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- K-A
- Activision
- K-A
- Activision
- K-A
- Activision
- K-A
- Activision
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries
Released On: Sep 30, 1996
Metascore
Critic reviews are not available yet
8.4
All Platforms
tbd
Critic Reviews
tbd
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
8.4
84% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
5% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
8.4
84% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
5% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
I loved the campaign of this game so much, it has lots of replay value as you can play the missions in different orders, choosing some missions make others unavailable. The money system makes sure you can't just grab whatever you want, thus making it more difficult. In addition the arms department simulates research in the news, thus only weapons that have been invented become available to you.
You can also higher and fire squadmates and even higher areotechs. This is one of the few simulation games that are actually done right, and as such, its loads of fun.
As a kid I spent hours on end playing instant action, later on I discovered the campaigns and I think I've probably played through the game like 30 times, last time I did it was about a year ago and I'm 25 now. If you get the chance to try this out, and don't mind playing a game with dated graphics, you should. As a warning however, getting it to run on a modern computer can be difficult.
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PC
Giving this game a 9/10 really shouldn't deter the fact that I consider this possibly one of the best games of all time. Perhaps the ONLY reason why I give it a 9/10, instead of a full 10 is because there are a few bugs that occasionally glitch out the missions, cause the AI to behave strangely, and/or crash the game (having played both 1.05 and 1.1 versions of the game).
Unlike it's predecessor--Mechwarrior 2: 31st Century--Mercenaries gives the player an economy system where everything from the 'mechs you own and your crew roster can be managed. You have some freedom in selecting the missions you partake in too, with the end result being the accumulation of c-bills ($$$) to further allow you to manage your forces.
The campaign consists of a fairly interesting story of you, a mercenary, working for a number of different factions. The atmosphere is filled with political intrigue, backstabbing, greed, honor, and sacrifice, many of which are never to be found in Mechwarrior games to follow.
I have played this game since the day of it's release, and is a game that I will continue to replay over the years. It works fairly well on Windows 8 assuming you have the original DOS versions, and supplemented with MechVM (a DosBox utility you can download for free).
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PC
Good old MW2 Mercs, a early 3D game and it shows, it's still a good game despite the dated graphics. It did what very few games do today, it challenged the player while providing a interesting story.
Set in the years leading up to the Clan invasion, it provided the player multiple missions that could be played through in various orders. It's not possible to play all the missions in a single campaign since many are unlocked depending wins/losses or simply by avoiding certain missions altogether.
The game doesn't overload you with money, mechs and equipment like so many other MW titles did, you really have to manage your money and keep a eye on your supplies. The game doesn't hold your hand, you have to take care of your own spare parts and captured Clan tech can't be replaced (which makes sense since the Clans aren't handing out parts to the people they wish to conquer).
My only complaint is that the mechlab is far too liberal and that there is no distinction between omni- and battlemechs, though the general lack of money doesn't really allow for too many outlandish configs.
I installed a old Win98 machine so I could play this game and a few other classic titles. Even 18 years later this is a great game, unfortunately only one successor (MW3) did this title any justice.
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PC
Mercenaries is the classic Mechwarrior 2 experience, a look into the heart of what the series was prior to the 2000s at its peak. Given quite a bit of tinkering, and I do mean quite a bit with looking into DOSBOX just at the minimum (you should probably forget about windows editions), you end up with a mostly stable and quite functional game. However, this is not 31st century - it was imperfect at the beginning in its stability, and time has not treated those bugs well. Won't necessarily kill the game, though. The content is much expanded, however. There's more depth, an economy, a tad more freedom and mission randomization the likes of Mechwarrior 5, which kinda goes to show how much the series has evolved. Not.
Much of the experience boils down to getting it to run, but between MechVM, dosbox, and a myriad of guides (look for them on reddit), a tech savvy player should be getting things up without too much trouble. If you're scared of software guts so to speak, this isn't a game for you. In fact, between graphics and dated gameplay concepts, you shouldn't come in expecting a hidden visual and mechanical gem. A recent mechwarrior player will find some novelties that would be nice in later editions, but a lot more that is simply missing. A must-see for the adventurous old school mechwarrior fan, but its appeal in the modern day would require a competent remake. No, get out of here W3Reforged.
I'll give it a 7. It's a classic, it's nostalgic, it's the last game that truly went up before development troubles produced two somewhat flawed releases and the only edition of its style and advancement before MW3 and MW4 made things different, though arguably for the better in many fields, and for many just in general. It would have been worth learning from in the latest visions of the series. Advancing missons despite losing and having that fact change the outcome of the story... that was never seen again, and it's pretty damn rare in the industry as a whole with how well it was executed here.
All that said, while it once deserved an easy 9 or 10, it's problematic, it's old, and a lot of it takes rose tinted love to enjoy. I'm an old school gamer. I like that. But I try to review with a more open mind. That open mind indicates this game is certainly not for everyone. Just because the people who know its age of glory score it highly doesn't mean what it is today is what you'll most enjoy... perhaps by far.
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PC
Summary Activision's new sim takes everything that was entertaining about MechWarrior 2 and combines it with fantastic resource management features to create a hybrid that is unmatched in the futuristic sims category.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Sep 30, 1996
Developer:
- Pandemic Studios
Publisher: Activision
Genres:
