MechCommander 2

Not too hard

The original MechCommander was a decent RTS game but it did have one major flaw - it was rather difficult. Even seasoned RTS players and Mechwarrior fans would end up struggling through the game because its missions were frequently meant to be beaten in one way and one way only. With the base building aspect of traditional RTS games absent, this made the original MechCommander into more of a puzzle solving game than anything else. Microsoft has zeroed in on those problems and sought to eliminate them.

There goes an arm

Storming the beach

Recoverability

One aspect the development team has focused on in Mechcommander 2 is the aspect of recoverability. In the old Mechcommander, if an initial skirmish went badly, you'd probably restart the mission because there was no point in trying to continue on. Not so in MC2. Players will have resource points that they can spend on aerial/orbital support. Call in an airstrike. Fly in a spare pilot to capture a disabled enemy mech. Drop in a repair truck to patch up your banged up team of mechs. You can call in other support vehicles like minelayers in the middle of a mission as well. The point is, if you have the resource points to spare, then you can order up a VTOL to drop in anything you need. You'll also be able to save games in the middle of a mission now. All these features should do a lot to reduce the difficulty of the game and allow for more creativity when beating a mission.

City fighting

How to get in?

Line of Sight

Another cool change is that the fog of war has been eliminated. In a universe of orbital ships and satellites, obscuring the terrain seems a bit silly. Mechcommander 2 will be a tactical game first and foremost, so you'll be able to see all terrain to plan out your approach. Sensors and line of sight will still be important in determining the location of actual enemies, so don't expect the Command and Conquer simplified gameplay where you can see anything and everything at once. Take the high ground!

Blammo!

Love the detail

There are a ton of other enhancements and improvements. Graphics have been upgraded to 3D and improved tremendously, with mechs having more polygons of detail - arms and other appendages will blow off. Your mechs and other tall objects on the map will cast shadows depending on the direction of the sun. Running in shallow water will create splashes and cast ripples in the water as well. Mechs will also automatically walk at the same speed when grouped together, a useful feature borrowed from Age of Kings. As a nod to the hardcore Mechwarrior fans, heat will now be a factor when outfitting your mechs - if you want lots of lasers, you better load up on the heatsinks. Also look for a handful of unique (never before seen in any Battletech media) mechs in this game.

Logo

It's still very early in development, but things are looking good for MechCommander 2, due out in Q1 2001. We're eagerly anticipating this title.