The 90s was a great period for video
games. PC gaming
was flourishing,   left
and right, new
ideas and new games were taking shape, and a franchise called style="">MechWarrior was capturing the hearts of
gamers everywhere.  With
a futuristic
universe with a surprising amount of story, giant robots would stomp
around and
blast each other and their surroundings with a plethora of missiles,
railguns,
and whatever else you could slap on the mech with the excellent
customization
options.  Sadly, the
franchise lost steam with the on-again off-again cancellation of MechWarrior V in the new millenium and has been quite silent in the video game
market,
especially on PC.

It’s time to revive the legend. style="">  Piranha Games, led by a
team of fans who
has been playing the series since its creation, are spearheading the
effort in
the newly revealed MechWarrior Online.

Massive Team Battles and Player
Freedom

This is not going to be limited to 8
or 16 players like a
console game.  24
players will be duking
it out on any of the maps, which helps capture the original spirit of
the
universe.   Upon
completion of a level or
objective, they won’t exactly gain experience but loyalty. style="">  Loyalty is dedication to a
faction, whether
it be player or non-player based, and they’ll earn military ranks in
the
process which can unlock both standard options, and player-designated
options.    Russ
Bullock, President of
Pirahna, told us that “A full set of tools will be available to
designate
rewards to players, similar to guild systems”  
However, it seems that the potential to increase in rank
is purely upon
the player’s actions, rather than the guild leader’s favoritism. style="">  That’ll please a lot of
people I’m sure.

Don’t like the idea of being forced
into a guild?  No need to! 
Lone Wolf missions are in and function as bounty
hunter-style kill missions,
among other things.  With
no loyalty, you
are the ultimate pick up player or mercenary to fill out a team in a
pinch.

All of the Classic Tactics

While most action games these days
could be played
effortlessly by a controller, MechWarrior
fans know better than to think they can handle everything
with a couple of
analog sticks and a few buttons.  All
of
the features such as torso turning, individual and group weapon
selection and group
firing, and more tactics that are staples of the series will return. style="">  The Creative Director,
Brian Ekman,
elaborated “While technology has evolved, Battletech is a 30 year old
IP.  We are
confident that we’ve created a game
that can appeal to everyone, including both the completely new and
longtime
veterans of the clan wars.”

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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/210180">

No Grind, No Problem

With Ekman coming out and flat out
saying, “You won’t have
to grind to access your favorite mech” that should alleviate one of the
major
problems on the minds of fans.  
However,
there are three progression paths:

• The pilot – Universal to all mechs,
  you have a customizable
  skillset to perhaps reduce heat consumption and increase jump jet
  duration of whatever
  you pilot
• The mech – Each mech will have some
  special unique options available to it to help each model fill a tactical role.
• The faction – Gaining ranks in a
  faction will confer bonuses related to the faction’s beliefs and theme.

While there might be some lucrative
skill that you want to
earn as fast as possible, the idea is that if you want to play a mech
style at
any given time, you have that option. 
There is no free to play selection of only those mechs for
that week or
any of that nonsense.  Save
that for the
MOBAs, this is MechWarrior! 
It isn’t necessarily about killing to
progress either.  You
will be rewarded
with experience depending on how well you fill the mech’s role that you’re piloting,
which should make the light scout players breathe a sigh of relief.

Worlds of Competition

All engagements will be against other
players, at least for the time
being.   Bullock and Ekman
did express interest at the
adding of PvE content after launch, but for now, it’s time to man up
and face
your foes.  These
battles won’t just take
place in wastelands and destroyed cities either. 
The Inner Sphere will have snow, jungle, and
more types of vivid environments to distract you from the oncoming
missile
barrage.

“Our goal is to create a game worthy
of the franchise that
everyone can enjoy”, Russ Bullock concluded. With a free-to-play model and so much
content available from
scratch, Piranha just might be able to make that long-sought after dream a
reality.  Look
forward to more news and
details on the systems of MechWarrior
Online as they become available in 2012.