MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries – PC – Review

MW4M is the
newest version of the MW franchise.  Loaded with 40 new missions, 19
multiplayer maps, some new weapons, and mechs, this is a must have for any MW
fan.  Those new to the game will find a easy to follow tutorial that will have
you up and running in no time. 

MW4M is a
little different from the MW series in that instead of following a storyline
following a fairly linear campaign, your objective is to obtain wealth at
whatever means necessary.  You will have certain orders and goals that you
have to follow from the missions you choose, and eventually you will complete
them all.  What’s different as you pick when you take the challenge and how
many lance mates you bring along with you.  Some scenarios may allow only a
certain number, but others allow up to 8 lance mates to bring on the
destruction.

Not only do
you acquire money from successful missions you can also salvage weapons; you
can grab some Mech chassis’ as well.  What you cannot find or you just want to
trade in can all be done at the free market.  Here you can get everything you
need to build the ultimate fighting machine.  In addition to that, this is
where you can hire some new mates to aid you in your battles.  Keep in mind
you have to pay their salaries.  As you can imagine the more skills they have
the more you have to pay them!  No  $10.00 /hr employees here.

Ok so now
you have the all the toys, now its time to put them together.  This is where
configuring your Mech couldn’t be much easier.  The Mech lab allows you to
drag and drop weapons on your Mech chassis with ease into their proper spots.
Each Mech does have a maximum weight allowance so you may have to give up
armor for more firepower, long range for short, etc.

There are
lots of diverse maps that you will do battles in within the campaign offering
both day and night missions. You will encounter both armored vehicles and many
different enemy mechs. You will be on search and destroy missions, guarding
vehicles, or defending friendly units, and much more. There is also an arena
world you can battle in a gladiator style of play.  This is a good way to get
trained up for multiplayer games.

I have
played just about all MW games, not to mention the old paper pencil games of
BattleTech (not to date myself here).  This title is another must have for any
true fan.  The missions are fun and challenging and the arena games are a lot
of fun.  My only complaint was in the gameplay.  The interface was real nice
but with my computer I should not have had any gameplay issues.  I noticed
serious choppy play at the ultra high graphics setting.  I followed all the
instructions to try and remedy the situation with the only workable solution
being to bring down the detail to medium.  The game played much smoother and I
did not notice a real difference in the visualizations, but kind of a drag
nonetheless. The sound effects and voiceovers were quite good and actually all
the other elements had me immersed in the game.  I used a ForceFeedback2
joystick and really enjoyed the experience. 

I feel that
this is a must have and would make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas.
Check out my preview of the game to see all new goodies in the game

http://gzdev.wpengine.com/gzreviews/p20489.htm or checkout the MW4M website
for more details.  Happy hunting.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 8
The interface is real easy and
designing your Mech is a breeze.  My only complaint is that even after I
downloaded the latest drivers, and followed some other instructions in the
read me file, I still had choppy gameplay at even at 800X600 at maximum
detail.  After I brought it down to medium the game played much more smoothly,
but given my test computer’s specs, I should not have to have done this.

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics were
nice, nothing really different from MW4 Vengeance, but still quite nice just
the same. 

Sound: 9
Good sound
effects, music and voiceovers.

Difficulty: Medium
Veterans of the game will be up in seconds.  If you’re new to the game, a
nice tutorial will have you blasting away the enemy in no time.  There are
different difficulty settings to toggle between, but expect the real challenge
in a multiplayer arena.

Concept: 8
Nothing really
different here compared to earlier MW games.  Instead of a big story line it’s
more of a getting paid to waste the bad guys and collecting salvage to later
equip your mechs, or sell for better weapons.  All in all still a great game
for those MW fans.

Multiplayer: 9
Is available through LAN and
Internet play through

www.zone.com. Playing online is a blast. You will definitely find
challenge here playing against other Mech Jocks.  If you have a router or
firewall you may have some issues to contend with, but once you’re on it even
more addicting then the campaigns.

Overall: 9
Definitely a must
have for any true MW fan.  There is enough here to keep fans happy until the
next expansion or title is released.