Gameplay

Battle tactics

MechCommander tries to reproduce the BattleTech boardgame feel by giving you a set of units which you take from battle to battle. Unlike StarCraft, C&C or Total Annihilation, these units cannot be produced in factories for the cost of X amount of resource A. You can gain new 'Mechs by salvaging them off the field of battle or buying them from your supplier between battles. This should be somewhat familiar to X-Com: Apocalypse and Fallout: Tactics players.

Awesome missile streaks

Must suck to be in a pulse laser crossfire

My town!

The carrying over of resources and need to preserve what you have has a huge effect on gameplay. Gone are mad rushes and chaotic slugfests, and in come planned battles with constant updates to tactics. Your strategy is determined by the 'Mechs you have available and their loadout. Most of the time, variety can win the day. You can use some heavily armored assault 'Mechs with close-range weapons to protect some lighter, faster 'Mechs with long-range missiles (LRMs) or other weapons useful for sniping. Alternately, you can generalize all your 'Mechs, each having a variety of weapons without focusing on any single kind, to avoid losing a key point of strategy if one of your specialized 'Mechs gets knocked out.

Then there are times when it would be preferable to have only 'Mechs that are small and fast with jumpjet capability, or only big, heavy ones with long-range weaponry. MechCommander 2's levels focus on letting the player deal with battles the way he wishes to, but always punishing his weaknesses. Did you go all-assault, short-range? Big mistake if those relatively quick Catapults with their deadly array of LRMs come at you. Don't have jumpjets? Well then, you'll have to slug it out past the base defenses and walls to capture that turret control center or to nail the generator.

Booyah

It's like the Second Coming

Sensors are so useful

Just as important as preserving 'Mechs is the preservation of 'Mech pilots. These are your most vital resource in the game, since money can gain you a replacement 'Mech, but nothing can bring a dead pilot back to life. Sure, you always have a few extra, but the pool is limited, and whatever experience and extra skills the pilot had are gone forever. MechCommander 2 features a nice perk where pilots not only gain aim and piloting skills, but also go through ranks like green, veteran and elite. With each rank, you can choose a certain skill in which the pilot will be specialized - for example, he may become a marksman with regular lasers, or an expert at piloting heavy 'Mechs.