Retro Rehash - Die Clanner! MechCommander Review

Like most people living here in the West I am party to the glitz and glamour of the First World.  Champagne, caviar, murdering the occasional prostitute and passing off the storage locker in which I keep their remains as a business expense.  Yet, the greatest example of my bourgeois pride is undoubtedly my Steam account, with its 248 games and backlog so mountainous it contends with Snowden for Britain’s highest peak.  So, of course, I’m here to talk about MechCommander, a now freeware RTS that you can download for nothing off the web.  To those reading in less developed nations you have just pinpointed the weakness in our soft, consumerist underbelly; but before the proles of the world rise up and cast our wasteful asses into the sea let’s wax lyrical about giant robots doing battle across the stars.

         

For those of you born after the great PC revolution that sowed the seeds of all video game greatness (this may be revisionist history), there used to be this little table top game called Battle Tech.  Set in a universe of warring houses, political intrigues and galactic conquest it demanded the use of miniatures, dice and hours of commitment.  Luckily, the good fellows over at FASA Studios (may they rest in peace) recognised that even humble folks like myself needed to exercise generalship over an elite cadre of Battle Mechs in pursuit of ultimate victory, sometimes.  And in 1998 they delivered the dream of every layman out there with the first MechCommander.

               

Battle Tech has a rich backstory which I encourage you to look into; unlike many other sci-fi universes it hasn’t fallen to the predations of money making and general enfeeblement that typifies much of Games Workshop’s and Star Wars fair.  MechCommander opens with the invasion of the planet Port Arthur, currently held by the forces of Clan Smoke Jaguar and follows your war of liberation from start to finish.  It’s worth noting that for the diehard fans out there MechCommander is a great addition to the lore, fleshing out the backstory to the reformation of the Star League and retaliation following the original Clan Invasion.  While for the uninitiated it offers a perfect backdrop for shooty, shooty fun with substance, thereby catering for everyone.  The intro is full motion video gold and much like Wing Commander shows how FMV’s should be used.  While the acting isn’t perfect it’s better than most and adds a dramatic flair to the proceedings that traditional computer rendered video just couldn’t match.  If you doubt it, check it out below.

                            

Following the model of a squad based combat system whereby you enter into each mission with a specified drop weight limit, each ‘Mech and pilot you lose can have a catastrophic knock on effect further down the line.  Of the two, the latter is typically more difficult to replace, for as each mission goes by those same pilots gain valuable skill improvements in areas like gunnery and sensor management, eventually achieving veterancy status.  As such, you end up with a core group of elites capable of handling the heaviest and deadliest of your war machines.  Their deaths are therefore cause for genuine mourning as your lance is accordingly diminished by their loss.  When losing ‘Mechs however, it’s all about what you can salvage from the battlefield and hock between missions. Whether that be the battle damaged steed of a former opponent or from numerous enemy caches scattered around the combat zone.  Everything adds up, with you typically choosing the choicest pieces of hardware for yourself, selling the rest to turn a profit and reinvesting in new weapons, pilots and ‘Mechs along the way.  Although it must be noted that while I’ve had units taken down (usually by prestigious amounts of weapons fire) I’ve almost always salvaged what I’ve lost, leading to a rather low attrition rate in my mechanised death machines.  Therefore, once the maintenance crews finished scraping the remains of the last occupant from between the dashboard they were ready to be forced back into the fight.

                                            

This is in no way to suggest that the game is easy, with creating the right mixture of ‘Mechs and loadouts to complete mission objectives sometimes being an empirical process.  I reloaded… a lot and given that you can only save between drops it can really eat up the time and be a tad frustrating.  Especially when you get almost to the end of a mission and run into, say, a Madcat. Are you ambushing multiple convoys?  In which case compact firepower and fast ‘Mechs are your best friend.  Or are you holding a forward base against staggering odds?  Your only hope being your heavies, with thick armour and overwhelming ordinance.  There are also a variety of limited special abilities such as artillery strikes (both large and small) and sensor probes, which accentuate your overall capabilities. These are allotted during your mission brief and cannot be changed.  There’s nothing quite like maneuvering an enemy vehicle into your kill zone and bringing the rain.  Add to this the addition of support like minelayers and scout vehicles and you can really have some fun figuring out the best way to meet your objectives.

                                                     

When looking at MechCommander I’m filled with a certain nostalgia, partially from the use of FMV’s but also the general feel of the game.  It’s been a good while since I played a new RTS of the same calibre that also made me feel like I was part of a real universe, that was truly immersive.  MechCommander achieves this in a variety of ways, from each set of missions being broken up into separate “operations” and the fact that while you’re the invading force, your enemy still outclasses you in a fair fight.  Clan ‘Mechs are where the action is at, trust me.  This, coupled with the variety of mission types and complexity makes you rely on outwitting your opponent as much as outfighting them.  The feeling you get bringing down a Catapult heavy packed with LRM’s (Long Range Missiles) up close and personal is hard to beat.  It was like watching a pack of dire wolves bring down an oliphaunt.  Most importantly of course, it’s free and will cost you nothing to try.  At best it might introduce you to a new and interesting sci-fi universe; at worst you’ll be unable to get it working and be out ten minutes.  But since this can easily be avoided by just copying all the game files into a folder and running the game from there, I doubt it.

Retro Rehash - Star Wars Republic Commando: Fragging Tinnies

Beneath my layers of cynicism, disappointment and burning resentment, I am and always will be, a Star Wars fan.  It's in my nature.  No matter how many half-arsed, poorly produced, badly written pieces of fierfek Lucas authorises I will stand firm, albeit embarrassed, by my universe.  It makes no sense really. It's the product of my inner fanatic, nay, my inner religiosity.  I've grown up with Star Wars and I'll be damned if I'll be run out of town by the blatant money grabbing which has come to epitomise everything about the series.  I mean, come on, Oshaka Tano?  Really George, do you hate us that much?  But on top of my blind adoration sits a nugget of hope that every once in a while still glints, is still capable of rousing my wounded loyalty.  A small gust of wind clears the ashes of so many cash ins and I can feel that Star Warsiness again.
             

Clear the way Delta.

In Star Wars: Republic Commando I found a respite from Jar Jar Binks, Anakin Skywalker, droids cracking wise and the oh dear god pain of it all.  In a sound choice, Lucasarts took this foray into the universe in a completely different direction, a grittier direction, than we have seen before.  Bypassing Jedi, Sith and the whole galactic wide shabang you are thrown into the fire that is the Clone Wars with nothing but your Decce, wits and three man team of elite Commandos.  Lead animator David Bogan said he wanted to "focus in on the military aspect of Star Wars," and I think he and his team did a pretty fine job.  From blasting doors, slicing terminals and altogether behaving like unstoppable badasses, you get to take the war to the Separatists like never before.  That isn't to say the game doesn't have it's flaws, but we can get to those later.
                   
Opening with the battle of Geonosis as seen in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, you progress through three separate campaigns in varying locales.  Through the bowels of a ghost ship fighting off Trandoshian slaver scum, the lofty heights of the Wookie homeworld, Kashyyk and the droid foundries of Geonosis.  Each has it's own distinct flavour and never feels like a rehash of what's gone before.  It speaks volumes such detail was put into a genre that often suffers from the same tired and recycled scenery all executed with minimal effort.  Actually, the entire game enjoys a level of attention not seen in a Star Wars game since Knight's of the Old Republic, with everything from the sound to the command hud being designed to a tee.  Utilising Foley Sound, originally designed for film, Republic Commando specialises in bringing the whole package.  Creaking armour and the approach of enemies coincides with the visual presentation with natural precision.  Would you like to know more? Take a look below.

                                   

Sniper Rifles, AKA Precision Shotguns 

On the subject of realism, the command interface for your squad is deserving of special mention. Whether you're ordering your men to take firing positions to fend off a particularly nasty Sep ambush, or to slice a door for rapid entry, at no point did I feel handicapped by the system.  Using a collection of five keys you can keep your squad under control and firmly on the objective.  Thinking about it, my buddies Sev, Fixer and Scorch are probably the best NPC allies I've ever had, even having the nonce to beat off an attack before coming to rescue my sorry shebs.  On  many an occasion I found myself embarrassingly incapacitated and being chastised for my gung ho attitude while being revived.  It was a humbling experience being told off by an NPC that was actually right  for a change. It has to be said that Republic Commando isn't a game in which you can readily run and gun, but nor does it suffer the shame of cover-based game play.  You can order your men to take certain positions and you can feel free to shield yourself behind a wall, but don't for a second think you'll be cowering there for long.  It's all about the action baby.  With your Decce ion blaster and it's multiple attachments you'll be raising hell and fighting for your life.  Choosing which attachment to use in any given situation does require a bit of a knack. For instance, you'd better be saving those armour piercing grenades for the droid heavies and not wasting them on your bob standard battle variants, even if they do clear a room faster than a Nemoidian tax collector.  My personal favourite was the sniper attachment, packing one hell of a wallop and accuracy all in one neat package.

But just as the Republic are efficient and roll all their killing implements into one, the other races in the game possess their own unique styles and quirks.  The Trandoshians are projectile based, nasty and look like they've been put together with all the care and attention warranted in your average  Toydarian junk store.  Meanwhile the Geonosian beam weapon is a clicking, clacking, breakable looking thing that belays it's deadliness.  My only real complaint is that the basic Decce is unsuited for killing anything tougher than a battle droid with any ease and lacks the punch to stick it to heavier opponents.  So balls to the wall you'd better have a thermal detonator handy or it's lights out for Delta Squad.

Trandoshian Weaponry: Good as new with a slap of paint.

Having complimented the game to within an inch of worship there are a few problems that need addressing. First and most importantly of all, it feels a bit short.  I ran through it in about eight hours and while this is standard fair for a shooter I was kind of hoping that the Lucasarts team would have gone that extra parsec like they had throughout.  I was genuinely disappointed when I reached the end credits, although that could just be a sign of wanting more of a good thing.  Also, while the selection of weapons is eclectic it's not that vast, with about six pieces besides those which are attachments for your standard Decce.  This may seem a small gripe, but it would have been fun to really put those Commando skills to the test with a more blistering arsenal and customisable load out.
                     
So coming to the end Star Wars: Republic Commando is a first rate, standout shooter that does almost everything right.  The detail is truly fantastic and keeps the player immersed in a universe which seems genuinely alive, well until you start killing things.  It demonstrates that there is still mileage left in the Star Wars engine if the time and effort is invested properly, and not on anymore drivel that is meant to convince us Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader.  Delta Squad are a fine addition to the universe fully deserving of their place in the lore, alongside Han Solo, the Death Star and even Jabba the Hutt.  As surely as Republic Commando deserves a place in your video game collection.

Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut: Rage

I'm sorry Bioware, NO! NO, NO, NO! Having only purchased Mass Effect 3 recently I'm a bit behind the times; as such however, I'd already heard the phenomenally bad press it's finale had attracted. So I'm not here to bash on the bear bones, kick in my crotch embarrassment that is the original game. But the fix job Bioware released to patch the problem. The problem being of course that different coloured lights and three shitty choices do not an ending make. You see I've looked around and there are mixed opinions on the DLC, some hate it, others like it and some are just happy that an extended cut exists. That their beloved universe will not have to suffer the shame of attending the sci-fi franchise annual wine tasting with such failure tucked between it's deflated butt cheeks. And interestingly enough, it is with these people that I have the biggest beef. With whom I would like to engage in some friendly cajoling before I introduced them to the pointy end of my omni tool. Why you ask? Why humble reviewer, are you in such an uncontrollable rage? Because you don't pat a dog on the head for crapping outside after it's already shat on the carpet, that's why!

Don't get me wrong, it's commendable that having whored themselves out to the dark forces of EA that Bioware could comprehend the idea of consumer dissatisfaction, but it doesn't make up for the original failure. It just knocks a few years off the sentence and I'll be damned if they get to come out of this with an unsullied rectum. Sure, they've made the endings longer and filled in some rather large plot holes: like how did your team make it to the Normandy and why do the Mass Relays explode in every ending sequence? But it doesn't change the fact that the conclusion, the original upon which these fixes were based, plain sucked. I mean, wow, in pretty much every option you are given, minus the bonus were Shepherd can survive, you have to kill your character. Whether you destroy, control or merge with the Reapers you pretty much kick the proverbial bucket. And all I can ask is, why? Why Bioware are you so intent on forcing us to die? Do you hate us that much? Do you feel that your writing staff is so shoddy they can only make something dramatic by killing a character many have invested three games worth of effort into? It makes no sense; why can't there be a happy ending; why can't we CHOOSE to live? As this is a video game that, despite ignoring it's previous incarnations when it suited, champions the player as master of his/her own destiny. And don't even get me started on the Galactic Readiness scale, which again fails to have any effect on the outcome of the game even though it was its entire sodding focus. I mean, these are the people you want to thank for the extended cut? A company who barely seemed to understand what was happening in their own franchise?

I am raging, I appreciate that, but I think Bioware's slap job is beyond the realms of acceptable behaviour. Releasing an incomplete product and then fixing it is, well, just plain dickish. If anything they should have received a curt "good" from the fan base as the extended cut was humbly handed over and been sent to sit in the corner and think about what they'd done. As even with the DLC I still felt that the entire synthetic-organic paradigm was as weak as they came, as such issues were not central to the saga. They played their part, especially with the Geth and Quarrian story line, but it feels tacked on in the end. Like the writers couldn't be bothered and instead through out the old, Order vs Chaos bit. It seemed overly contrived, how the Reapers had to trim the galactic hedge every 50,000 years to avoid some vague synthetic rebellion and ultimate organic extermination. If anything by uniting the Geth and the Quarrians this entire theory falls to pieces faster than your average Kevin Sorbo series.

Anyway I am beginning to drift a tad here, so lets round up. Bioware did bad. Bad Bioware! Don't do that anymore! Then again with Dragon Age 3 on the way maybe I'll be back again this time next year, only a lot drunker and still trying to figure out what a Turian/Human baby would look like. I love you Garrus, too bad Bioware said we couldn't be together. If only there was a way for a computer geek, playing a female character and romancing an alien bird man could make it work in this crazy universe, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

P.S - Yes the child ending is ridiculous, stilted and completely out of touch with the franchise, but I think that's been pretty well covered already. I'm all out of rage people.

Control Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhVhBz4ANj4

Synthesis Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCU3kl1vfiw

Destroy Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWhlU5xM2E0&feature=relmfu

In Memoriam: Tali'Zorah, a Footnote in Video Game Storytelling

I've never been the biggest fan of moral choice systems. As a rule I avoid their annual parade, social mixer and jiggly ball tournament in favour of a whiskey on the rocks and some manly air guitar. The problem I've always found is that no matter how hard a studio tries, they invariably end up making a parody version of actual morality. A cut and dry set up where decisions are this or that with no in between. Because in between would be boring I suppose, who wants realism in their games anyway? Being a champion of evil or good is the best that you can hope for. Due to this, the only way to retain my interest is through good, solid storytelling. By making the decisions I make seem tangible. As while I can control only the extremes of my virtual soul, maybe I can make more of an impact in the virtual world. Maybe, just maybe I'll matter and at the same time make me question my decisions, bypassing the messy moral game system and communicating directly with my own grey matter. Now, having played many an RPG, from SWTOR 2 to Dragon Age: Origins, I have learned not to expect such dramatic self determination. If I kill I'm bad, if I find away out of the situation without killing, I'm good. Ring a bell?



Tali'Zorah

So you can imagine my shock, my surprise when in the conclusion to Bioware's sci-fi oddysey I felt myself regretting, nay, fully questioning myself and my decisions. If you haven't completed Mass Effect 3 or generally like to retain some mystery in your life, this is the point where you look away. Go twiddle your thumbs or play on the motorway. Anyway, so the story goes while pulling the universe together in one final effort to defeat the intergalactic machine menace, the Reapers, you must make a variety of tough and at times branching decisions. This in itself of course is not where the gut wrenching doubt emerges from, but it sets the scene rather nicely.  As you encounter friends, old and new from across the fiction of Mass Effect's past video game forays, you begin to realise that your priorities may have changed, that they no longer coincide with your former comrades in arms.




My allies, for the greater good!

Some will betray you, others drift away and a few will end up as blood on your hands. It is in one such instance that my doubt finds root. Enter the Geth, the Quarians and 200 years of conflict. Their war is coming to an end and you must choose who to grant the right of life, and who to in the process let wither on the vine. Entire civilizations in the palm of your hand. Again, this in itself without any personal connection could have fallen flat on it's face, just a bunch of inconsequential pixels blinking out of existence. But thanks to one Tali'zorah you seal not only the fate of an entire species, but your friend as well. It's an interesting question, what would you sacrifice to hold onto those you loved? In this instance, could you let countless billions possibly die all for one individual? I chose the billions, I aligned with the Geth and I watched the Migrant Fleet go down in flames. Just so many pixels. In the process however, I destroyed a character with whom I had travelled the galaxy and like you do with some well written characters, cared about. It was a bittersweet moment and one that I would like to see more in modern gaming. As an interactive medium without the support of good storytelling we're really just killing time and possibly improving our hand eye co-ordination. So we need more Tali'zorahs, we need more heart wrenching moments as otherwise, what's the point? We're just feeding studios to pump out more of the same. So I salute you Tali'zorah and I truly am sorry. But the needs of the many... Well, you know the rest.