Mechwarrior 2

GAME OBJECTIVE:
  Pilot a single mech in various combative missions against other mechs.

Quick Scores (1-10):
Graphics:	6
Control:	8
Gameplay:	7
Sound:		8
Challenge:	9
Re-playability:	8.5
Overall:	7.5

Graphics:
The CG intro is short but very impressive.  The in game graphics 
definitely need improving.  The landscapes are very sparse and 
repetitive.  No roads or vegetation of any kind.  Buildings look like big 
rectangular blocks.  The sky looks sort of dead with no sense of depth.  
I should add that I have only played the first 16 missions so far, maybe 
things will get better.  Also, I have never seen the PC version of this 
game.  The enemy mechs are very simple polygon structures, and look far 
from what I was expecting.  They don't even look as if they're made of 
metal, more like plastic.  Remember how the Warhawk looked?  That type of 
look was what I was expecting, you know, that armored metal look  (In 
fact, the landscapes in Warhawk would also have been ideal for mech 
battles, especially the cliffs/valley level, with guns on the cliff walls 
shooting down on your mech as you navigate through the trees and the 
river in the valley, hunting enemy mechs...oh well, maybe in Mech 3).  I 
should note that the mechs do move well.  They look especially cool when 
they take to the air, and you adjust your aim up, shooting them as they 
fly over you.  Another plus is that zooming in on targets/areas seems to 
make everything look more crisp.  Explosions aren't very impressive, 
although taking apart an enemy mech piece by piece looked pretty cool.  
Also, when your weapon strikes a mech, the result is a cartoony sort of 
splash effect that is very unrealistic.    

Control:
For the most part, pretty good.  You have to learn how to rotate your 
torso and run and shoot at the same time to be successful.  With some 
practice, you'll get it down.  Locking in on targets is quick and easy.  
Aiming non-lock weapons takes practice, especially when you're on the 
move (and you better be).   Also, without an outside the mech viewpoint, 
it's difficult to gauge how large your mech is, so you're constantly 
bumping into obstacles, especially when you're not looking in the 
direction you're running in (duh).  In some mechs, you can fly - well, 
almost.  You actually jump real high and can float around for ten seconds 
before you return to the ground.  This is required sometimes to reach 
lofty targets.  Zooming in for a better view is possible and recommended, 
although I was having trouble zooming back out.  Various control pad 
configurations are possible.  I found that moving the mech with the 
directional pad (up-move forward, down-move backward, right and left to 
steer), using the L1 and R1 keys for torso movement, and the other 
buttons for weapons handling was the easiest config to use.  

Gameplay:
The menu screens are well done and easy to understand.  Training missions 
are available and should be used before you start your campaigns - your 
training instructor is hilarious.  Instant action is also available, 
meaning you're placed on a mission with the only goal being wipe out a 
large number of mechs.  Load times were noticeable but acceptable - about 
15 seconds from mission screen to action.  I was disappointed with the 
some of the campaign missions being so short, although they are all 
challenging.  When battling, it's sometimes difficult to determine how 
many mechs are around you, so you have to concentrate on one at a time, 
and of course, keep mobile to avoid taking hits.  I found that most of my 
one-on-one enemy mech encounters consisted of us circling around each 
other, or running parallel to eachother, firing until one of us is 
destroyed.  It's much more satisfying when the battle consists of hiding 
behind things, stepping out in the open, firing, then running to the next 
hiding place.  Or surprising a mech from your hiding place and gunning it 
down from behind - cowardly, I know, but fun nonetheless.  However, this 
doesn't happen enough because so far the missions consist mostly of 
battling on huge expanses of predominately flat land.   Saving to memory 
card is done automatically after each successful mission.  Passwords are 
also provided.  

Sound:
Pretty good rock music on some levels.  Some missions have futuristic 
Terminator type tunes that seem to match with Mech fighting better than 
the rock and roll riffs.  Your mech is equipped with a female voice that 
informs you of important mission status (weapons, enemies, mission 
objectives, etc.) and kudos are deserved for her not being too annoying - 
even though she is heard alot her information is critical for mission 
success.  The sounds emanating from your mech are very convincing.  
Especially the heavy thud for each step it takes.  The sound of your 
weapons firing and striking targets are realistic, as are the resulting 
explosions asscoiated with destroying the target.

Challenge:
A strong point.  If you don't practice you're in trouble.  Use the 
training missions immediately!  Three difficulty levels: easy, medium, 
hard.  Some levels are ambush types where many mechs attack at the same 
time and have you on the run.  I like the rank missions.  These missions 
take place in an enclosed walled battlefield, with many obstacles to hide 
behind, and you have to destroy x-amount of mechs to achieve a higher 
ranking in your clan. 

Re-playability:
Despite my gripes about the graphics and some of the gameplay, I should 
note that the game is very addicting.  The truth is it is a very 
immersive game.  After awhile you really feel like you're in a mech.  As 
you get better at running around, constantly looking left, right, up and 
down, and firing all types of weapons, you start to feel the weight of 
your mech, and you also start to get a claustrophobic feeling, as you 
probably would if you were in one of these things, knowing that outside 
of your view there are unseen enemies moving in on you.  The number of 
missions is high (48 I think), albeit some are too short.  You can adjust 
the difficulty, and you can play as part of two different clans.  
Unfortunately, there isn't a two-player mode, not even with a link cable. 
 
Overall:
A fun shooter for most gamers.  I can't stop playing it right now, and I 
guess that's what it's all about, no?  Some may be immediately put off by 
the less than stellar graphics, others by the lack of a two player 
option, and still others by the difficulty level.  Personally, while I am 
addicted for now, I think that a much better version of this game can be 
easily done.  The graphics really need serious upgrading and the missions 
must be longer.  Not a must buy, but a good one if you're looking for a 
different and challenging shooter.  

-- 

Derrick Davila                     Internet : Derrick.Davila@med.osd.mil
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