Not a huge advancement but better than any Mechwarrior game that has come before it. The Mechs, Dropship and biomes are well designed and beautiful. The AI is competent but not great. They nailed the feel of the weight and feel of the Mechs. This is closer to a Mech Sim than anything that has been released since Mechwarrior 4. Some in the shooter crowd my be turned off because they cannot zip and float around the battlefield like in other. These Mechs are a bit ponderous, huge and powerful.
As with most new releases there are a few bugs and glitches. None that I have seen are game breaking. The developer has already issued two hot fixes and a patch to address some of them. As time goes on the game will get even better.
Anyone who has lamented the absence of a true Mechwarrior game for the last 15+ years should pick this up and give it a go.