MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries – PC – Preview

In this
struggle, talented MechWarriors like yourself are in hot demand. The MRBC has
just authorized your new company for mercenary work. After securing the
required sponsorship from a full-fledged mercenary company—Wolf’s Dragoons,
Northwind Highlanders, Kell Hounds, or Gray Death Legion—your company has
ample opportunity to make a name for itself" 
Mech jocks will find over 40 new missions that will have you white knuckled
leading lance upon lance generating a hefty cash flow to buy all the goodies
to make the ultimate mech."

Control up
to 100 ton Mechs while leading up to eight hired guns.  Not 2 not 4 but 8
lance mates into the heat of battle in the quest for the all-mighty C-Bill. 
This time around, honor doesn’t even enter into the equation – it’s all about
the money. Get your fledgling mercenary company sponsored by some of most
notable and notorious mercenary groups in BattleTech history and battle your
way through the Inner Sphere in more than 40 new missions as you doggedly
pursue more lucrative C-Bill payoffs. With more than 35 ‘Mechs, new weapons,
and new electronic packages available for purchase, chances are you’ll need
every C-Bill you earn.

Some new
features include:

Over 40 Dynamic Missions across

10 different planets
How
you play through the mission determines what other missions open up to you

Play for Money and Fame,

not honor

Different missions offer different rewards or cost a certain amount to take
on. Gain fame and fortune by competing in three of the famous Solaris VII
arenas

Secondary Lance
If
you have the money, for the first time ever in MechWarrior you can bring eight
MechWarriors into battle

Three Different Endings

The missions you choose determine what end game you play

Nineteen new multiplayer maps

Including the brand new Jungle environment which is also a brand new single
player setting

Two
new multiplayer game options
C-Bill game

Teams are restricted by how much money they have earned.

Merc Affiliation Zone games

People can track the success of each Clan and join forces with their favorite
one through the Zone.

Server browser chat
Players can now chat with each other before entering games

Ten
brand new ‘Mechs

Shipping with 36 ‘Mechs including new Clan and Inner Sphere ‘Mechs

Well there is the quick
important stuff  that the web site boasts, now for a more personal
opinion of the game.  Being a Mechwarrior fan from my days of the paper and
pencil game of Battle Tech, I’m truly excited about all the titles and have
enjoyed many hours of play.  This title is sure to bring many more hours of
white knuckled Force Feedback and head dodging of PPC fire and missile
dodging.  The terrains are diverse and the missions are quite fun.  The
preview promises a pretty solid game, and once your tour of duty is finished
and you have racked up all the money for a cushy retirement, it’s on to
multiplayer via the Internet.

I liked the added
secondary lance for additional firepower on those really tough missions but of
course you have to pay these guys, so it dips into your funds a bit.  This can
be off set by dying or coming out so beat up that you will pay a handsome fee
for repairs, so it might be beneficial to hire a few more guns.

Solaris VII is not a
mission so much as an opportunity—an opportunity for you to make some serious
C-Bills fast. Ever thought of yourself as the gladiator type? If you’re in
need of cash, or if you just like fighting for the sake of fighting and don’t
mind thousands of rabid fans cheering you—or jeering you—you’re going to like
Solaris VII. Choose between three arenas, the Factory, the Jungle, and the
most infamous of them all, the Coliseum.  Very cool when in some need of a
quick extra couple bucks.

Graphics, sound, Force
Feedback, and the interface were all quite nice, especially the Mechlab. 
Building mechs seems to get easier with every new addition to the series.  My
only major gripe, and remember this is a Preview so hopefully the bugs will be
worked out, is about locking up.  Not to the point of a shut down but the game
does not play very smoothly especially when you have 12 mechs and a bunch of
tanks doing battle.  Considering my test computer more than doubles the
requirements, I was a bit surprised.  Again this is a preview so hopefully at
release time this wont be a problem.

So salvage, buy, sell,
watch your heat and ammo, and make a few bucks and equip yourself with
multiple to notch mechs that you can later test in the ultimate fighting
experience…INTERNET PLAY!  Remember there are no points for honor here so get
out alive and enjoy your wealth.