back up to full speed. What gives? I am sure these bugs will be fixed in the coming months so I am not too concerned about it. Now, for what makes it a good game.... 1. It is true to the Mechwarrior roots. 2. The game has a lot of action options (ie. mercenary contracts with different houses separate from the actual campaign). It is cool even after the actual campaign ends you can still pursue other mercenary contracts and in this way the campaign is infinity different. 3. I have read different reviews on this but I actually think the plot is fairly decent for a game. It also actually is pretty true to the original plot line of the books where a bunch of Clanners infiltrated the Inner Sphere as Mercenaries and became ingrained in the Sphere's ways but did not tell their kids about their roots. In some ways, it felt like I was following the story of an alternate Phelan Kell (read the BT novels if you don't know what I am talking about). This is barely touching the surface but I hope it helps you all. A game for $50 which plays well on both keyboard and joystick is also a plus. Have fun!