"I make a great computer voice impression!"

I doubt many have played the original Mechwarrior. Heck, I haven't! Considering it was made in the late 80s, it can't have been as good as its sequel, which happens to be this game. Mechwarrior 2 is everything in a game I always try to find in another game. It's retro, but still technologically advanced for its time. Personally, I put this among Tomb Raider 1 and Descent 1 as some of the best games of its era.

The graphics... are what you'd expect from the mid 90s: Polygonal 3d. The said era was a time when 3d was still being perfected, and so everything looked... sub par in comparison to today. However, you can ignore it like I do. Just like others like it, its crude feel will grow on you after a while. While not many things are massively detailed, and although objects disappear from a distance, the graphics do their job well.

The basics of the whole series is that it takes place in the 31st century, and things have improved in weaponry in comparison to todays. A lot. At the lowest end of the scale in battle terms, there are man sized suits with machine guns. At the high end of the spectrum are hulking humanoid battle machines known as battlemechs as large as a small building, armed to the teeth with high tech weaponry capable of mass destruction. These battlemechs, known better as simply mechs, are piloted by men and women known as mechwarriors. The galaxy is made up of many different clans, as well as what can be related to the USA, the inner sphere. Naturally, there's a lot of war with these things goes on, and you happen to be a new recruit into one of two clans, both opposing each other in a large scale war. Depending on which clan you choose, you can turn the war completely in your clan's favor, but it will be hard. Unfortunately, no matter how much you do in battle, you are always placed on the sidelines of the war, doing jobs more obscure, such as destroying a convoy with equipment, or protecting bases, or in one case... escorting a high personnel guy to the operaplex in a highly guarded city.

He loves the opera, as the briefing says.

The plot, while interesting, can be missed entirely. The only time when you know what's going on in the war is before and after a mission, where you can read an optional text of a battle, and who wins the battle. What is interesting is that no matter which side you choose, Jade Falcons or Clan Wolf, the plot stays exactly the same. The only difference is some paragraphs are cut out or added depending on the clan you are in, and a different ending cut scene. Even the outcome of the war stays the same, with the one particular clan winning no matter which one you choose. The plot itself is done well, in a detailed style that would fit well into a novel.

The music is also like games of its time, although perhaps a bit below standard. The music fits well with its backgrounds, such as a light, yet heavy tune for a planet with grassy plains. The music is a bit on the quiet side sometimes, and is mostly like that throughout the game. For sounds, it is even a bit below that. While some sound effects sound right, most just feel a bit out of place. What others may think is annoying is the computer voice that accompanies you throughout your career. It lets you know about anything that is going on, in the cliched monotone voice. No doubt most think it is irritating, but I love it.

The controls are very simple. You use the mouse to look and fire. The keyboard is used for setting speed, targeting, and many technical things. While there are a lot of controls, the game only ever demands you to use a few at a time, so you are never frantically pressing buttons everywhere.

The game play is the best part of the game, which is saying a lot. You can choose from one of over a dozen different mechs, ranging from the puny Firefly, to the behemoth Dire Wolf. To balance the game, every mission has a tonnage limit, which forces you to take a mech at or below the tons allowed. You go through many missions, ranging from a search through a city for an illegal generator, to a covert operation where you hijack a mech, and impersonate it into a base to destroy a reactor. Mechs will be aiming to stop your progress, firing lasers, missiles, and many other weapons all the while. To aid you, you have the mechlab. The mechlab helps you configure your mech before a mission. Since your clan is nice, you have an infinite quantity of weapons in your arsenal. You have to configure your mech with weapons strategically throughout the chassis, or you will be blown apart in battle. Other than that, there's nothing major left to say about the game, as it will all be explained within.

The game's difficulty is also like games of its kind. Pretty hard. Many missions, especially the defending ones, are very difficult. Often times you can be on the home stretch, and then ambushed and destroyed by a final wave of mechs. You also have a time limit on every mission. Although these are generally more than enough, if you don't complete the mission in time, your drop ship will leave you stranded, failing the mission. Thankfully, you have cheats if you absolutely can't hack it.

There's not much left to come back for once the game's complete both ways. However, the game is so fun, in a few months you won't care that you beat it, and will play again.

As you can see, this game was a lot like others of its time period. One final thing that relates it to these, is that it no longer plays on a modern computer. Words cannot express how much I miss this game. While I can play its sequels, only Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries can match up to this classic. My recommendation If you can play it, buy it at all costs. Or else, you shall be doomed to hear the computer say mission failed for all eternity.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/05