Mod support is now in beta on the Epic Games Store, starting with Mechwarrior 5. This is an early iteration of the feature, but you can expect to see more titles supported in the future. Lena Headey, Actress: 300. Lena Headey is a Bermudian-British actress. Headey is best known for her role as 'Cersei Lannister' in Game of Thrones (2011) (2011-2019) and The Brothers Grimm (2005), Possession (2002), and The Remains of the Day (1993). Headey stars as 'Queen Gorgo', a heroic Spartan woman in the period film, 300 (2006), by director Zack Snyder. Headey was born.
| Published by | FASA Corporation, Fantasy Productions LLC |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 1986 |
MechWarrior is a role-playing game set in the fictional BattleTech universe.
Description[edit]
MechWarrior is set in the fictional BattleTech universe in which players can assume the roles of MechWarriors (BattleMech pilots) or other individuals in the 31st century.
Publication history[edit]
The game has had three editions and many expansions and adventures, the first of which was published in 1986 by FASA Corporation. In addition, numerous novels by such authors as Michael A. Stackpole flesh out the game's fictional world. There is also an animated series.
Editions[edit]
All of the three editions have been created by FASA Corporation authors. A second printing of the third edition of the game was published by FanPro, LLC (on November 2006). To reduce confusion between WizKids' MechWarrior: Dark Age games and the MechWarrior roleplaying game, FanPro renamed this reprint as Classic BattleTech RPG. The newest edition released by Catalyst Game Labs in the line of Total Warfare is A Time of War:
- MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game (first edition: 1986)[1]
- MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game (second edition: 1991)[2]
- MechWarrior: Third Edition (third edition: 1999)[3]
- Classic BattleTech RPG (second printing of MechWarrior's third edition: 2007)[4]
- A Time of War (released in Dec 2010)[5]
Translations[edit]
French[edit]
The first edition of MechWarrior was translated into French by Michel Serrat for the French publishing house Hexagonal. Serrat's translation was published in 1989 under the title of Technoguerriers, which loosely translates the original English title.[6]
Japanese[edit]
Fujimi Shobo published a translation of MechWarrior in 1993. It was supported by the scenario collection Tamar and four replays.
Spanish[edit]
In Spain the two first editions of the game were translated into Spanish and published: the first edition in 1990 by the nowadays defunct Diseños Orbitales publishing house[7] and the second edition in 1994 by Ediciones Zinco,[8] also defunct. Both publishing houses were from Barcelona.
Reception[edit]
Scott Tanner reviewed Mechwarrior in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 78.[9] Tanner commented that 'I found this supplement very useful, for not only did it provide a roleplaying side to the game, but the background material was useful in setting up scenarios and the like.'[9]
MechWarrior was ranked 49th in the 1996 reader poll of Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time. The UK magazine's editor Paul Pettengale commented: 'Over the years since its original release, FASA has developed every aspect of the background and history of the Battle Tech setting. The result is a detailed universe overflowing with potential for adventure.'[10]
Reviews[edit]
- White Wolf #7 (1987)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^MEYER Richard K., HUNT Walter H., JAMIESON Evan, STEIN Kevin, BABCOCK III L. Ross, WEISMAN Jordan K., LARKIN Patrick, KEITH JR William H., BOYLE David and FRAZEE D. Brad, MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game, FASA Corporation, first edition: 1986, 144 p. il. soft cover, ISBN0-931787-58-0
- ^NYSTUL Michael, SMITH Lester W., IPPOLITO Donna and LEWIS Sam, MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game, FASA Corporation, second edition: 1991, 164 p. il. soft cover, ISBN1-55560-129-4
- ^PIRON-GELMAN Diane, HARTFORD Chris, NYSTUL Bryan, HUSSEY Chris, TROSSEN Christoffer, GRENDELL Dan, BEAS II Herbert A., COLEMAN Loren L., STACKPOLE Michael A. y BILLS Randall N., MechWarrior: Third Edition, FASA Corporation, third edition: 1999, 224 p. il. soft cover, ISBN1-55560-386-6
- ^PIRON-GELMAN Diane, HARTFORD Chris, NYSTUL Bryan, HUSSEY Chris, TROSSEN Christoffer, GRENDELL Dan, BEAS II Herbert A., COLEMAN Loren L., STACKPOLE Michael A. y BILLS Randall N., Classic BattleTech RPG, Fantasy Productions LLC, third edition (second printing): November 2006, ISBN1-932564-35-7
- ^BEAS II Herbert A., ROBERTS Neil, SCHERWINSKI Klaus, CURTNER Liam, LEWIS Chris, NICHOLS Will, A Time of War, Catalyst Game Labs: December 2010, ISBN978-1-934857-65-6
- ^Technoguerriers as described on Le Grog, a French website specialized on role-playing games
- ^NYSTUL Michael, SMITH Lester W., IPPOLITO Donna and LEWIS Sam, MechWarrior, el juego de rol del universo de BattleTech, Diseños Orbitales, Barcelona, first Spanish edition: 1990, il. soft cov., ISBN84-87423-55-8
- ^NYSTUL Michael, SMITH Lester W., IPPOLITO Donna and LEWIS Sam, MechWarrior, el juego de rol del universo de BattleTech, Ediciones Zinco, Barcelona, second Spanish edition: 1994, 185 p. il. soft cov., ISBN84-468-0235-X
- ^ abTanner, Scott (April–May 1987). 'Infotech on Battletech'. Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer. Diverse Talents, Incorporated (78): 16.
- ^Pettengale, Paul (Christmas 1996). 'Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996'. Arcane. Future Publishing (14): 25–35.
| MechWarrior | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Dynamix |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Producer(s) | Steven Ackrich John A. S. Skeel |
| Designer(s) | Paul Bowman Terry Ishida John A. S. Skeel Damon Slye |
| Programmer(s) | Paul Bowman Peter Fokos |
| Writer(s) | Paul Bowman Mark Brenneman |
| Composer(s) | Michael Latham Russell Lieblich Bryce Morcello |
| Series | MechWarrior |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Sharp X68000, PC-98 |
| Release | 1989 (DOS) July 10, 1992 (X68000) March 12, 1993 (PC-98) |
| Genre(s) | Vehicle simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
MechWarrior is the second video game released in the BattleTech game series. MechWarrior was the first video game to offer the player a chance to pilot a BattleMech from the view of a pilot (a MechWarrior). With this game the player has a great deal of freedom when compared to many of the follow-up MechWarrior games, which include choosing missions, buying & selling mechs and parts, hiring lance-mates, and traveling throughout the Inner Sphere. Underneath the major game mechanics, the player had the option of following a role playing style story arc that would unfold over five in-game years.
The game was ported to the Japanese Sharp X68000 and PC-98 home computers in 1992 and 1993 under the name Battletech: Ubawareta Seihai.
Story[edit]
The story follows a mechwarrior by the name of Gideon Braver Vandenburg. His family has been murdered and the chalice that proves he is heir to the throne of his planet, Ander's Moon, has been stolen. Without the chalice he is exiled. Gideon must develop a force of mechwarriors and battlemechs, find those who committed the acts against his family, and take his revenge within five years or all is lost.
The story ends with the defeat of the Dark Wing Mercenaries.
Gameplay[edit]
Overview[edit]
Mechwarrior revolves around three basic elements of play. The player can travel around an accurate map of the Inner Sphere negotiating contracts with the five Great Houses. Depending on the player's actions, his mercenary unit will develop a reputation with each house which can bring about larger and more lucrative missions. A negative reputation can also be created if the player fights against a house in several missions. In this situation players will find that house is no longer willing to negotiate a contract.
The second element revolves around the battlemechs within the game. Battlemechs can be bought and sold or repaired from combat damage. In this way, the player can act as a merchant and acquire mechs on one planet and sell them on another planet to gain profit. Mechwarriors, too can be hired at the local bar with ranging levels of skill. As above, the unit's reputation will determine the quality of potential recruits.
Mechwarrior Game On Second
Finally, there is the combat simulation. Depending on the contract for a mission, the player must meet certain criteria ranging from defense of a facility to outright destruction of the enemy. Combat is shown in first person from the cockpit of a battlemech. The game's engine uses simple vector based graphics for the actual combat.
The three elements combined to create a unique game that was part RPG, part economic, and part combat simulation.
Combat simulation[edit]
1989's Mechwarrior was the first BattleTech simulator that placed the user within an actual battlemech to pilot in first person. While the flat-shaded 3D graphics were very simple, individual mechs were easy to identify. The player begins with a damaged Jenner and has the opportunity to build over time a full lance of 4 battlemechs with the ability to choose from a total of 8 designs. Each mech was well balanced and had its own unique role within the game. The Locust and Jenner were specially designed for quick strike style missions while the heaviest machines such as the Battlemaster and Marauder could walk through heavy fire and survive. Medium mechs such as the Phoenix Hawk and Shadow Hawk had the ability to leap over terrain with jump jets and harass enemies from behind (the Jenner also has this property). Finally the heavy class including both the Rifleman and Warhammer could bring the most firepower to bear. Every class had its own special role and was instrumental to the gameplay.
Combat itself followed the rules devised by the tabletop game. Rate of fire is limited by the mech's ability to dissipate heat through heat sinks.[1] Overall combat was defined by 3025 era rules. Damage was carried over after each mission and required repairs to be completed at a cost to the owner. Early in the game, it is sometimes necessary to repair a mech only partially so that it can operate for a mission due to limited funds.
During combat the player can also give basic commands to lancemates which had very simple AI. One interesting feature of this AI was its ability to retreat if a certain damage level was reached.
Reception[edit]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Dragon | [2] |
| Computer Gaming World | [3] |
| ACE | 887 out of 1000 points[4] |
MechWarrior was commercially successful, with sales of nearly 100,000 copies by 1997.[5]
The game was reviewed in 1990 in Dragon #161 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in 'The Role of Computers' column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.[2] In a 1992 survey of science fiction games, Computer Gaming World gave the title four of five stars, stating that 'this robotic combat simulation is like candy — fun and exuberant, although it may rot your teeth'.[6] A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game three stars out of five.[3]
Rik Haynes of ACE scored MechWarrior 887 out of 1,000 points. He wrote: 'Mechwarrior had me hooked right from the start, it's a near perfect fusion of flight- (tank!) simulation and role-playing game'.[4]
See also[edit]
- MechWarrior, a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
References[edit]
- ^http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/43-action/21336
- ^ abLesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (September 1990). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (161): 47–53.
- ^ abBrooks, M. Evan (May 1994). 'Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!'. Computer Gaming World. pp. 42–58.
- ^ abHaynes, Rik (February 1990). 'MechWarrior'. ACE (29): 65.
- ^Wilson, Johnny L. (April 1997). ''Mech Killer'. Computer Gaming World. No. 153. p. 48-50.
- ^Brooks, M. Evan (November 1992). 'Strategy & Wargames: The Future (2000-....)'. Computer Gaming World. p. 99. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
Mechwarrior Games Series
External links[edit]
- MechWarrior at MobyGames
- MechWarrior at the BattleTechWiki