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#Post#: 1241--------------------------------------------------
Mechwarrior Evolution C64 to Xbox360
DIR By: Blugger
Date: December 23, 2010, 8:52 am
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MechWarrior game series has been going for a long-time, be it as
a Role Playing board game (Battletech) using pen and paper and
later with metal figures or as game from the Commodore 64 era
right up to the Xbox360 . I have traced it back to its humble
origins back in 1988, and followed its route right through to
the upcoming reboot in 2011. So here is a quick walk down
retro-lane…...
The first version of the game was on the PC as the Crescent
Hawk’s Inception on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, Apple II
in 1988. In the game you play Jason Youngblood, son of Jeremiah
Youngblood, chief of the security forces on Pacifica. Jason has
recently started his training to become a Battlemech pilot
himself and this is where the game starts. Crescent Hawk’s
Inception has two different modes of play. One plays like a
role-playing game in real time and the other is a turn-based
combat system.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYGUCblIRCo
This was then followed up by a sequel in 1990 The Crescent
Hawk’s Revenge on the PC. The game picks up shortly after
the events of Battletech: Crescent Hawks Inception (if you
haven't played that game, I suggest you do that now), with Jason
Youngblood, now a member of the Crescent Hawks, beginning a
search for the whereabouts of his father. Of course, things
don't go quite as planned.
The gameplay isn't quite what you may have gotten used to with
any of the modern RTS games - in fact; you have barely any
control over specific actions of your mechs. You can order them
where to move, what to attack and modes of these actions (e.g.
you can order the unit to fire at will, only in self-defence or
not attack at all), but majority is left to the pilots' AI.
Surprisingly, this solution is pretty effective. The game pauses
when you click on the unit to give it commands, so you can take
time planning your moves as you see fit.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDL9iZop5LY
There was also a PC game called MechWarrior also released in
1989, which had you sworn to avenge your family and reclaim what
is rightfully yours. You had to assemble a team to do this,
which had your fighting as a Mercenary or in Inner Sphere Wars.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdqCjPsBeog
(The music on this video has been added from the later version
of MechWarrior and is not the original soundtrack).
A Super SNES version was released in 1993, the main character in
the game is a MechWarrior named Harras whose family was killed
by a group of military rogues called "The Dark Wing Lance."
Playing as Herras, the player battles many enemies, trying to
seek out the leader of the rogues, while relying on intel from a
host of contacts and allies at a bar on a nearby planet in the
system. In the end, the player's objective is to hunt down and
kill the members of the Dark Wing Lance and avenge the deaths of
Harras' family.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGPlOC5D2T8
This was followed by a sequel in 1995. This time around it was
viewed in an isometric view as opposed to the first person view
of the previous game. The game also features a unique 2 player
mode where one player controls the bottom half of the mech to
navigate it around the map while the second player controls the
upper torso which moves independently.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3d8aqP8uio
The franchise went through a major re-haul and the next version
of the game was called MechWarrior 2 31st Century Combat. These
were released on the PC, PlayStation and Sega Saturn and spawned
a number of MechWarrior games and add-ons. They all had the
same type of gameplay, but as the years passed, the graphics and
gameplay got a lot better. They were:
MechWarrior 2 31st Century (Ghost Bear's Legacy & Mercenaries)
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X3GD0UnBCk
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPlXXUhtVqc
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at9hxU864Fg
MechWarrior 3 (Pirate's Moon)
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm76b8tzzWI
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNpUVS84EdU
MechWarrior 4: Vengeance (Black Knight • Mercenaries)
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdcQ2vmu1gY
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMbbPCgQXI
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUrW5PXB0p8
All of these games were released between 1995 and 2002.
On top of this, there were a couple of RTS games on the PC,
these were called Mech Commander and Mech Commander 2 (Both of
which were released in 1998 & 2001).
The player assumes the role of the commander of Zulu company
from the Federated Commonwealth's First Davion Guards, a member
of the Inner Sphere. The planet Port Arthur must be taken back
from the Clan Smoke Jaguar. The game's campaign progresses
through 30 different missions broken into 5 operations with 6
missions apiece. Each mission consists of a number of objectives
which may include destroying enemy units, capturing or defending
enemy units, protecting friendly units, and capturing and
defending bases. Some missions must be completed within a
certain time limit.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86nHZkHOKg
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-flmhci9UxY
and the intro for the first MechCommander:
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MQPWE_M_EM
Mech Assault 1 was released on Xbox on the 22 November 2002, it
was one of the first games on the Xbox to feature the ability to
be played on the Xbox Live service. "MechAssault" included many
of the basic Live services that are now considered standard on
any Live-enabled video game. These features included options for
finding and creating online matches, such as the common 'Quick
Match', which enables a player to find an online match quickly
regardless of qualifications.
MechAssault had several modes of combat in which players could
engage, often based around by-now-common forms of online
competitive gaming. In Grinder mode (local play only), the
player tries to survive as more and more 'Mechs are spawned into
the battle. This mode can played with one or two players. In
Destruction mode, the player can choose a 'Mech and fight to the
death in deathmatch or team deathmatch. The player or team with
the most kills wins. Last Man Standing is a free-for-all with no
respawning as a mech. Once a player dies, they respawn as an
unarmed infantryman. Gameplay can be either deathmatch or team
deathmatch. Capture the flag is a team based game where the
opposing team spawn on opposite ends of the map and try to
'Capture' the enemy flag without giving up their own.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_5DHpyf5eI
The second game released on the Original Xbox was MechAssault 2
Lone Wolf. (Release date 1st January 2005). Continued with the
arcade feel to the original MechAssault. The game is notable as
allowing the player to control a variety of vehicles other than
mechs. These vehicles include tanks, powered armour, turrets,
and VTOLs. The game also allows the player to leave their
vehicle and plant explosives or roam around as a human/pilot. An
interesting aspect of the game is the ability to "hitch" rides
on friendly mechs and VTOLs, while wearing powered armour. It is
also possible to do the same to enemy mechs and attempt a
'neurohack', with the result of ejecting the pilot and taking
over his mech if successful. The multiplayer side of things
consisted mainly of an OptiMatch feature where games of a
certain type are shown. It also has a Conquest mode that was
very popular at the beginning of the game's life but due to
flaws in the design the Conquest mode quickly died down in
popularity.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPf0FaTp8fo
There was also a popular game on the Nintendo DS called
MechAssault: Phantom War. Players assume the role of a
BattleMech pilot in a 3D environment with a third person view of
the combat via the top screen of the DS, while the touch screen
displays the inside of the cockpit and acts as the game's
controls. This was released on the DS on the 12 September 2006.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKO44rB2Faw
MechWarrior (reboot) is an upcoming action simulation game
currently under development by Piranha Games and Smith & Tinker
for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. This game is essentially a
reboot of the franchise, which takes place in the Battletech
universe, and with the storyline taking place before the
original MechWarrior. Development of the game is being led by
two main project leaders, Jordan Weisman from Smith & Tinker and
Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games.
The story takes place in the year 3015 set on a planet called
Deshler, near the end of the Third Succession War, set before
the events of the original MechWarrior and right before Hanse
Davion comes into power. The main protagonist is Adrian Khol,
fourth son of the noble family who rules Deshler in the name of
House Davion. Although in training as a MechWarrior, Adrian
never takes his training and duties seriously, until the day his
entire family is wiped out during the war. Spared from the
massacre during a make-up test for 'Mech training, Adrian
eventually changes his thinking and takes up responsibility
against the rebels who killed his family and takes his place as
successor of the family throne.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvJyyzJIgXg
Battletech Cartoon also spawned with the popularity of the
games, but it only ran for only 13 episodes back in 1992.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqzEssjkMeU
#Post#: 1248--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mechwarrior Evolution C64 to Xbox360
DIR By: moobit
Date: December 23, 2010, 12:41 pm
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Ladies and Gentlemen... You're new Retro games reviewer! :)
Epic post Bluggs-great work!
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