GAME ON | OPINION: Forty-foot-tall robots: What’s not to love? | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

I recently dipped my toe into the ocean of content that is BattleTech, and I fear I may have been permanently sucked into a maelstrom of giant, 40-foot-tall robots. I’m not really sure how I managed to never interact with BattleTech, a wargaming and military science fiction franchise, at any point in the last 40 years or so, but it has clearly been my loss.

Several years ago, I was randomly given a copy of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries by a friend on the Steam gaming platform, and there it sat unplayed in my library until just recently. And let me tell you, it has been hard putting it down.

There’s a long history to the franchise, which began in the early 1980s and spans not just video games, but multiple board games, role-playing games, collectible card games, an animated TV series and more than 100 novels, all set in a fictional history that diverges from actual history around 1984 (the writers failed to predict the fall of the Soviet Union) and continues until about the 32nd century. Curiously, the trademark for the franchise is apparently owned by Topps, the baseball card company.

The original look of the game’s iconic robots was licensed from Japanese anime franchises like “Macross,” although they have since created thousands of their own unique giant robot, or “mech,” designs..

There’s a copious amount of lore, and as I’ve said, I’ve just dipped my toes in the water. In MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries (No. 4 came out in 2000), players are in the pilot’s seat for real-time giant robot battles, either from a first-person inside-the-cockpit view, or a third-person over-the-shoulder view.

In a way, it’s kind of a small business simulator as well, as players are in charge of a mercenary company for hire to the highest bidders, and while there is a main campaign, players are free to make enemies or allies of any of the numerous factions and take on any job they want.

The mercenary company will travel at faster-than-light speeds from planet to planet, taking on jobs, salvaging destroyed Mechs, hiring pilots and growing stronger over time. Eventually players can field a “lance” of four MechWarriors at once.

The Mechs themselves are a mixture of real-world physics and science fiction, as they are powered by nuclear energy and use weapons such as machine guns, cannons, energy weapons, missiles and railguns — as well as melee attacks.

In all, there are more than 50 Mechs to pilot and hundreds of variants. Other enemies include various tanks and helicopters that also swarm the battlefields. I recently watched a video of the first MechWarrior game from the 1980s, and it’s wild how so much of the game now was present then, such as hiring other pilots, negotiating contract terms, salvaging equipment and so on.

I will say that the base MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries game, which came out several years ago, feels a little lacking, and it was highly recommended to also get the expansion, Heroes of the Inner Sphere, which I did. And I second that recommendation — the expansion feels essential and adds new Mechs, missions, a career mode, weapons, quests and more.

What’s great about jumping into the franchise right now is that there’s another expansion for the game scheduled to drop in September — just weeks away — and Steam’s annual Fall Sale starts on Sept. 29. MW5: Mercenaries typically sees pretty price drops of 50% or more during these sales, so it would be a great time to check out the game and see if it’s for you.

There’s also an active modding community for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, and although I haven’t tried any out yet, many seem to really enjoy that aspect, and the game also has a cooperative play mode where four people can all pilot Mechs on the battlefield together and progress through the campaign.

Also worth pointing out is the soundtrack — fittingly, you get to pilot 100-ton metal robots to the sounds of 80s-style metal rock (which makes me laugh when I think about that being the music du jour in the 31st century).

In all, I really liked this game. The Mechs all feel distinct and weighty as I trudged across the map, my sensors picking up enemy tanks so I could hurl a bucket of homing missiles toward them. Many times combat took place in cities, with high-rise buildings that would crumble to the ground as Mechs crashed into and through them. The missions can get a little repetitive after a while, but there’s also that satisfying “gotta collect ’em all” feeling as you search for the perfect Mech that keeps it all fresh.

This is a definite recommendation for all the kids who loved smashing robots together in their youth.

After more than a decade as a reviewer, Jason Bennett has an unhealthy love for roguelike survival games and terrible puns. Questions or suggestions? Reach out to him at JBsOnGames@gmail.com