New Mechwarrior Game Confirmed, Will Reboot Series

@Befitzero: If I recall correctly from the board game, most 'mechs use ejection seats as opposed to escape pods.... although I do remember that some 'mechs had overly elaborate ejection systems with no actual impact on the game. (Like the Hatchetman, which would "eject" it's entire head, that would then fly a short distance...) God, I'm a geek.

@ArmyofJuan: When Mr. Plunkett said that it "Looks like GRAW with giant robots." I think he hit the nail on the head... so don't cross your fingers for a "sim" style Mechwarrior.

@nomadder: Ever heard of MegaMek? Open source online version of the tabletop game. http://megamek.sourceforge.net

LordKelvin

@fallen1: Sorry I meant the MechAssault 2 demo...the Mechwarrior spinoff...yeah I know.

This looks awesome and certain parts do have that GRAW look to it. I only played the Mechwarrior 4 demo and like it thought I never got the game, I wanted to but never did...anyway, I'll be getting this one only if the new team makes the gameplay worthwile.

@ggodo, the man from R.O.A.C.H.: Yes that would be correct but dam is it good to see an atlas again especially in new gen graphics. Not to nit pick but when the guy ejected wouldnt he be in a pod and not just him and a chute? or am I wrong?

Befitzero

@nbsp: Sounds like it is pre clan. Which is IMHO good. As a scenario, the crappy always failing inner sphere mechs are much cooler.

develin

@enochcainx256: ehm.... IBM computer ... they already called that PC for 10 years when MW2 came around ....

develin

*a single tear runs down his face.

HepCat

@wtf_G: Did you ever do the Battletech 3056 MUSE? That was freaking awesome.

SwapMeet

@kneegrow: A Warhammer should have never tried to go head to head with that 100-ton beast. Warhammer has a 1 hex speed advantage. Best to have slowly retreated away behind cover and then ran.

SwapMeet

@Vezroth: Crescent Hawk's revenge was only quasi-turn based. Man, that was a fun game. Great instruction manual. It was like a mini-technical readout.

SwapMeet

@ArmyofJuan: If you watch the movie in hi-res you'll see in the bottom hand corner in transparent white written: In game footage. It actually looks like it when you blow it up. The models don't have an excessive number of polygons.

i.roboto

Ok, 3015. If I remember correctly this would be the Davion-Steiner wedding? So we'll not have The Clans, and the Atlas will truly be the scariest thing around. I just want a Wolfhound, but sadly I don't think that will happen.

@ArmyofJuan: If you read the bottom right hand corner of the trailer, it says "In game footage"

GoldRenamon

@EnigmaNemesis: I second this. I was more into MW3 but I hope they get rid of all the simplifaction MechAssault ruined the series with. Keyboard and joystick (there are already 360 flight sticks out) support should be considered mandatory.

This is so awesome. Glad to see the series back in the rightful hands. I so miss the days of MW2 and Ghost Bear! I hope the 360 version doesnt simplify things some, and it sticks to its 110key and joystick roots!!!

I read "Will" as "Wii" at first and almost had a terrible, terrible heart attack. Here's hoping the game lives up to MW2. Now I want to go play it again, but I know the graphics will disgust me >.> Damn newfangled games are spoiling me.

nzV

Oh My God. I just cried. I remember my mech warrior clan. I ran an Atlas tank. all heavy gauss cannons and lasers. I would stay behind my team, they would clear to the sides, and I'd fire everything, killing ANY mech in my reticule. Team would move back cover me till i charged mah lazers, rinse repeat. We killed MANY a good clan...

I'm happy. It's Mechwarrior. That's all it need be.

@nomadder: yeah front mission is the way to go there, it's mad tough sometimes however.

MrFatalistic

@Str8_Jihadin: 3 as I recall was a letdown, 2 and it's expansions were the best, and I appreciated 4 pretty good too.

MrFatalistic

good lord, this bodes poorly for the MW series, one that already went from state of the art awesome pc sim to dumbed down console trash. Highly skeptical this will be good other than for people who want generic mech games like transformers..

MrFatalistic

If this game will be made by the same losers that made the new Transformers game then its going to turn out to be crap.

StRyKeR2K8

@Altima NEO: new Pants? God i need new pants and a new chair MECHWARRIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keith Fitzpatrick

I've never been a fan of the first-person view, but i have to say, with that trailer it seemed to be very immersing.

I have some REALLY fond memories of playing this on my old IBM computer lol. MW2 came free.

@Jellocakes: Ew, Piranha Games is working on this? They're like the laughing stock of the game industry in Vancouver. All their games are shit.

yargh

so incredibly happy.

Oh, I can't wait! I LOVED piloting my mech in MechWarrior 2 with my old joystick. Good times.

Dopeski

If this game doesn't have destructible environments like Red Faction Guerrilla, I'm going to be extremely disappointed. Those buildings NEED to be destroyed.

yargh

the robots are awful! it would be cool a gundam game like this

hyourinnmaru

@Maverickly: I'm willing to bet that was all in-game footage because.... well, it says "in-game" at the bottom right. Just sayin.

Hell yeah!

HELL YEAH!!! Finally we gonna get good ol' style mechwarrior back to the new gen! I can't wait to see this, and how will it go on Xbox live! :D

Amaury Camacho

@WhiskeyJak: Crimson Skies you say? I hope for a devoted sequel to that 40's esque cute little plane fighter... I loved that game...

I'll be interested to see "how" they reboot it. When will it be set? 3000's? Earlier? Star League? Later? 3200's? Even later? Post 3550 and the Voice of Kerensky reaching the Inner Sphere? I hope they keep the Clans in it...

nbsp

@MoaM: You think that consolers could deal with something as dynamic as heat management? Yeah, i'm sure that'll make it into the game...

nbsp

AWESOME!!!

SmiteMeister

YES. YES!!!! (111) WELL DONE STAR COMMANDER AYDEN!

Zorba

@Placentasaurus: Ever look at who knows the rights to Mech Assault? Its not a company that Sony will ever convince to let them have on their platform if you know what I mean ;).

Fyro

I hope it stays sorta slow like that. MechAssault moved too quickly to be driving a huge war machine.

Aim for the legs! Don't overheat!

If this is what the game looks like than I am in. If they release a 40 button controller with this than I buying it as well just like that Steel Battalion game. I won't even be ashamed to use it either.

@Placentasaurus: It says it is in the bottom corner, and with the tech we've got now... I'll believe it.

sweet! looks to be more sim like. i hope it is, mech assalut was fun, but it was NOT mechwarrior. I cant wait to run circles around all those heavies in my annoying Raven! hahaha!

Noodle-Works

Oh wow, that looked great, especially if it was actual in-game footage. It looks to be preserving a fair amount of the complexity of the orginals, so that is excellent. Too bad it probably won't be on PS3 for a long time, if ever, because I really want to play a good realistic Mech game.

It looks great

@i.roboto: Yea tbh, from what I have seen already this year, that looks like it could be in game.

@Derigor: Fire more carefully, don't effing Alpha Strike the legs every time and the Nova can be good in a prolonged battle. Better than most because it doesn't worry about ammo. I had a few variants on the Nova in MW4: Mercs that never worried about Thermal Shutdown, just had to be careful when you fired and WHERE, instead of always trying to aim for the legs. Arms are a happy target. >=]

@Jellocakes: I stand corrected. Thankyou for updating me. I've not been keeping up with my Beloved Battletech, ever since they shut down the Dark Age universe I had figured that the whole line would be called dead forever, thanks to this trailer/teaser my fears are somewhat alleviated.

@WazzaKhan: I just think it's because you weren't playing. I know how you feel but I also can see how something like that would get hellishly hectic. I saw the Atlas walk out before the smoke cleared, I just didn't notice it was a bloody ATLAS until after the smoke had cleared. I played MW4: Mercs almost obsessively, even played a lot of Fan-Made content with Multi, and it was crazy hectic. It's a lot different watching it, than it is playing it first hand.

I do believe Ill be needing a clean pair of pants now.

Altima NEO

That trailer was simply amazing. I pray that those are ingame graphics. I also pray that this game is sim like. I have faih that this dev, despite it's past performances on other robot games, will treat this franchise with the upmost respect and deliver unto us an amazing mechwarrior game

@Derigor: Yeah, I've played the Front Mission series since the PS. It's always been more Methadone than Black Tar though...

nomadder

@Vezroth: You know, I'm not really an RTS fan, but if I can get everything else... I'm in. (I suppose I have occasionally liked an RTS or two.)

nomadder

Hmm... While im totally stoked for a new Mechwarrior, I think this trailer looks preeetty lame. Nice target render but I remember the ingame action of past game much more intense.

@Vezroth: Microsoft do not own the rights anymore those passed to Smith & Tinker (founded by former FASA Battletech creator) who are working with Pirana Games on this Mechwarrior reboot. The reason for no PS3 version is simple its a PC game and is ported to Xbox 360 version for almost no cost. PS3 version would require more investment as a straight PC port would not work.

Jellocakes

Does anyone else here remember the Mech Commander games? I loved those. You had most of the mech customization and optimization from the MechWarrior games, but you got more than 1 mech to control. I'd love to see another sequel, with more micromanagement. Maybe choose which weapons to fire and where to aim, and heat management. You'd control maybe 3-5 mechs maximum to keep it from being total chaos.

As long as there are gyros to be critically hit, I'm in.

I came.

Felix_The_Cat

Definitely had me excited for it.

Lazureus

@--Core--: Your biggest problem with 2 was the characters? I didn't like constantly being forced out of Mechs to pilot VTOLs and tanks. Plus you know, Korn and Papa Roach as boss battle music. Hopefully Piranha Games focuses on what makes the BattleTech universe great.

Durandan

@houser: ugg to find our comments so deeply buried. Sigh. Anyway, lol yea I totally remember the pedals. I used to watch the BattleTech cartoon where you could watch the fights in image enhancements. That was so full of awesome... You're right though, PC will be the way to go for this game.

i.roboto

Cannot wait.

ILikeToLevelUp

@RudeAnimat0r: Since everyone has been making comments about this, I think it's time for me to say something about the PS3 possibilities for this game: Slim to Never. The rights to the franchise are owned by Microsoft Game Studios, have since FASA gave them away. I think during MW4: Mercs was when Microsoft bought everything up. So, there's a reason there is no PS3 version. Heh, a bit of competition involved, and the 360 wins out because they have exclusive rights to the franchise. Yay for us 360 owners. But fear not PS3 owners, you can still play it on the PC (hopefully).

@korofrog: The designs weren't stolen, they were liscensed to both companies, but then copyright lawsuits sprang up because of how they were used. FASA pulled them rather than get sued again. None of that matters though, because they have reaquired the right to use those mechs. hence a Warhammer in the trailer. So bring back my 3-PPC packin Marauder!!!

@RiotControl: I will. Something more in-depth than Assault, but with the same streamlined, spot-on action... customization without frustration... can't wait.

gamegrump

What is it with this trend for making later games in the series and just giving them the franchise title? Prince of Persia, Turok, MechWarrior... and so forth.

DocSeuss

@trevorb: I hope so. I cut my Xbox Live teeth on the first Mechassault. i'd love to have a next-gen one.

gamegrump

Could this mean that they will begin reprinting the Battletech books with the video game reboot?

Castleknight75

@Vezroth: Who cares about overheating? All you have to do is fire the entire volley at someones Leg and run/jump jet off. Seriously I think only once I had been able to outfit a nova just right to never hit thermal shutdown.

@nomadder: Try Front Mission 4? I know it's not battletech but it really is the closest we will come to something like it I am afraid.

No PS3 version? Extremely disappointing.

@ironghost: Remember slaughtering all those silly little Raven's in Ghost Bear's? Good times, good times.

@fdisk: Apparently you have watched prior iterations of MW's opening trailers either. The Mechjock who's first person view you have usually ends up getting smoked by a bigger nastier mech. At least this time he got to eject! :)

@masterdingo: Yup I know what you mean.

Rozzlit

@lars18th: Wait...you use the eject button? Real Mech-jocks don't tap out friend! Just kiddin, I agree. PC version better have full joystick + throttle support and the standard "sim" features. If they dumb it down for 360, and make the PC a port, this will be a giant fail.

@houser: I just went down a quick, off the top of my head rundown on how to map MW to a controller based on what I had mapped to my flightstick years ago in the middle of the night. I didn't think of using, for example, RB and LB as button modifiers that use different functions (LB+A, RB+B, etc). Its doable, which was my point, but I'm buying it on PC in any case.

Nik in Denver, formerly in NOLA

@Derigor: So many people and the Nova... *sigh* You all deserve the series heat issues you get piloting a walking boiler room like that. I will stick quite comfortably with my Stormcrow missile boat, Long and Short Variants. Never over heated and armor a mile thick.

Oh good, finally a reason to upgrade the computer. Edit: Can someone start the Ghost Bear expansion? I miss the Kodiak Mech.

ironghost

@nomadder: You had me on everything but the Turn-Based. I'd love it on everything but that, just because I think Real-Time kills the HELL out of turn based any day of the week, just because I've done turn based Battletech (There was one in the 80s/90s Crescent Hawks Revenge) and it was horrendous, so much ended up happening that you couldn't respond like you wanted/needed to.

@i.roboto: Not necessary for a generic mech game sure. But that is what you can do in a Mech. Well, I do agree with the unnecessary 1-10 throttle. I suppose that was the best they could do on a keyboard to represent graded speeds especially with the faster Mechs.

Everything else I'd want (even though I rarely used Eject and Jettison Ammo) for story reasons for the somewhat superfluous stuff, and most of those are how Mechs are described. There are two sticks and pedals and a host of controls in a mech from the fiction.

houser

This is the first game that I've truly looked forward to in a very long time.

masterdingo

I've only got MechWarrior 3050 for Super Nintendo, but I would totally buy this game.

Nathanyel Langreder

@houser: Ie you have need of 2 controls for movement, direction and throttle. And two for facing and fine tuned aiming.

Then you get into things like sensor/communication options. Jump jets and various other equipment.

Linked vs unlinked fire and being able to change that.

Yeah it CAN be done, but a keyboard or something arrayed like the Steel Battalion controller would do it better.

houser

@Derigor: All I can say is that I hope this game lives up to MechWar2: Ghost Bear's Legacy. I better be able to pilot a Kodiak. Ill never forget that intro video when the kodiak pops out haha. Mechwarrior 2 and 4 we're great games. I remember awesome clan matches in Mechwarrior 4! Hope this is just as good!

Jwb0711

Wow that teaser looks pretty sweet. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

hoogamaphone

@Nik in Denver, formerly in NOLA:

Light amp shouldn't be automatic for the simple purpose that within the storyline there is no such thing as all purpose sensors. EVERYTHING can be fooled, and so I want control of how I'm looking at things.

Weapon cycling only works if you fire a single weapon at a time, which would be rare. I'd be firing multiple linked weapons, but I'd ALSO want the option to change which weapons are linked or to single fire in those rare instances. You can make menus of such things, but that's a tacit acceptance that you could have done it with more buttons.

So you'd need, your aim within a field of view and directing movement on two sticks. Throttle, and gross changes (leaning back, forward, torso twisting) in position as separate things, as aim within a view is separate from your facing and your direction of travel in Battletech and if you aren't going to sim something as basic as that then why bother.

houser

I'm always interested in a new mech game.

I was actually looking forward to a new mechassault game..

I didn't really like 2.. all the characters felt forced.

--Core--

@TheRuiner: I think that shrill scream you are all hearing is the incoming rain of missiles. Yay for LRM storms. I loved taking a Stormcrow and just making it an LRM boat, nothing like the speed and maneuverability of a medium and the punch like one of your Spheroid Catapults.

@wahrugene: The controller is actually more realistic than mouse/keyboard.

To demonstrate my point, the US Military actually uses xbox 360 controllers to control robots in the field.
[news.filefront.com]
They don't use a mouse and keyboard.

In fact, while a mouse and keyboard might be responsive for playing video games, it is completely unlike any actual control scheme used to control any vehicle in the world. An Abrams tank, for instance, has a steering wheel, not a screen and a mousepad.

You might argue that an Abrams has hundreds of buttons. Fine, if you really want to sim out a game like Mech Warrior, you'd have three or four guys driving the thing, just like a tank.

The game needs to be simplified, because the single player is doing the work of at least two guys.

How about this on the back of the box:

"Requires xbox 360 chatpad"

There's your keyboard ;)

I wonder if it's going to end up being more like the mech assault games that came out for the original xbox.

trevorb

Am I the only person on the planet who wants a turn-based Battletech (Mechwarrior) game? I want to plot out my missions by gross tonnage allowance, and tweak my own mech designs. (let's see, if I drop 2 more heat sinks I'll have just enough weight left on this 30-ton to make it a walking PPC platform...)
Damn you FASA. Damn you MS. Damn you action junkie, sim-freaks.
Where's my game?

nomadder

@fdisk: Dude, in war there are no winners.

but seriously, the game is more likely about hundreds of robots destroying each other and when you eject the nuclear reactor powering your mech explodes and destroys your boots.

All I can say is that I hope this game lives up to MechWar2: Ghost Bear's Legacy. I better be able to pilot a Kodiak.

@korofrog: Not stolen, licensed. There's a pretty big difference.

masterdingo

@Rev3rEND: Anyone else thinking that these other games suck because this company was only using them as money to fuel Mechwarrior?

@damonlaw: Other than the Dpad I'd agree. I sincerely doubt 8 directions would be used. And I think you underestimate all you could do in Mechwarrior way back in even the 2 series.

houser

@BlitzWhat: ...PPCs recharging.

...SRM racks empty.

...Mach Guns empty.

...Rt Torso armor gone.

...Internal ammo explosion.

--> DEATH FROM ABOVE.

RONIN013

@Salen: I think they have since lost it. I think the rights now belong to one of the founders of FASA. Circle of life and all that I guess.

houser

@Hypernetic: Well for me it was commanding a dozen mechs to take an objective.

I love me the universe and definitely got a thrill playing the Mechwarrior series from the very beginning, but Mechcommander was my fave franchise.

houser

@Stevetrop: THANK YOU! Blow a leg off, call it a day!

Mechwarrior (reboot) looks hawt. Now if someone could get to a Tribes 2 update...

RONIN013

@2mo®e: Start with the one that brought all the love: MechWarrior 2. Move on from there.

@gunluva has given up piracy:

I was excited till I read who was developing the game. Take all your expectations, bludgeon it to death, stake it, cut off its head and bury it in separate pieces cause this game is going to suck. Piranha produces nothing but shitty bargain bin games

WOW. I have been waiting for this for what seems to be forever. Hopefully the online play isn't terrible like Mechassault 2 (AKA, stay the hell in the mech!).

BC4T

Oh, to think of the improved overall GPA had Mech2 not come out during my time in law school :)

Back in the day when a 9600baud modem was DA BOMB and you had to "communicate" via typing, my buddies and I used to rock the MW world! I'll never forget the steel-bending bone associated with the first time I played the 3Dfx-enhanced version. MW2 and the Ghost Bear expansion were phenomenal games with great missions and action. Very few games have been able to suck me into their world the way those 2 did.

I have TONS of awesome memories about being in an actual, functional clan and having fantastic battles. And, of my buddy who could DFA your ass EVERY TIME! (Used to hate scrimmaging against that bastidge! "What do you mean I just had 40 tons smash me?! There was nothing on my radar!")

Unfortunately, FASA and the crew truly shot their load on MW2 and Ghost Bear; as the follow-up games were kinda shit. Here's hoping they go back to what worked and give it a facelift!

Tentatively VERY EXCITED!

J

@BlitzWhat: Blitz and Brian, I have one word and 2 letters for ya: Arrow IV. End of story. Good night and sleep tight.

TheRuiner

Okay, that video is fucking retarded. So the game is about two robots that end up destroying each other, no matter who really "wins" the fight; and in the end, when you eject, you still get killed by your Mech's explosion...hmmmm

Fuck yeah.

@xeleion - Mains El Fuerte: Don't see PC, PS3 only games alot

@sereal: oops

sereal

613 668 9385

sereal

@xeleion - Mains El Fuerte: That's what I was just thinking. I'll open up an article about an upcoming game and just read on thinking "hey, this looks sorta coo- *PC and 360* GODDAMMIT".

RyderJ

@InstinctSage: Yea, I don't see why they just can't let us have a certain ammount of aloted spaces and then let us fill them up with whatever weapons/heat sinks/armor we have aquired (like in the old MW PC series) that was always sooo much fun to spec out a mech and try to build a better one than a buddy, only to see in the heat of battle who was the better mech tech/piolet

TheRuiner

Holy crap! Is this a reboot back to the early days of Battletech??? Atlas and Warhammer battling it out? That's old school baby. Now lets hope it doesn't suck.

kneegrow

@Vezroth: Edit, I'm sorry it's a Warhammer not a Loki.

@Esper mind tricks: *splooge* HOLY JESUS that was SEXY for a trailer. Want. Now. Fucking.. NOW! Oh dear GOD. That's downright unfair... It's like everything I'd imagined a 'Mech battle to really be.

That poor Loki... never stood a chance.

I'm excited for this, and I don't even LIKE western mecha much! But love for giant robots tearing shit up is love, no?

ShimodaNexus

nice graphics

Mecha

@stalin23: So what if I was chatting from 2210?

Actually, no, I just fail at reading :(

@Comban will Ban you.: I understood the first two paragraphs of that. Then my brain imploded slightly.

landonkun

@Hypernetic: Right with ya on that one bro, Ghost Bears Legacy... it was the shit-diggity..

TheRuiner

@dry-roasted-peanuts: Agreed. Where my Z.O.E Kojima...

CarlMarssilas13

@korofrog: The Maurader has always been so bad ass, i hope they find a way to include it, or a variant.

TheRuiner

@damonlaw: Sounds like a lot to remember huh?

sereal

@GtheMVP99: Yeah that was MechAssault. Still a great game, but not to the same level. Not even close.

Sean MacLean

@GeneralBattuta:
MegaMek is sex. If you play on the MegaMekNet 3025 campaign, I'm in there as Driadon.

@Hypernetic:
in that case let me say: if you're too young to have ever played a game of BattleTech then I pity you. We already are getting a sim-style MechWarrior game, but if you're saying that that is a better experience over a table-top game you've never played....then PLAY IT FIRST!

Sean MacLean

@Revenge_of_Nekojin: Just imagine that everywhere you go, every time, at all times, a cyborg with a Smith & Wesson Model 29 is taking aim. There's your total immersion Shadowrun.

Looks kinda cool but slow clunky mechs have never done any thing for me=|

CarlMarssilas13

@ariete: BRING BACK THE NOVA.

Please.

illiniphase4

They should make you start as a foot soldier and have to capture a mech to use.

@2mo®e: I've played all of them, from the first one on DOS back in the late 80's, to the more recent ones. There's really no need to play the old ones for the story. They take place in the same universe but are unrelated for the most part. Just glancing over a background story synopsis should be enough.

As for suggestions, I liked Mech Warrior 2 the most. Mech Warrior 4 would be my second choice. The Mercenaries expansion for both 2 & 4 were better than the original games. Being from 1995 and 2000, I imagine they look quite dated by today's standards, but they were fun games at the time. If you're looking for something less sim-style and more action-oriented, Mech Assault 1 and 2 for Xbox were good too.

@Maverickly: I think what's scary is that we can no longer just outright say that it's pre-rendered.

Technology has come so far so fast...

i.roboto

WTF!? Remember when activision was cool and they had mechwarrior? can these guys just copy that? Can I get more Heavy Gear games? I still have my Logitec Wingman hella-pro calibrated for mech warrior action. Let's friggin DO THIS. Nova with full lasers reporting in.

After a long drought, it appears that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Mech fans. After the lackluster Mechassault games, I have been itching to get back into a REAL mechwarrior game...here's hoping they don't screw this up!

Sgt. Bilbo

It's coming to the 360? That worried me when I'm expecting another simulation experience. Then again, Bioware managed to get a game like Dragon Age on consoles, which has a ridiculous number of hotkeys, so maybe they'll do something similar for this. At least I hope so because I will not accept a MechWarrior that's between old MechWarrior and MechAssault

RiotControl

@Maverickly: Mechwarrior 3 is a great start. Mechwarrior 2 was excellent, as were both expansion sets. Mechwarrior 4 Mercs is decent to great fun.

GeneralBattuta

I bought the Revenge of the Fallen PC game and it's pretty decent. Not as pollished as alot of titles but it's fun and mindless. Very few bugs and stays true to the giant robot combat. I have confidence in this new Mechwarrior.

gemetzel

@puffa469: It already exists.

Google MegaMek.

GeneralBattuta

@WhiskeyJak: More importantly, Jordan Weisman licensed his properties BACK. You can say what you will about Mechwarrior:Dark Ages, but Weisman was key in the creation of BattleTech, Shadowrun, Crimson Skies, and helped found 42entertainment (creators of I Love Bees and the Year Zero ARGs).

So...yeah. Weisman has his babies back, and it seems like he's learned from his Dark Ages experience. (One of the explanations for Dark Ages was a semi-reboot so that new players didn't feel intimidated by 20-something years of history and back story. But by rebooting back to 3015 with this Mechwarrior, that problem seems to be avoided)

@ThursdayNext: I'm definitely on agreement here.

To be fair I always felt that M KB was way busted in Mechwarrior, because jacking your sensitivity meant your reticle could swivel around the screen unrealistically fast and it took away from the feel that I was piloting something large and slow.

I think the controller could do a better job in that regards. But losing out on all the additional keys that made it feel like a flight sim would be a different feel altogether.

Then again, a lot of the keys were excessive and not required.

I mean you had to select from
Fire individual
Fire all
Fire group
Shut Down/Power On
Image Enhancement
Legs to Torso
Torso to Legs
Jettison Ammo
Add to weapon group
Change Weapon group
Move to next weapon
Jump Jets
Nearest Target/Next Target/Previous Target/Friendly Target etc etc
Throttle 1 - 10
Reverse!
Eject
Legs Right/Legs Left
Torso Right/Torso Left/Up/Down

I mean, I don't want to take away from it's coolness aspect, but there could definitely be some reductions that people wouldn't be upset about

i.roboto

@ariete: I only care about the PC version. I still have my old controllers.....thank god for USB. I'm glad I never let them go. (old MS sidewinder sticks)

Hell, It's about time.

@Violent St. Cannon: My sentiments exactly. CAN NOT WAIT.

Inner Sphere combat ftw.

Keep the game true to the storyline, and keep the combat like what's in the trailer. Slow lumbering beasts, not that corvette on wheels shit that's in MW3/4.

Also, bring back kiting with a Blackjack, from BT3025 online. That was some skillful piloting.

Handle all of that, and I'm sold.

wtf_G

@Rev3rEND: Only good game PSP was Ace Combat and Project Diva.

jasonliang

I want this now

Hypernetic

@avconsumer2: Well, TrackIR support on the PC for head-controlled torso swivel would be far more awesome ;)

Poul Wrist

@puffa469:

NONONONONONONONONONONO!!!!

We don't need another effin strategy game. We need Mech Warrior, sim style, where it's at it's best.

Seriously, what was better than piloting a mech back in the day? If you're too young to have seriously played MW2 when it first came out, then I can understand, but for those of us who did? It was probably the coolest gaming experience we had up until then.

Shit, I remember playing the expansion pack that was on the ice/snow planets (I forget the name now, was it ghost wolf? Or was it something else?...anyway) I remember I would actually get the chills playing around in all that snow (probably because my Mom was obsessed with having the AC at 60 degrees all day, but I pretended it was because I was really piloting a mech on an ice planet!)

Yes... I'm crazy.

Hypernetic

@MACH1ne: The MW4 trailer was not in-game graphics, my friend.

GeneralBattuta

FUCKIN AWESOME!! I've been patiently waiting for a new MW game forever. MW was probably my favorite game series growing up. I tried to like the xbox Mech Assualt titles, but as any true MW fan knows, they were MEH.

I want to plod through futuristic city streets in my giant mech, launch 800 missiles, a gauss cannon, 42 lasers, and 73 machine guns all at the same time, and step on stuff. You know how it is!

Hypernetic

Hopefully this announcement will spur a new Zone of the Enders into development.

/What can I say, I prefer the Japanese "backflipping while shooting rockets and bullets" mechs to the lumbering behemoths found in most western mech games.

dry-roasted-peanuts

@xeleion - Mains El Fuerte: Sony needs to make a console that you don't need a Ph.D in Astrophysics to develop for. I bought a PS3 for MGS4 and Killzone 2, then it defaulted to my Blu-Ray player.

SpaceBat

@Comban will Ban you.: That was really going somewhere and then I kinda got lost.....I;m so inferior ;__;

scotty

@gunluva has given up piracy:
The controls for any PSP shooter are awkward without a second analog stick...

Wow, that video is the shit! I love the scene where he blasts the arm off that other mech.
Can you imagine how cool the Transformers 2 game would have been if they had the time to make it right?

@korofrog: Without that feeature, the game would suck :) It is the customization that made MW games great..

Mechwarrior games are supposed to use the entire keyboard, not an xbox controller.
I hope this comes out as a sim, at least on the PC.
Gotta have my satellite views, light amplification, thermal vision, coolant purge, shutdown override, weapon chain setup, eject button, external camera, shutdown button, ammo purge, radar range, radar disable, along with all the other basic functions.
If the developer can cram all that up into an xbox controller, I am a happy camper.
Please DO NOT reboot MW into an arcade game for 5 years old. This franchise is old. Know your customers.

lars18th

I don't know if you guys saw the Smith and Tinker logo at the end of the trailer, but it got me curious, after looking at their (pretty snazzy) website, here's what an interesting bit:

"Smith & Tinker is pleased to announce that it has licensed from Microsoft the electronic entertainment rights for Mr. Weisman's previous creations of MechWarrior, Shadowrun, Crimson Skies and the other properties of the FASA catalog. We're not quite ready to announce our plans for each property, but please be assured that our goal is to surprise and delight old fans, while welcoming new fans to these fantastic worlds."

I didn't know that somebody had licensed these IP's... interesting.

WhiskeyJak

Oh thank you god, thank you thank you thank you!

oh man..........

slamdance

Oh no. No no no no no. I like MechWarrior. I do not like the Transformers games. They're gonna have to pull a miracle here...

@ariete: This trailer kinda sucks. MW4 into video was like 10x more awesome than this!

Good to see the ol' Atlas still kickin' some and takin' names. LRM20 to the FAAACE!!

@Araym: Does that mean there's still a chance that someday, somehow, there might be a good Shadowrun game?

Revenge_of_Nekojin

here's hoping it will feel like a "simulation" (like the original MW games) rather than some arcadish thing..

solar_tf

@Poul Wrist: lol - that same thought crossed my mind. Then I though, well, motion sensing (PS3) to torso pivot would be kind of epic. But yeah, I REEALLY hate controller combo control schemes. "Hold L2 and press triangle... etc."

I really hope that they stick to the customization system from MechWarrior 3, which is identical to the pencil-and-paper game.

ATimson

@Scaraba: Timber Wolf/Dire Wolf designs weren't yet seen in this time setting. (I believe)

@Edmund Chamberlain: Agreed. It does show immense promise. Holding my breath in 3... 2.... 1...

Looks surprisingly promising. I'm one of those who think MW2 is still the best in series though, so I'll give myself the benefit of doubt. I'm all for improvement, but it really doesn't mean dumbing things down... Unfortunately 'rebooting the franchise' these days sounds a lot like the latter :/

@Tubbygaijin: Without research, I believe this takes place before the Clan Wars erupted - therefore, before the Timberwolf chassis was seen.

@[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D:

So wouldnt you rather have a new AC game? I'd love to see Master of Arena remade with current gen graphics and robust online play.

puffa469

@Esper mind tricks:

I'll be dusting off my Microsoft Force Feedback 2 stick when this comes out. I just fond it when I moved a few months ago.

puffa469

@Adela Sakul: Don't know what sparked it, but the idea of a MechWarrior mmo seemed too perfect to me a couple of weeks back.

@KamiKazeRabbit: No, no. You were right to not read the article after your initial reaction, which was assumably like mine.

"OMFG WARHAMMER!"

@Bakkster_Man: I would KILL for a turn based PC version of the tabletop Battletech game.

Somehow my wife isn't interested in covering the diningroom table with lead miniatures and hex grid cardboard maps and rolling dice with me, go figure.

puffa469

Loved Mech2:Mercs. Hope I can end up saying the same about this one.

Too bad it's also coming for console :*( game ruined.

Poul Wrist

I have been waiting for the day that someone will do a new version of this. I somehow knew that it would happen, and so glad it's finally happening.

But for how long? hmm..

@Esper mind tricks: I actually managed a death from above in both the game and the board game :D

Admittedly it totally screwed up my mech's legs in both cases though :s

@Str8_Jihadin: Hell, I played MW on the PS1. And every one after that, except Assault.

@DrunkAus: Odds are that was Pre-rendered, but if that's any indicator as to what's in store for the series, I'm stoked.

@BlitzWhat: lol well said

i.roboto

@Ketzerei: Hopefully there'll be a cheat to play as a mech the size of an entire galaxy. That shows great.

bonghammer

This is classic Mechwarrior. If you are gonna reboot the franchise you start at the beginning and you make it solid.

Note how Smith & Tinker KNOW that you dont screw with what works, you just improve upon the presentation of established successfull IP.

qhue

@Salen:

meh, not that interested in it anyway but yeah, it sucks to see every now and then tities only for the PC and 360.

televizor

I'll be happy if I can pilot a Marauder / Timber Wolf / Dire Wolf :F

Scaraba

I can't help how bored I get at these kinds of mech designs.

superkong

The most fun I've ever had controlling a walking mecha is the MGS 4 sequence.

Anyone that captures that style, that feeling of controlling a unstoppable juggernaut, and expands on it with deeper gameplay will have my money.

I wonder how this game will turn out.

Wahrheit

@[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D: Well, unlike everyone else, I'd love to see another Chromehounds game too. In fact, I thought Chromehounds was more like Battletech than a LOT of other giant mech games. Okay, Steel Battalion excluded, but that game was hugely priced with a controller the size of Mount Rushmore.

But yeah, the world needs more giant, slow walking artillery pieces meant to flower democracy over the landscape with giant howitzer rounds.

@Nik in Denver, formerly in NOLA: Agreed, it's been years since I've played a mech warrior game but I recall being able to do everything with one hand on the keyboard and one on the my old 4 button joystick, I can't imagine much difficulty mapping it to a controller.

And mix in the bumper buttons to combo with the face buttons and you just doubled the potential keymapping on the 360 controller.

@xeleion - Mains El Fuerte: Well, Microsoft did buy the rights to Battletech when they gobbled up FASA.

worked on the latest Transformers title.

the latest Transformers title.

Transformers title.

Transformers

Is that supposed to raise or lower expectations? Because attempting to reboot a deep and complex simulation with decades worth of rules, lore and fanbase with a company whose latest credentials include a Micheal Bay movie game based on a Saturday morning cartoon from the 80ies... *cough cough*

Sooo... Ace edge flight stick support?

Damn, this made my month.

Pre clans/ pre MEch Assulat, Pre Dark Age shit setting ? -Check

Heat management ? Check

Cockpit view based gameplay ? - Check

Destructible environments ? Check

Old school Atlas vs Warhammer ? - Check

Involvement of Jordan Weisman ? - Check (he had little to do with the WizKids stuff iirc)

Ability to develop your mech as you progress, rather than using a different one every level ? -Check

Looks like the clans are being saved for a sequel :D

Its insanely stupid and lame how no publisher has got the stones to sign this up already. Along with X-Wing, Mechwarrior was the one franchise I wanted back in style.

Edmund Chamberlain

@Esper mind tricks: We still need a PC version that's top-down strategic like original BattleTech, but without being so clunky as Mech Commander. Maybe even back to turn based.

Anyone else notice the arm falling off? Thats a good sign they'll be sticking to the original.

I am so ruddy pumped for this.

So in case no one's noticed. This is being developed by Smith and Tinker. The company founded by the same guy that founded FASA Games.

Hopefully this will be as awesome to play in MP as Chromehounds was. No one on the platform has been able to re-capture that yet (then again, no one else has attempted to do a strategy-based giant mech game in the platform yet either.)

"Looks like GRAW"????

Dude, it looks like MechWarrior!

That's like saying the original Doom looks like Crysis.
Heresy!

ToTTenTranz

Woo can't wait to rock it in a Timberwolf again!

Tubbygaijin

I don't know about the rest of you MechWarrior fans out there, but I still think the Mercenaries sub-series was the way to go. Nothing cooler than to salvage enemy 'mechs for parts to augment or sell.

So......any chance that they can make this game compatible with Steel Battalion's 8-pound super controller? It's all I ask!!!

Am I the only one who wants the roleplaying parts of the very first game back. I really enjoyed that.

Adela Sakul

That's the problem with a realistic Mech Simulator, I mean, If mechs moved that slow, battling a mech with another mech would be the dumbest thing.

Pikachu Mariachi: We lol, so we don't =(

@ShaggE wants to join the Egg Council.: Unfortunately no. It appears that currently no one has plans to follow in the footsteps of the greatest gaming peripheral ever devised by man or malevolent artificial intelligence. (And I'm not talking about the Rez vibrator.)

[media.giantpachinkomachineofdoom.com] (Note: Combat Vehicle Crewman helmet not included.)

NOSTALGIA!

Olanrewaju Odukale

didn't the original series always have vibrant graphics? what's with this depressingly dim and dirty look that's all too similar with most evrey other game today...

OmegaVader

@Atheist Jew: And after watching the full trailer, it seems to be Battletech proper! I think I might die from an overdose of anticipation.

@kerplunk17:

Isn't that the Mechassault series?

GtheMVP99

@octalass:

Yup, that and Unreal Championship.

This has to come to consoles, there's not enough money in pc's alone for a smaller studio like these guys.

GtheMVP99

OH MY GOD!

NO! MY PANTS!

I can't believe it. I honestly never thought I would see another MechWarrior game.

Let us hope it doesn't take place within the god damned WizKids reboot Universe "Dark Age" which was basically WizKids taking a giant shit on the faces of Battletech fans. MechAssault 2, remember that? That was Battletech: Dark Age.

*shudder*

@landonkun: Having travelled 231 years into the future I have noted that people no longer use cars and that this simulation is an inaccurate vision.
Jet boots ala Iron Man powered by drug induced visions of dieties are used instead, and have proven to be a much more reliable mode of transport then even todays automobiles.
They have also remedied poor reading comprehension with optical implants. I brought these home with me but upon closer inspection realised they were possibly cat eggs.
You see all mammals in the future have devolved to reproduce no longer by carrying their young for an adequate gestation period but by laying their egg and wrapping it in their shed fur, so they can still participate in social activities with the other local mammals without fear of their eggs being cold.
Once when I ate scrambled eggs the eggs were so hot that upon putting it in my mouth I spat it out almost instantly in order to avoid burning my mouth. It flew across the room and landed on another diners plate without them realising. Before I could warn them they also put the eggs in their mouth and spat them back across the room onto my plate.
I thanked them and they bought me an orange juice for not abusing them for having put my eggs in their mouth.
The orange juice was tasty.

Do you think airlines should start sedating all their passengers in order to provide a more pleasant flying experience while also reducing costs?

@michael.brian: Ha. Since he's calling us freebirths he must be using clan tech. So he's probably running some double heat sinks and their tech is better.

korofrog

@wahrugene: agreed. probably wont feel like sitting in a cockpit at all.

0tak1n9

@landonkun: *ahem*, unless you're chatting from 2210, 2240 is not 30 years away. :)

stalin23

@VinceNotVance: I'm with you sir. I'd love it if Capcom would release another SB with decent network support this time around. Line of Contact was so disappointing considering the graphics of the stand-alone game. I could barely tell what I was shooting at in the online version.

Now, if only we could get an adapter to hook up the SB controller and use it for this new MW game....I can dream!!

Also, I'm visiting my parents this week and they just got a brand new 52" HDTV, so I brought SB with me and have to play it on that screen.

korofrog

@VinceNotVance: I'm with you sir. I'd love it if Capcom would release another SB with decent network support this time around. Line of Contact was so disappointing considering the graphics of the stand-alone game. I could barely tell what I was shooting at in the online version.

Now, if only we could get an adapter to hook up the SB controller and use it for this new MW game....I can dream!!

Also, I'm visiting my parents this week and they just got a brand new 52" HDTV, so I brought SB with me and have to play it on that screen.

korofrog

this just made my year, god i love the old mech games. Time to bring out my joystick and bring on some pain!!

yamato

@Krytha: 2240?! The trailer has it set in 3015. The first tech manual for the Battletech games was 3025...

korofrog

@Krytha: 2240?! The trailer has it set in 3015. The first tech manual for the Battletech games was 3025...

korofrog

@damonlaw: I'd rather stick with my programmable Saitek and be able to map a weapons loadout to a specific button. That was one of the great things about MW on the PC, custom weapon groupings.

korofrog

@damonlaw: I'd rather stick with my programmable Saitek and be able to map a weapons loadout to a specific button. That was one of the great things about MW on the PC, custom weapon groupings.

korofrog

Mechwarrior II is one of my all time fondest gaming memories. Here's hoping that justice will be done :)

@ariete: I hope so too! I'll definitely be getting it for the PC just to get that Mechwarrior-feel. Holding a controller ruins the atmosphere for me. Joystick or make a custom controller like Steel Battalion!

After watching that, it made me go back to this:

Pure MW2 goodness. The MW2 soundtrack is still frickin' good!

Hosaka

@Araym: They would get sued because some of the earliest mechs had designs stolen straight from Macross. You will note Macross Valkyries are the same thing as MW's Wasps, they took a couple of the zentraedi pods as well, one of them became the Marauder I believe. Hell, in that vid they showed up there, the Warhammer is one of the EDF's destroid units.

oh...just found this. [www.sarna.net]

Please look at the Wasp, Stinger, Valkyrie, Phoenix Hawk, Rifleman, Archer, Warhammer, Marauder, and if you needed more proof, check out the Stinger, Wasp, and Phoenix Hawk LAM's.

korofrog

@Araym: They would get sued because some of the earliest mechs had designs stolen straight from Macross. You will note Macross Valkyries are the same thing as MW's Wasps, they took a couple of the zentraedi pods as well, one of them became the Marauder I believe. Hell, in that vid they showed up there, the Warhammer is one of the EDF's destroid units.

oh...just found this. [www.sarna.net]

Please look at the Wasp, Stinger, Valkyrie, Phoenix Hawk, Rifleman, Archer, Warhammer, Marauder, and if you needed more proof, check out the Stinger, Wasp, and Phoenix Hawk LAM's.

korofrog

@ariete: Agreed! One thing I like about MechWarrior over other giant robot games is that MechWarrior tried to make it technically challenging to pilot a mech. In my mind, moving a giant robot around should feel a little bit like driving a bulldozer and less like playing an FPS. Knobs and levers for everything!

Justin Cook

@ThursdayNext: No, no, it makes perfect sense to me. Mouse and keyboard is inherently complex, and at times unintuitive. And Mechs don't exactly handle like a dream. Well, not the Battletech variety.

Controller works fantastic for a Zone of Enders style mech game, where the mech is supposed to be really fast and fluid to control. Mouse and keyboard, though, conveys the style of the western mech: heavy, powerful, and cumbersome. Obviously, I am overgeneralizing on the Eastern vs. Western aspect, but I find it to be generally true.

But yeah, if they incorporate a generous number of button combinations, there is no need for this to be any less complex than the PC originals. Now, can I still load a Raven up with the fastest drive system around, and then pack every square inch of it with high yield explosives for multiplayer? That remains to be seen.

Fun fact- I actually DID usually have a positive kill-death ratio with that. Sneak around, isolate two bigger mechs that are dueling, and then when the soften each other up, and start going into close range for the finish... leap in between them and self detonate, taking them both down with me. Mechwarrior 4 is the only one I've ever played, BTW.

Totally pumped for this. Hope it doesn't suck.

@wahrugene:

Yeah but how much of the keyboard mapping on the prior MW games were superfluous? Oh wait, like all of it. The entire number line was throttle, in addition to the +/- key (and backspace for walking backwards). They had a whole slew of controls for torso twisting, moving your pilot view, and turning. All of that could be mapped to the thumbsticks of a controller.

Lets see, then there's jumpjets (click a stick), button to bring up HUD for damage reports (automatic), rear/up/down views (d-pad), light amplification options (likely automatic). Weapon cycling (trigger/shoulder button), weapon firing (trigger).

I don't even get paid for this. I think you're overblowing the "OMG SIMPLIFY" thing. I wound up mapping the bulk of the controls on a flight stick back in the day, and it didn't have half the buttons that the 360 controller had (Throttle lever, twistable stick, trigger, 4-way top button, and at least three or four other buttons).

@Ketzerei: That's how I do it.

Can I Really Be the Hero?

@michael.brian: And then my second-in-command rains incendiary missiles down on your two 'mechs while I give the order for our platoon of stolen Elementals to rush in and kindly remove you from the cockpits of our shiny new (Albeit overheating and slightly on-fire) battlemechs.

Don't screw with half-crazy Kurita pirates dumb enough to tangle with the clans and tough enough to come back with a dropship full of clanner hardware.

@Bakamoichigei:
Imagine this... It does.

Shame to hear that you suffered through a fire.
All of the books are getting errated reprints, models can be bought at ebay too!

@wahrugene: Normally, I'm all for controllers, but something about the M/KB setup made me feel more like I was piloting a Mech. They got the learning curve spot on, never giving you too many new features to wrap your head around at once.

I think the M/KB controls really made you feel like you were in charge of this massive, complex, machine.

In my opinion console controllers are perfect for making you feel that you are a giant robot, but M/KB really make you feel like you are piloting a giant robot.

Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else.

Also, I love Mechwarrior and am deeply jealous that this won't be coming to PS3.

ThursdayNext

@KamiKazeRabbit: Crap, I should read the article first.
"This new MechWarrior is set on the planet Deshler in the year 3015, and places players in the role of Adrian Khol, a wayward nobleman who prefers partying and shirking responsibility over his training and studies. However, when House Kurita launches a massive invasion to conquer Deshler, resulting in the death of his entire family, Khol discovers a purpose to fight for. "

Third succession war. Awesome. /nerdgasm

KamiKazeRabbit

@Rev3rEND: considering the track record they have, this game -better- not be a disappointment.

rogue32

@Krytha: People used cars 30 years ago, and are still using them today. So.. what do you think they're gonna use 30 years from now? Jet packs?

landonkun

YES!!!!! HD Vulture FTW!! Or maybe a Battlemaster?

From what you guys are saying... I'm uncomfortable about it being devved by those guys. MWLL may be sanctioned and made by a fan group, but it might be better than this. Time will tell...

Sorry, I can't get optimistic about this in the least. I read 'reboot' to mean "Like Microsoft's shit or worse" and not "Return to old-school FASA (Pre-WizKids) Battletech/Mechwarrior style"

What really burns my ass (Ironic choice of words) is that I literally CAN NOT return to those days after losing all my BT miniatures, books, and maps in a fire. The materials simply no longer exist!

I would give my right nut for an open tabletop gaming engine with some real graphical chops. Kind of like Fantasy Grounds II does for online pencil and paper RPG gaming, but with an open-ended 3D engine for terrain and environments that you can plug any common 3D model format into. (And with a nice fairly human-readable scripting language for writing ruleset-specific interactive sheets and dialogs)

Is that a warhammer?! Hells yeah reseens confirmed! Now, will it be Dark Age, WOB Jihad, or other? 'cause I need to blast some toaster-worshippers.

Normally I'd be worried that it's going console but I don't care right now. At least its more mechwarrior.

KamiKazeRabbit

@Char Aznable says, Hail to the King of Pop: Why would they get sued? Smith & Tinker is Jordan Weisman's (the co-founder of FASA and original creator of mech warrior) new company. This new company has lisenced the rights for all of FASA's old IPs from microsoft, so they're all back with the creators again.

Araym

"death from above" ahh.. good times:)

@wahrugene: for the love of god play it with a joystick!

Sounds like it'll be a dumbed down console game instead of a PC mech sim.

Oh well, one day someone will make a proper Mechwarrior game.

Mystery00

What's with the Transformers bashing? It's a great multiplayer game.

obsidianprime

@wahrugene: Ever heard of chording? Basically you can get myriad combinations from the 22+ button combos on an xbox 360 controller. There are at least 400+ key chord combos with A B X Y LT LB RT RB DP1-8 LS and RS. Sounds like a lot now huh?

@edhe (xbl): Your logic is flawed since it automatically assumes this is an improvement.

@wahrugene: They're going to use the Gurren Lagann control mechanism: shout something and jam the sticks forward, and your mech punches a hole through space-time.

Ketzerei

@tim rogers: Screw mechwarrior I want another 鉄器 D:

Though man good times were to be had in the old school PC days! And the cheat which allowed you to play as an elemental. Talk about david & goliath.

be nice if it worked with the xbox 1 mech joystick that was $200

xone9

@ironraiden: Thanks for letting us know.

MDX

/me wipes the splooge from his keyboard

@wahrugene: Finally a reason to rebuy a flight stick.

Esper mind tricks

@Char Aznable says, Hail to the King of Pop: They hired a bunch of guys to redesign the look of the old Mechs so they wouldn't get sued. Some of those guys succeeded.

That big red machine in the trailers and screenshots is quite obviously a Warhammer.

Also, did anyone notice that in the screenshot with the Atlas launching missiles, it appears to only have launched 19? Where's the last one?

@Bernoulli: They did say they were targeting the PC audience first. *crosses fingers*

They could probably use a menu-based interface for less "twitchy" functions. Perhaps tie it to an MFD on the in-cockpit view - R1 + face buttons selects between Damage Control MFD, Weapons MFD, Sensor MFD, Communications MFD, etc., then face buttons to activate functions specific to that display (toggle ECM, active probe, radar ranges, searchlights, squad orders, select TIC, and so on). Or use a radial menu displayed on the MFD and select with R1+right stick, sort of like Mass Effect.

And the "different roles" thing sounds like they've been taking a good hard look at Chromehounds. Only thing is, I have a funny feeling my beloved medium mechs will be getting the short end of the stick.

"who worked on the latest Transformers title."

I stopped reading there.

@wahrugene: Yeah, I'm not too happy to hear it's console AND it's apparently ditching the chassis system for these "mech styles".

Sounds to me like we can expect "Fast, lightly armored guy" "Slow heavy guy" and "In betweeny guy". Or more arbitrary separations like "long range specialist" or "energy weapon specialist". You could do all that with the chassis system and it didn't have to be explicitly defined that way.

On paper it has potential, but realistically I can only see it being more limiting than simply defining a particular chassis, giving it a minimum powerplant and engine type and a maximum tonnage, and letting the attributes of the various equipment balance everything out.

I mean, who didn't try to build a kickass mech with 3-5 gauss cannons, hoping you could destroy anything with a single alpha strike? Didn't really work, but you learned quickly what was and wasn't possible/sensible, whilst still having total freedom for crazy specialist builds.

I feel like that's going to be lost to a standard upgrade path.

InstinctSage

@wahrugene: PC gamers are cute.

MDX

@Str8_Jihadin: Permission to Alpha strike his ass.
Or the never-really-used-in-battle Death From Above.

Esper mind tricks

@skaterguy18:

I wish they would make a Mechassault game for consoles and leave Mechwarrior to the PC.

It was the first great Xbox Live game.

Ok the only mech game I've played was Chromehounds were the previous mechwarrior games similar to that game? Better/worse?

MDX

This is awesome. Definitely keeping an eye out for this.

Violent St. Cannon

@[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D:

Psh, Chrome Hounds is nothing.

I'm sitting here, waiting for another Steel Battalion game! Or at least an adapter that'll let me connect the original controller to my Xbox 360. Then i'll be happy.

@wahrugene: Improving an interface is not 'dumbing it down'

Any insanely expensive and complicated controllers for this? I could never afford or even desire one, but I love watching other people use them. (especially when they are still trying to learn it)

@Char Aznable says, Hail to the King of Pop: The next Strike game did come, just not with the Strike name. Future Cop LAPD.

@skaterguy18: Mechassault was good for the console but it can't compare to the great simulator style ones of the 90s

Lincolnsbeard33

@skaterguy18: Also this too. Please not mechassault. Although mech commander would be good too.

But first, mechwarrior.
And I'll probably not buy this first and wait for Mechwarrior: Mercenaries. Or not. Waited too long for a new Mechwarrior game.

Yes, I'm so exited I'm confused. (@.@)

Esper mind tricks

@Krytha: they put all their technology into blowing shit up, not more efficient forms of transport.

ninjajazza

@BlitzWhat: i'll just jump jet around while you overheat and AC 20 you to death :P

@mr ziege: Holy shit that's what I meant XD

Was actually talking to someone about Mech 4 while typing that :o

skaterguy18

HOLY SHIT! That looks friggin epic, and was that environmental damage I saw? I loved GRAW on PC which it does remind me heavily of so W00T bring on GRAW with giant robots!

@Str8_Jihadin: What can I say, I grew up on Armored Core.

yes! first Kingdom Under Fire II info, now this! what an amazing early morning! I loved Mech Warrior 4... as well as Kingdom Under Fire

@Str8_Jihadin:

Well, if Microsoft knows what's good for them, they'll publish the game and fund it :D

an unreal mechwarrior? swoot

@skaterguy18: correction! you hope it is like mechwarrior 2

@Esper mind tricks:

As long as they get a very generous budget, it won't.

@2more:

The only MechWarrior game I've played is MW3 but people seem to love MW2 for some reason.

But you should start with this since its a reboot.

@wahrugene:

It will probably be less simmy

Attention all Freebirth scum;

I got a rack of PPCs and I'm coming for your legs.

PC gaming is definitely not dead :)

Well this makes me a happy panda. I have been with out a mech game for quite some time. I still remember those wonderful days of playing Mechwarrior 2 and EarthSiege every day.

@xeleion - Mains El Fuerte:
MUAHAHAHAHA........I mean, that sucks.

TalekAetem

@Rev3rEND:

Heroes 2 bored the crap out of me. Call of Duty Roads to Victory was far better, imo. Still got bored of it and didn't finish CoD, but it still played better and had a great atmosphere that MoH couldn't capture. I really hope somebody makes a decent WWII PSP FPS. Playing Brothers in Arms: D-Day, and it's okay, but the controls are terribly awkward.

@[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D:

THIS IS BLASPHEMY!

Never got into any MW game.. maybe now is the right time to get the hang of the series. Which MW can you guys recommend to begin with? Or is it important to play it from the first game (story, if any)?

I'd rather have a Chrome Hounds 2, but this will tide me over until then.

Uh... they're still using cars in 2240? That's kinda disappointing...

Krytha

Unreal Engine 3...interesting...

Lookin' good though

mechwarrior games used like 60% of keyboard binds.

If this game is made for the controller, does this mean the mechwarrior reboot will be dumbed down?

wahrugene

OHGODOHGODOHGOD
Please dont let it suck.

Esper mind tricks

Wow, that's... surprising. I wonder if they can include the old Mechs without getting sued?

@tim rogers: And yeah dude, I remember the ad in Nuclear Strike for the next Strike game, which... never came. ._.

I love this series. The most recent I played was for the DS, and it was great. I really enjoy the premise of the game.

kerplunk17

-sighs- No PS3 Mechwarrior... :(

Hmmm, Still. little bit uneasy about Pirhana's track record.

Need for Speed Undercover for PSP? bad.
Transformers 2? BAD.

The only shining title is Medal of Honor Hereos 2 for PSP.

other than that, they have a fishing game for the Wii coming out and a hunting game. I'm scared Kotaku... hold me?

Hope it's like Mechwarrior 4 :D

And not Mechassault bull shit <.<

skaterguy18

oh man, this could be pretty good!

i really liked the mechwarrior game on genesis.

hey, speaking of isometric free-roaming shooting games, why doesn't EA reboot their "strike" series?

YES! I just hope its as good as the MW2 series was.

ariete

@Krytha: Not to mention the cars in the trailer look a lot like cars being released, or concepted, today. Way to guy guys.

@DrunkAus: It's Unreal engine, and I definitely think they're in-game graphics. But yeah based on the distinctive color palette and lighting, the engine really shows.

@Bakamoichigei: Try www.classicbattletech.com I'm pretty sure they've reprinted most of the old sourcebooks again.

Mikatro

@Pikachu Mariachi: We lol, so we don't =(: Just think of them as giant tanks. Thats what they were modeled after.

Mikatro

for anyone concerned about the development team: smith and tinker are original devs from fasa (jordan weissman founded fasa and is lead at smith and tinker). if anyone knows how to treat the ip well, it would hopefully be them.

Looks promising. Wish they'd add more physx/havok to the play here. Doesn't seem much of that is involved besides the revamped graphics. Still as a fan of the old MW series, I can't wait to get my hands on this. Timber Wolf, here I come.

Morisato