July 1995 marked the end, apparently, of a very long wait for a lot of gamers. For it was then that Activision released its much-anticipated sequel to Mechwarrior. I say "apparently" because, quite frankly, I wasn't one of those doing the waiting. In fact, I had little interest in the "Mech" world or that type of game. It sometimes seems as if every second week brings with it a new battling robot game, each just like the one before. And I never viewed the genre itself as cause for much excitement. I even remember a friend in college trying to get me to play the original Battletech (R) board game, but it never really interested me. I just couldn't get excited about the whole "robots battling in the future" idea...it seemed a little too weak as far as alternate worlds went, and the giant robots seemed a rather awkward way to go about the business of war anyway. It just didn't seem...fun. So, as I say, although I did catch the ads in the several months before the game's release, I wasn't really holding my breath for Mechwarrior 2. I did end up trying it, though, and as it turned out, found that I was wrong not to hold my breath.

Put simply, Mechwarrior 2 is a mind-boggling, landmark game. To those who were eagerly awaiting it, it is worth every bit of that wait. And to those, like me, who are new to the world of 'Mechs and Clans, if anything could possibly get you enthusiastic about this type of game, Mechwarrior 2 will be it. It is magnificent, epic, and brilliant. It takes the genre to a new level and ups the standards for quality in games in general. It is not often I find myself raving about a game. Quite frankly, I consider most of what pass for games in today's market as a waste of landfill space. But when it does happen, when I do find a special game noteworthy enough to endorse and praise unconditionally, it is only with ground-breaking masterpieces like Doom, and as far as I am concerned, Mechwarrior 2 is in the same league of excellence.

This review will follow the usual outline: there are ratings of such game aspects as graphics and sound (out of 10, with 10 being the best), each with corresponding descriptions and comments. In addition, however, there is a separate section devoted to additional noteworthy comments that don't really fall into the other categories and don't have scores attached to them but that I still felt were important. An overall rating for the game is found at the end of the review, and an overview of it follows.

Stormcrow on ice hill, 320x200

Overview

Mechwarrior 2 takes place in a world of the far future, where war is life and honor is everything. You are a member of one of two warring factions; either the Jade Falcon Clan or the Wolf Clan. You are, in effect, a soldier, although as a Mechwarrior, great honor falls on your shoulders as a member of society's highest order. The war is waged primarily by using Battlemechs (or 'Mechs), giant robots with an army's arsenal at their disposal, and these wondrous machines are piloted by nice boys and girls like yourself. There are 16 missions available to you for each Clan, all in context with the Refusal War being waged between the two. For these missions, you have at your disposal a variety of 'Mechs as well as the abilities to customize them and to engage fellow Mechwarriors to help you. The game is akin to a simulation in its control detail and complexity, but there are instructional "missions" available that help you learn what your Mech is capable of. The instructor in the training area does have a real attitude, but you can vent out some of your earned frustration by attacking him when he foolishly arms your 'Mech during weapons training. I've gone for a piece of the bugger more than once, I'm not ashamed to admit. Anyway, learning control of these behemoths is challenging but not overwhelming, and even the "real" missions themselves are set up quite well in terms of gradually increasing in difficulty and allowing the player to assimilate new knowledge. The goals for each mission are divided into primary, secondary, and (sometimes) tertiary ones, with success hinging on completing the primary goals, much like LucasArts' Tie Fighter. Promotions in rank come by completing the Trials of Position that you are occasionally called to perform, which count as missions and set you against your often better-armed brethren in a showdown to determine who is most worthy. The ultimate goal is to complete all missions and become Khan (the highest rank possible) of your clan. In the middle of all this fun, there is always the war being waged in the big picture, and by game end, not only is your fate decided but that of your clan as well.

Graphics 10/10

The graphics are incredible. Even at the lowest resolution, things look pretty good, and they become positively stunning with the medium and high resolutions. The Mechs themselves look great, with very good movement and rendering, and the explosions and fire in the game are gorgeous. There was real work involved in getting things to look this good, and it shows.

There are 3 possible resolutions: 320x200, 640x480, and even 1024x768. Unfortunately, I suspect that even the fastest Pentiums may still need to stick to 640x480 for decent gameplay...the highest resolution of 1024x768 will, perhaps, simply be what makes players dig MW2 out of the closet after getting their nice new P6 (or better) systems in the future. For now, though, the good news is that 640x480 looks so incredibly good you won't really mind anyway...there isn't as much noticeable difference between it and 1024 as you might expect. Low-end machines (in this case being fast 486's) will need to stick to the lowest resolution and turn off most details. On my DX2/66, play would get choppy even on low-res whenever there was significant action on the screen. See my notes on performance. One very nice thing is that the higher resolutions don't require extra memory requirements. They can be seen and used even on minimum-requirement machines with 8MB of RAM, which I find incredible. Many other high-resolution games require additional memory either on the video card or in RAM to run at such high res, for example. The highest resolution does quickly deteriorate into a slideshow on my 486, of course, but it is very nice just to look at occasionally nonetheless. Sticking to 320x200 is not that big a deal, since that resolution is what 486 owners are accustomed to in their games to begin with. It doesn't leave you feeling cheated by any means. Even Pentiums may want to stick to that res for smooth play, which can be quite important in busy missions.

Not to be overlooked are the small movies included with the program. The introductory cutscene sequence, for example, will leave you breathless and maybe a little disturbed as well. It shows Mechs in battle, with one coming to the futile aid of an outnumbered and injured comrade. There are also movies for each clan, each of which looks terrific in its own right. The fact that they not only astound visually but also affect emotionally serves as the ultimate testament. They are really well-done.

'Mech explosion, 640x480

Sound 10/10

The sound is equally wonderful. The sound effects are excellent and the music is superb, both in sound quality and in context with the action. There is speech throughout the game, and the aforementioned movies in the game are perfectly narrated...the voices themselves as well as the voice-acting are both flawless. The music (most of which is in tracks on the CD) is of commercial, studio quality. There are 25 tracks or so of music on the CD, which are played during missions. I am a very strong subscriber to the music-in-games ideology, and in this case it was done to perfection. The music does wonders to establish mood and immerse you in the environment. I am a big fan of good music in games and few games make that case better than this one. I only wish other companies would follow suit and give music during gameplay the importance it deserves. When able to tear myself away from the game and get some actual work done, I often pop the CD in and listen to the tracks by themselves. They are terrific. I'm listening to them as I write this, in fact. Activision has worked hard to make MW2 a feast not only for the eyes but most assuredly for the ears as well. Absolutely marvelous sound and music.

Gameplay 9/10

As one who was never really into the "mech" genre to begin with, and despite my surprise at the quality of the game in other respects, I still didn't expect to find the gameplay itself much to write home about. Well, I am in awe, and glad to report I was wrong on that count as well. The gameplay is thoroughly engrossing. It has been programmed with a perfect blend of action, strategy and suspense. It is comprised of a set of missions (16 per clan) that you must successfully complete, as well as an "instant action" mode (called the Trials of Grievance) that allows you to play a customized match independently of the game storyline. You use one of 14 'Mechs armed to the endo-steel bone, each with its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. Weapons at your disposal include missiles, lasers and machine guns, while additional accessories like jump jets are also available. You can (and should, as you progress) also customize your own 'Mech to suit the mission at hand as well as your style of play. You can control your alter-ego with any of a number of controllers that the game supports, although I personally found that a simple mouse/keyboard combination was one of the best.

The missions are wonderfully put together and show that as much care went into their design as in the rest of the game. They follow a very good order as well, in terms of growing in difficulty and in developing a wide range of skills, from hunting to defense to serving as escort. They occur in a wide variety of areas, including frozen tundras and urban landscapes, forcing the player to adjust his or her style of play accordingly. For the most part, the missions are great. They are also very challenging. Or rather, perhaps that should be, "BUT they are also very challenging". For you see, that is where an elusive little half-point was lost. Some of those missions are just TOO challenging, goshdarnit! Those that have reached the "Plum Wine" mission or Third Trial for the Jade Falcons will understand what I mean. Whoa. Activision may have gone just a wee overboard with some of them, and so, admittedly subjectively, I chose to knock a half-point off for that. There is, after all, a thin line between challenge and frustration. Still, it is just a half-point.

There are some who may feel that there are not enough missions. I disagree. I don't know if 32 missions (plus the near-infinite possibilities of instant action) sound like too few, but I found them to be an adequate number. I enjoyed every minute, didn't finish too quickly and did not feel cheated in the least. More add-ons with new missions will undoubtedly follow, but as the product is, it is more than worth it and the missions will keep you entertained for a very fair amount of time.

The other half-point was deducted for the imperfect keyboard layout and customization, and a minor play bug. I don't much care for the default keyboard layout (the up and down arrows on the keypad, for example, control torso movement while the mouse does that as well), and assigning a new function to a key sometimes still keeps the "old" function active: my keypad "+", for example, would not only target the nearest enemy as I wished but also speed me up. And the bug I refer to is where your right mech arm gets consistently targeted and blown off first by enemies, although I understand there is a fix in the works for it.

In any case, the gameplay is nonetheless incredible. It will draw you in, take you to another world, and take away four hours of "real world" time in a heartbeat. It is more fun than you might think, and frankly, productivity's worst nightmare. Don't touch this game on the night you have to work on that big report.

Ground vehicles, 'Mechs on bridge, 1024x768

Documentation 8/10

This is perhaps the weakest part of the game, and in this case, considering the strength of the game in all other respects, I consider 8 points weak! The install guide that comes with the game is fine, but the owner's manual is lacking. It was a cute idea setting it up as a procedures manual for clan warriors, but the information doesn't go into detail enough. Not enough is explained and a little too much is assumed. A good example is setting up your "starmates" (the mech word for wingmen)...the manual describes how to do it, but not how getting starmates works in the big picture, ie. whether or not they are assigned to you, etc. As it turned out I played about 3/4 of the Falcon missions before someone mentioned to me and I found (much by luck) that you could set them up yourself without prompting. That fact is not really outlined in the manual. Much of it may simply be due to the fact that the game is aimed at a market of gamers who probably already know the Mech world (and, presumably, such things), but for those who are just getting into this wonderful game/world with MW2, a bit more elaboration would be welcome. Also, given the importance of the plot in the game, a mini-novel or something along those lines would also have been a welcome addition to the box contents. Again, there are those of us who are new to the Mech experience, and it can be difficult to relate to a lot of what is referred to in the game as having happened. There is online documentation along these lines, in something called the Archive Holoprojector, but it is dry and a bit hard to follow, as is the ongoing description of current events in the war you find yourself embroiled in. A bit extra in terms of documentation would have been nice.

Airborne Summoner, 640x480

Miscellaneous Notes

Performance

The minimum hardware requirements (as shown at the beginning of this review) for the game are quite high, among the highest of any current game. Buyers are well advised to take those minimums VERY seriously. On my "minimum" DX2/66, play could become quite choppy when the action heated up, even on lowest detail and resolution settings. I am all but ready to say straight out that if you have a DX2/66, you will not be happy with the game. But I can't, because that is what I played it on, and although the performance was not great, I WAS happy! The game is so incredible I couldn't help but be enthralled by it, frame rate and all. And as a general rule, it IS quite playable...I did finish those challenging missions even on my system. If you do have a DX2/66, I don't discourage you from buying it. Just the opposite. Just expect a slightly degraded frame rate. That is, if you can shake yourself out of your euphoric playing trance long enough to notice! In my opinion, Activision chose their minimum requirements perfectly...they are neither misleadingly low nor unnecessarily high. And given the game's depth, I unfortunately can't begrudge the programmers those minimums, much as I want to. I want to hate them, I really do. But I can't. So instead, I've decided to hate Pentium 133 owners. You all know who you are.

Multi-Player Meching

There is no multi-player capability in the game yet. Instead, there is a "NetMech" demo that gives players a taste of what networked and modem play will be like (it will apparently support up to 8 players). I believe that the "demo" does allow players to play one-on-one, though I can't confirm it since I did not try it. Suffice it to say, although the only minimum requirement stated is a 9600bps modem, there is no way a 486/66 will pull off multi-player games in any satisfactory, playable form. You WILL need a fast Pentium, and more than the minimum 8MB of RAM (preferably 16). Full NetMech will be available as an add-on later this year.

Value

I wanted to mention that here in Canada, where absolutely outrageous software prices have become a disturbing norm, Mechwarrior 2 has proven to be a refreshing change in that way also. Even in its first week of release, I managed to find it for $55CDN (about $39US) and its average price was in the neighbourhood of $60 ($43US). This is in sharp contrast to many other games, ESPECIALLY "hot" games fresh from the factory. Star Trek:A Final Unity, for example, commanded a good $90 ($65US) average price here when it first came out, and its "Collector's Edition" (give me a BREAK) was going for a trite $125 ($90US). I need not comment on that kind of pricing, thank YOU, Spectrum Holobyte et al.. ST:AFU is no exception by any means; most such recent software is exceedingly overpriced, and the vast majority of it is pure garbage. The rate at which game prices have been skyrocketing is matched only by the rate at which game quality has been deteriorating. That fact makes Mechwarrior 2 all the more incredible. What is perhaps the most worthy game of all is the one to finally show consumers a small break. It is worth every asked penny and more. If Activision is to thank for this directly (as I suspect), then I do want to thank it on behalf of buyers and express my admiration of both it and its pool of talent. Live long and prosper, Activision.

FASA is ejecting

FASA Corporation, the company behind the original Battletech game, has apparently decided to leave Activision and go with Spectrum Holobyte for any future Mechwarrior products (aside from MW2 add-ons). I read some comments from Activision programmers hoping that enough consumer support would be generated for MW2 that FASA would in fact decide to stay with Activision for future installments in the series. For what it may be worth, I wholeheartedly support Activision and hope that FASA reconsiders. I have nothing against Spectrum Holobyte; their Falcon 3.0 products are among my favorites, but it is an unproven entity as far as Mechwarrior goes. As far as I'm concerned, Activision has done a mind-numbingly good job with Mechwarrior 2. The game redefines the genre and takes gaming to a new standard. I never looked twice at Battletech products before it and I doubt anything else could have done as good a job in bringing me over to the 'Mech side. I cast my humble vote for Activision and hope that FASA will think twice about throwing away what is obviously a partnership that works in the most important ways. If I get a hold of FASA e-mail addresses, I will pass them on to Dave (the Games Domain maintainer) so that they might be available to readers who feel the same way and wish to contribute their 2 cents' worth.

Dire Wolf playing rough, 1024x768

Overall 10/10

This game deserves nothing short of a full 10 points. Not that you didn't expect it. It is a masterpiece that succeeds on every level, and will not only satisfy its long-waiting group of prior fans in spades, but will succeed in converting a whole new generation to Mechwarrior charms as well. The amount of effort and care that went into its creation is considerable and quite apparent. Although there is still roughly half a year to go in 1995, I have no hesitation in considering the game a top contender for Game of the Year. It delivers without compromise, far better than most games taking up many more CDs (MW2 fits on just one!), and it represents an incredible value and hours of fun. Activision and its programmers deserve the highest praise for turning out as good a product as anyone had the right to expect, and then some. This game is nothing short of spectacular. If you have the hardware, you can not go wrong with Mechwarrior 2. It is destined to be a classic.

      Computer    Graphics              Memory  Disk Space  CD-ROM
Min.  486 DX2/66  SVGA; VLB or PCI      8MB     45MB        2X     
                  (640x480, 256 colors)
Also required : mouse, DOS 6.0 or higher, sound card
Control:     keyboard; mouse; joysticks; CH Flightstick and Pro Pedals; 
             TM Flight, Weapons and Rudder systems, FLCS; Gravis 
             gamepad, Phoenix joystick; Virtual i/o glasses; Suncom SFX 
             gamepad; Microsoft Sidewinder
Sound:       All Sound Blaster models; Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum 
             Basic, Plus and 16; Gravis Ultrasound; Ensoniq Soundscape; 
             Roland MT-32; GMIDI devices
Reviewed version on : 486DX2/66, 8MB RAM, Stealth 24 VLB, SoundBlaster 
                      Pro, Toshiba 4X IDE CD-ROM
Reviewer recommends : Pentium 90, 16 MB RAM, fast DOS video card, 4X CD-ROM 

The Year is 3057, A struggle for power fuels a society of warring clans, bitter infighting perpetuates a universe of unrest. War is constant, victory is temporary. Cease-fire is nonexistent. A pause in a stream of salvos is only a signal to re-calibrate crosshairs and redirect missles. Time is scarce before the next unrelenting mission begins. For a Mechwarrior, war is life, and death is the only true peace. Explosive gameplay, Stunning graphics and audio, 31st Century War Machines, and CyberMech Play coming soon. REQS: IBM PC or 100% compatible, 486DX2/66 MHz, 8MB RAM, Double Speed CD-ROM Drive, Hard disk drive with 45 MB of un-compressed space available. VESA Local Bus or PCI video, 256 color SVGA, MS-DOS 6.0, Mouse, Sound Blaster compatible sound card, and Joystick card highly recommended. MECHWARRIOR 2 THE CLANS CD-ROM ACTIVISION DSC 06/06/97