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By Sunseahl
Coming from only a few MechWarrior games I can say I’m definitely not the die-hard fan a lot of people around here may be. This allows me to both look objectively at the game as a whole while ALSO knowing the mechanics of the game franchise itself. As such, this is a review intended to weigh the pros and cons and hopefully give the developers and gamers, both, points to consider while experiencing MechWarrior, hardcore fan or first time user.
Let’s start off with the “Bad News” first:
Lack of Tutorial:
This game has a LOT of ideals in it, as such it’s kind of a shotgun of them to the face of fans and newcomers. This is most apparent the almost utter lack of a campaign “tutorial” mode. Because of this new comers will find themselves utterly lost. Sure you can point to all sorts of fancy videos and guide texts as reference but nothing comes close to giving the player a realm in which to experience personally and get used to their Mechs. This is going to be the number one reason for a loss of many new players and players in general. They simply can-not get used to the design of their Mechs and/or have no clue how to change it to something more comfortable. Introducing a small campaign tutorial would be THE thing to keep your newer players interested in the game. And throwing a bit of C-bills at them for completion of these tutorials would greatly enhance their morale… that’s my next point.
C-bills:
I’m not sure where the idea of such a low drop rate of c-bills comes from but I can assure you it’s disturbingly immoral to new players. Jumping into a trial match with your trial Mech, by shop standards, should net one at least 1/4th it’s cost in insurance or payout. Netting only 80k in the best conditions with the Assault, less with the other classes is NOT a business model… it’s a giant “F you unless you buy our crap” to players.
If I play EVE Online they tell me from the start “Hey, you’re gonna have to either grind really, really hard in this limited time or… you can always buy a subscription.” With MWO, it feels like no newcomer will ever be able to grind enough to get into a comfortable setup and that’s simply unkind both to seasoned vets and newcomers.
Sure seasoned vets have their setups already but even so it kills the morale for the newcomer to stare at the same 9 players in their “look at me I can buy a hero Mech and kick your arse ‘cause I’m not broke” Mechs. Even in older games the payout for a mission was at least a million I’m not asking for that… I’m just asking if it’s really a sensible business model to discourage players from ever even playing if they simply can-not afford to buy that Mech and modules with MercCash or MechDollars(or whatever you’re going to call it) when they can’t even really grind enough c-bills in the first place.
Options:
Of all the places to be lazy, Options? Really? You have tabs for everything and yet you threw so many co-mingled options on one screen that it literally overheats the brain! This entire section needs at least three tabs in itself… Graphics, Audio, and Controls at least. A check box for voip? That’s all? No explanation or settings for whether or not this is an always on voip or if it’s push to talk? No mouse sensitivity option in the controls setup? Are you crazy? This game is ALL about sensitivities! And yet that one thing right there makes this game almost completely unplayable for a casual gamer who walks in and has no clue how to configure their in-computer mouse sensitivity. It’s poor judgment to do that.
Hero Mechs
-or-
“How I spent money and am making more money because ‘ha-ha’ money bonus, beeches”:
Yet again another totally morale-devastating blow to new comers is to see 8-5 of these on any given map, obliterating them in one or two hits in game and then have it stare them in the face on the interface, knowing they’ll never
A. Be able to grind enough cash to even get a chassis capable enough to combat that monstrosity in the first few days of playing
-or-
B. Have the spare cash to buy it themselves.
And the WORST part is the disgust new comers will feel to the game and its players, not because of how skilled or wealthy they are, it’s simply because of the “hey look this Mech gives me more cash for missions and you can’t get one, EVER!” feeling. It’s sickening.
Match Options(or lack thereof):
This, I’m sure, has been brought up countless times by countless players but trying to calculate all the players looking for a match… then throwing 6 trial players on one side versus 6 skilled Mech owners on the other kind of kills any really sort of competition you can not expect new players to be able to compete against your Closed Beta vets nor should you allow your vets to brag about how many Mechs they’re able to kill simply because they all get thrown together. Though the vet might stay the new players will quickly evaporate, making the game as dead as the Capital Wasteland. *hint hint*
This system needs to be divided by only one search criteria… Does the player own their own mech? Yes? Different game list. Forcing players who already own their own mechs into the “next tier” of gameplay maps not only makes the trials feel good about their experience it also make the vets really work for their bragging rights instead of sitting back and laughing as they light up some trial like a Christmas tree.
Now… For the “good news”
Hope:
All of the “bad news” CAN be fixed if you chose to do so. If not, take heed of the warnings from other MMOs who bit the dust for being lazy or uncompromising.
Graphics:
This game is simply beautiful on ANY setting but instead of staring at the paint job on that Hero you may want to focus on firing at it before those missiles blow your pod.
Interface:
It’s clunky and cumbersome. It’s just what I’d expect from a MechWarrior game. It’s big. It’s bulky. And I feel like I have to almost push car pedals to make the interface move forward. That’s EXACTLY what I’d expect from a Mech.
Mech/player response time:
Over all the tweaks there and there THIS is what I've waited to see the most. Though there are moments that I’d expect a spool-down(like pressing the “throttle to 0” button and having the Mech slow to a stop) the Mechs this time seem to be fully capable of increasing and decreasing their throttle faster and even responding faster in general. Even the heat buildup/dissipation is faster than in older games. This gets a solid “good job” from me.
The Shop:
Though I may have an issue with the C-bill payout this does not, however, mean that my appraisal carries over to the free market “shop” itself. In many ways chassis and modules in the shop are on-par or cheaper than in previous games. Not terribly cheaper though but enough to remember that I had INSANE amounts of cash by endgame of MechWarrior titles.
So lets review the review, shall we?
The Bad:
1. No Tutorial
2. Devastatingly low per-mission payouts
3. Lazy Options menu
4. C-bill bonuses on Hero Mechs
5. Totally unbalanced matchmaking queue
The Good
1. Solid graphics
2. Appropriate interface
3. Solid game/mech/player response times
4. Appropriate shop costs
Yes, it may look like I’m going to rag on this game and say it’s “BS” but that’s not the case. The biggest concerns I have with this game are the sheer un-thought out or downright laziness of the developers who, by what is presented in open beta, look as though they were going to solely cater to the fans of and, by association, cash of the fans of the franchise. That’s a failure for a business model. Just look at KOTOR.
If you simply step back from the game and look at it from the point of view of a person who’s never played…
Why should they bother playing?
The first mission they have zero clue how to control their Mech. Even after watching the guides there’s really no in-game tutorial to help.
The controls in options are a sheer mind-screw to people who don’t know the franchise, not to mention the options are very lazily slapped together.
They’re never going to get anything halfway decent-feeling for them unless they grind a week’s worth of casual gameplay or spend money they may not have.
And then WHEN grinding they get their arse handed to them by 7 different Rising Sun Mechs that seem to laugh in their face for even trying to play.
If no one addresses these problems than I can’t help but borrow and modify a very well-known quote.
I’ve seen things you people wouldn't believe. Assault Mechs on fire off the shoulder of New Exford. I watched Gauss-trails glitter in the dark of the Solaris VII arenas. And all those moments will be lost to new Mercs… Like tears, in rain.
Edited by Sunseahl, 31 October 2012 - 03:29 PM.
