The long-running “MechWarriors” video-game series imagines a future where mankind made it to the stars, invented all sorts of new technology and then fell into a galactic civil war. The premier weapons of the wars are mechs -- giant robots 30-50 feet tall with cannons, missiles, lasers and more.
And a new entry in the series, "MechWarrior 5: Clans" and its expansion, "Ghost Bear: Flash Storm," gives a look at the brutal conflict that resulted when long-lost clans suddenly reappear and attack the rest of human civilization.
In this science-fiction future, family houses battle each other in the Inner Sphere, like samurai clans sniping at each other in feudal Japan. A 2019 game, "MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries," let the player fight in these petty squabbles. Set in 3015, the game centered on a young mercenary whose father was killed in front of him at the end of the Third Succession War. As he rebuilt his father's mercenary company, he learned why his father was attacked and that the attackers used "Lostech," mechs and mech weapons lost since the civil war.
In the new game and expansion, set in 3050, these houses learn an entire civilization exists out in space, which still has huge supplies of the Lostech that the Inner Sphere has largely used up in its wars against each other. And that outer civilization can still manufacture many mechs with processes lost in the civil war. They're organized in tribal clans and suddenly invade the Inner Sphere, and the player is part of the invasion.
The game makes no pretense to military realism. The pitch is much more simple. "Wouldn't it be fun to lead a team of five massive robots laying waste to other robots on planet after planet?"
And the newest expansion even lets you fight on top of a spaceship, robots pummeling each other in the cold expanse of space.
That being said, “MechWarrior” has a few tactical details that are accurate, a pleasant surprise given the deliberately fantastic storyline.
Players benefit from concentrating firepower; having multiple robots quickly cut through one enemy robot is better than going one on one against a fireteam. They can knock out enemy weapons if a mech is too robust to kill immediately, like a fleet taking out a carrier's deck and then ignoring it until it has the breathing room to sink it. Players need to manage how much damage they take in each match, because the technicians can only repair a certain amount of it between matches.
That last one makes decisions feel more weighty than in other mech games, since every tick of damage in one battle risks a doom spiral. Since the player needs to get through an entire invasion with their supply of mechs, they can't afford to let the total damage get away from them.
The invasion in the game is obviously thrilling, and it has some great set pieces during the main campaign, such as when the player's lance is ordered to a ridge and uses long-range fires to annihilate an Inner Sphere counterattack. The game shines in these set pieces. It also has decent banter during some missions, with characters complaining about the food or longing wistfully for when they'll head back to the barn.
And while the original game had some voice performances that fell flat, detracting from otherwise dramatic moments such as when a team member dies in a trial, the expansion does a better job with its storytelling.
The other thing that makes the world feel a bit unrealistic -- but it's a big part of the “MechWarrior” storyline -- is when the clans fight each other for the best mechs or for the honor of doing one mission or another. That infighting has a real history; think of all the rebels in Syria who fought against each other during the civil war there, depleting their own ranks and resources rather than focusing on the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
But the forces in “MechWarrior” are in the middle of an invasion, and they're using nearly irreplaceable weapons of war, so it feels implausible when they routinely use them to fight each other over honor or prestige. Or, worst of all, when they destroy each other's mechs in order to steal each other's mechs. Is the IlKhan, the leader of all the clans, cool with the clans squandering all of their power against each other?
The player is in different clans in the base game and the new expansion, jumping from the Smoke Jaguars to the Ghost Bears, meaning they're on a different side for all the clan fighting in the expansion. So it's odd when you first suit up against the Smoke Jaguars.
Despite these little quibbles, the game is a lot of fun. After all, who wouldn't want to pilot 40-foot robots and stomp through other mercenaries' bases with them? It’s like you’re MechaGodzilla.
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