

Once again we’ve seen the resurrection of the MechWarriors Handbook, a familiar site for any fan of battletech computer games, which lays out the game instructions as if they were an actual handbook discussing the operation, maintenance, and upgrade of your battlemech.

Reviewed On: AMD K6/2 400mhz, Win98, 64MB RAM, 4GB HD, Diamond Viper V700U, Creative Labs Soundblaster AWE 64, and a 24x CD-ROM. PII 300mhz, Win95/98/ME/2K, 64MB RAM (96MB for Win2k), 4x CD-ROM, 500MB HD Space, 8MB 3D Video card, and a Sound Card. And, without a doubt, hearing the thundering ‘thump-thump-thump’ of a mech goes along way in creating a suspension of disbelief. The sound effects in the game do deserve some credit, as they’ve quite probably created the most convincing heavy weapons sounds ever heard in a MechWarrior game. When I say that a mech running in this game is a thing of beauty, I make no exaggeration. Mechs walked and occasionally ran, usually in a way similar to an arthritic stick figure that had played a mean game of pigskin in his college years. Never before could I have said that a mech jaunted. Graphicsįrom the first moment you see a mech jaunting down a street, you’ll understand why MechWarrior 4 is so impressive. Overall, the best aspect of this interface is that it pre-loads enough of the mission during your briefing that launching the game itself only requires a few seconds worth of load time. Selecting your map and lancemates is as easy as using drop down boxes for assignment, and you can quickly enter the mechlab to modify anyone’s mech. The same interface is used for both single player and multiplayer engagements, and it provides rough but easy-to-use lance management and tactical map features. The first time you see your mech torso twisted, weaving between buildings, incinerating other mechs, you’ll never go back. Essentially a very complex first person shooter, MechWarrior 4 is the first mech game of this style that has better control when playing in the 3rd person perspective. As usual, the torso twist is an ever-important feature, allowing you to track your opponent and deliver fire while on the run. MechWarrior 4 has an intuitive control interface that is reminiscent of previous MechWarrior titles, but greatly simplified - using the joystick as the primary command interface provides you with target acquisition, fire control, and movement controls.
