MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat

Review by retrosticker903

"A Great MechWarrior game filled with the word "Excellence"."

MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat was one of the best Mech simulators back in its day, true to its name, and an epic addition to the BattleTech universe. Even some of today's games can't compare to this classic, timeless gem. Be prepared to drive into the battlefield of the future, as you fight into a machine loaded with weapons and give your Clan the respect it needs.

Story: 8/10
-It is the mid-31st Century, and two Clans, Jade Falcon and Wolf, are fighting each other over the fate of Terra (known as Earth). As some Clans thought the previous fight for Terra was rigged that led to the death of several Clan warriors, the Jade Falcons decided to go against the Clan ilKhan (like the president) Ulric Kerensky and the Wolf Clan [since they were the only true winners of the fight] in a Trial of Refusal. You're a new MechWarrior, and you can swear your allegiance to the Falcons, who are Crusaders and think they should go in to take Terra and control the Inner Sphere, or swear to the Wolves, who are Wardens and have to defend Terra and the Inner Sphere. Every action you do affects what both Clans do in the Refusal War, and decides who gets to be the winner. You have to read the briefing and aftermath of each mission to understand the full story.

Graphics: 9/10
-The graphics of the game were the best for its time, with old school three dimensions, not the fancy almost-realistic stuff you see these days. Some don't have to worry, as there was a better 3D-Effects Enhanced Version for several video cards that make the game look overall better in terms of aesthetics. Even if they look inferior by today's standards, they still look great.

Sound/Music: 7/10
-The original soundtrack for this game is great electronic RedBook audio, and each track fits the environment of the missions they're played in. Such as the choir-like theme when you're playing on the moon. The sound effects were somewhat decent.

Gameplay: 10/10
-This is the best part of the game, getting to play it. You're piloting a four story machine called a Mech, armed with lasers, missiles, autocannons, and machine guns in many environments, such as deserts, grasslands, and snow worlds. The controls are pretty easy, and can be memorized within a matter of hours. The minimum is the mouse and keyboard. For balance and challenge, there's a tonnage limit for missions, so you can't just get the heaviest Mech in the game and swat everyone like flies. You have to think about what Mech you want to bring into the field. The lighter the Mech than the tonnage limit, the more points you get. To make life easier, the Mech Lab is implemented into MW2, so you can customize your Mech within any style possible, as long as you can make everything fit and it's a useful loadout for your mission. You don't want to go into the field and realize your weapons are useless. The fun thing is you can blow a lot of stuff up, although the missions vary in what you can do, such as defend, hit-and-run, offense, and escort. The more objectives you complete, and the more vehicles you destroy, the more points you get. There's also a time limit for missions (usually 15-25 minutes per mission), and if you don't complete your primary objectives and get to the Return point in time, your actions counted for nothing. Along the way, you're also forced into four Trials of Position, in which you can fight for a higher rank should you succeed. The game also has three difficulties: Easy, Normal, and Hard. The higher difficulty you go, the tougher the computer is against you, and the more points you can earn.

Online: 8/10
-There are still some people playing this game online even up to these days, and I have to give it an eight. The Pros: you get to play with other people and have a lot of addicting fun in multiple stages and get to test out your custom Mechs against them. The Cons: it's somewhat hard to wait for and arrange with players.

The single Greatest MechWarrior game ever?
-I don't have much of an idea on this, although out of all the mainstream MechWarrior games, this is the best in terms of storyline and variety. Graphics and audio, they go to MW3.

Replay Value: I have no idea.
-This game is very addicting offline and online, no matter if you lost or won, you can always look back to this game and play a lot, regardless of mission or action. Words can't really explain this game in detail, and it can't be played on most computers today, unless you hear of the techniques to do so and play it to death today. This is a classic game that should last the test of time, and if you have the opportunity to find and buy this game, go for it. You won't regret it. You'll have a lot of fun blowing stuff up old school style.