MechCommander Demo

Mecha is a genre usually associated with anime and Japanese culture, since that’s where most examples originate from. However, the interest has grown throughout the rest of the world as well, since there are many productions nowadays featuring huge mechs, or at least similar designs to illustrate the concept.

MechCommander is a real-time tactics game with a few RTS elements mixed in together as well, which provides you with a more tactical perspective on the BattleTech universe. As such, many of the mechs and environments are reminiscent of the MechWarrior series, so this should please any fans of that franchise as well. On the other hand, mostly everything else has changed, gameplay-wise.

The story revolves around the planet Port Arthur, which is occupied by Clan Smoke Jaguar and needs to be reclaimed in order to bring everything back to normal. Hence, you play the role of a commander in charge of a mech company for the First Davion Guards, which means that you have total control over their every move. Not only that, but you also get to choose what equipment these mechs should carry.

The campaign is composed of over two dozen missions, each one of which requires you to accomplish certain objectives. Whether you have to neutralize the enemy units or defend something from them, the challenge is guaranteed to keep you on edge. In between these missions, you have the freedom to organize your forces and try to optimize the equipment or the arsenal of each mech.

Since the game came out a long time ago, you shouldn’t ask too much in terms of graphics, although it looks much better than you would expect. Not only that, but each weapon has a specific effect when it is fired and the explosions don’t look half-bad, at least when you consider the age of the graphics engine and the technical capabilities at the time.

Whether you are a mecha fan or not, the fact that MechCommander is a strong real-time tactics game is not up for debate. If you are one, on the other hand, then this should probably be everything you were hoping for, especially from a gameplay point of view.