Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The concept of a giant robot so giant that it makes all the other giant robots seem like adorable little rhinos appeals to me, I think, on a very fundamental, perhaps even instinctual level. As someone who is neither giant nor (to my knowledge) a robot, I somewhat fancy the idea of striking spine-tingling, fight-or-flight-invoking fear into someone with my mere presence. And MechWarrior Online‘s Hunchback, thankfully, looks to offer me a chance to take the reins on that particular fantasy. According to Piranha, this ‘bot tips the scales (by which I of course mean all of them at once) at 50 tons – 20 percent of which is armor, and the rest of which is probably guns. See it perform incredible feats of moving at all after the break.

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Believe it or not, colossal 50-ton steel monstrosities that have to be careful they don’t accidentally crush poor, helpless rhinos aren’t nature’s most graceful creatures. They do not prance or saunter or gallivant or float from place to place as though held aloft by the wings of angels. They lumber. That is the thing that mechs do. As you might expect, this leads to a fair deal of complexity where movement is concerned. As MechWarrior Online developer Piranha says, it’s “kind of like piloting a giant walking tank.” And I concur, only replace “kind of” with “exactly.”

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*Idly Googles: “Things that weigh one hundred tonnes.”*

*Reads: “The tonne is a measurement of mass, not weight.”*

*Sighs.*

*Finds video of a 100-tonnes of explosives going off. Posts next to the video of the Atlas mech, below.*
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“Why walk when you can run?” I always ask. And why run when you can sprint? Any why sprint when you can suit up, clamber into a “light” 35-ton mech and mock the laws of physics at speeds of up to 118 km/h? These are all, of course, common philosophical questions that have echoed throughout classrooms and lecture halls for centuries. But the last one – perhaps the most common of all – is being made literal in MechWarrior Online. Dubbed the Jenner, this series standby is looking kind of incredible. And I’m pretty sure Piranha knows it.

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Hello, you. How have you prepared for the release of Mechwarrior Online? Anything? Nothing?! Well that’s a shame. Other people have been a bit more proactive, including this guy, who has built himself an entire mech cockpit for the experience, complete with surround sound and triple 28″ monitors. Video and impressive image below for you pop your eyes at.
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It’s uncharacteristically warm in San Francisco today, so I think I – more so than just about anyone in the world – am best equipped to identify with giant robots. Specifically, MechWarrior Online‘s menagerie of metallic monoliths who’ve taken to duking it out on the newly revealed Caustic Valley map. It is, in case you hadn’t guessed, very, very warm. Mechs, meanwhile, tend to naturally become hot enough to spontaneously combust an egg on top of by way of, well, existing, so Caustic Valley requires extremely careful piloting. Otherwise, you’ll get all sweaty and nasty and gross and dead.

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In case you were worried, MechWarrior Online does, in fact, have giant robots after all. I know, I know: I didn’t believe it either. Now, though, there’s honest-to-Godzilla-sized-robo-behemoth proof in the form of a fully automated video reel. Will wonders never cease? It introduces the well-rounded, generally reliable Centurion and details two specialized variants: one that’s best from a distance and another that loves nothing more than to move in close for its particular brand of rock ‘em sock ‘em robots. It can do this because it has 11 tons of armor. I did not know things could have that much armor. I imagine its hobbies include long walks on the beach, heavy metal music, and fashioning your home into a festive hat. So, with pleasant introductions out of the way, let’s see it in action.

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Videos for Mechwarrior Online seem to arrive in batches and there are two more for you to stomp on this evening. To stomp on with your eyes. The first is a dev diary, which talks about “the four pillars of gameplay” for the multiplayer mech ‘em up. The most interesting claim is that mechs of different sizes and capabilities will all have their place, useful in different situations or as part of a group. The goal, then, isn’t to get the biggest, baddest mech of all, because, hey, that little one over there might be even badder. The second video shows a new environment, the Frozen City. Perhaps this is one of the environments in which a lumbering turret of a mech would struggle.

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The vigilant newsbots at BluesNews have noticed that Mechwarrior Online is rolling out a program of “founders packages” for people to purchase in-game cash and privileges in the forth-coming free-to-play mech game. Full details and some comments, as well as a big chunk of recent game footage, below.

Mechwarrior Online has been in beta since the middle of May, and there’s no word on when that will expand, exactly. That said, this Founders’ Package stuff gets you access from August 7th, so perhaps not too long after that.
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These new video previews for upcoming persistent battler Mechwarrior Online – via IGN – show off the different roles for the light, medium, heavy, and assault mechs. I’ve posted them all below. Just see the light mech race about and “act as the eyes and ears of the lance” gives me cause for robo-excitement, so you can imagine my delight as seeing the assault mechs stomping their way into battles and savaging the other mechs with big, big guns. I’m ready to play this game now, thanks.
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