Mech Warrior 4
MiGMan’s Combat Diary | 2000
I had to get that out of the way.
In many ways the Mechwarrior games exemplify good PC gaming - they are loud, fast and require some thinking.
This is a first person perspective shooter based in the Mechwarrior universe created in the early 1980's by Jordan Weisman and FASA.
PC and I spent an enjoyable day playing Mechwarrior 4 on 16 networked PC's. The graphics were awesome and the game wasn't running on a ninja machine either!
Despite his professed "lack of time to play games" I have been unable to wrest the software from PC's Windows 2000 system.
Jumpin' Cats!
Some Mechs are "Jump Capable" - which is handy for jumping rivers, enemy fortifications or ..... in my case as a sort of "panic button" !!!
MechWarrior 4 - screenshot courtesy of Microsoft
The Mad Cat was a favourite of mine in MechCommander- - best used as a medium range artillery piece and quite devastating. I remember playing MechCommander Operation Beachhead, Mission 3 a Search and Rescue mission which was fairly easy until my small part ran into a lone Mad Cat.
Eventually I did manage to beat the 'Cat with a combination of artillery strikes and leading it into automated defenses from a captured base.
Into the action
As I said commanding the Mech is straight forward - but it could be difficult if you don't have a controller which allows you to easily swivel the turret. Many joysticks now have a swivelling grip - or you could use rudder pedals or even the Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander could be set up for swivelling. Swivelling is VERY necessary.
It's in the tactical employment of your Mech's systems that you will win or fail. As far as I can see there is no way to win most missions by charging in iwth guns blazing. However having said that I'm sure that a generation raised on Quake fragfests can prove me wrong!!
Note: these screenshots were taklen on a P500 with 128 meg ram and a Creative 3D Blaster Banshee. You can expect more subtle texturing and lighting effects with a more powerful graphics card.
Early in the piece you come up against heavy Mechs like the MadCat pictured.
Madcat
I was still in a Shadowcat.
I replayed this particular mission TEN TIMES before evolving winning tactics. Hey - so I'm a slow learner! But hot diggety damn it was fun!
My winning tactics involved:
LONG RANGE
- using LRM's to pound from a distance
- loading LRM's in small racks to shorten reload time
- moving as soon as the enemy returned fire
- using a gauss rifle
- hiding a lot
- Never stopping still
- using Flamers and SRM's
- Targetting legs with the gauss rifle
- keeping behind the enemy
- F4 then F1 to send your Lancemate after the same target
- using repair bays
- Enter the bay
- Shut Down - S
- When repaired the Mech will automatically exit and revert to your control after a few seconds
SHORT RANGE
You'll notice the blackening of the MadCat chassis on the previous page by virtue of my Flamers. To my chagrin P.C. informed me later that the MadCat is one of the most heat-efficient designs!
Notice the leg damage.
Anyway the first 10 times this was the result of our encounter:
A loss to me.
Repair bays
Scale in Mechwarrior
The picture shows the view from ground level where you can see the vegetation which is strewn about. Then between the Mech legs to towering pine trees and beyond to mountains. Everything has it's place! I noticed deer fleeing the pounding footsteps of my Mech and flocks of birds - which I occasionally mistook for enemy choppers at a distance! You can get quite nervous playing Mechwarrior.
A human being is about the size of a light Mech's foot!A human being is about the size of a light Mech's foot!
Tents and a smaller mech - the Shadowcat
Mech and mountains for scale
Distance in Mechwarrior
These shots give some idea of the sense of visual distance created in Mechwarrior 4. The subtle atmospherics amd lighting give you a real sense of "being there".
Distance is portrayed quite convincingly in Mechwarrior 4.