Posted 11 September 2012 - 10:33 AM
I have to say I'm not at all pleased with the way the MW:T mechs look. Updating the look of a mech from the original tech readouts? Yes, certainly, because as much of a fan as I may be of the original art even I have to admit that a lot of it is less than perfect and some mechs looked like a bunch of boxes glued on top of eachother.
That said, there's a difference between updating and improving something, the way MWO has done IMO, and completely ignoring the original appearance of the mech to the point where your redesign is basically unrecognizable. The Commando? Would _anyone_ guess that to be a Commando if they weren't told it was supposed to be one? The Hunchback? Heck, it looks more like a Thunderbolt that had its cockpit centered than a Hunchback. When you change something people are familiar with until it's unrecognizable then I have to ask myself what was the point of using a license if there's not going to be enough of a recognition factor to ensure you draw in the existing fanbase? Isn't that one of the reasons you make a game out of a licensed IP? Because it already has a built-in fanbase which gives you a head-start on the earning potential?
I'll probably still try the game out because, hey, it's Battletech/Mechwarrior and this IP has always had me by the short and hairies, but honestly, the look of the mechs so far is lowering my enthusiasm for it rather than increasing it.