By John Walker on March 6th, 2013.
MechWarrior Online BZZZZZTT –MAJOR UPDATE– Juggada-guggada-beeeeeooooooooooo. I speak fluent Giant Robot. The freebie stompy robots game has just added another new batch of content, which includes yet another mech to charge about in, and a tutorial zone called Testing Grounds.
By Nathan Grayson on December 19th, 2012.
“What is it with mechs and holidays?” I constantly ask myself and/or say to begin my cliched standup routine. It’s a question that evokes many nuanced and contentious viewpoints, but mainly, MechWarrior Online launched its last big update on “Mechsgiving,” and now a brand new point-capturing Conquest mode is debuting right around Christmechs (which is sadly not what Piranha’s calling it). That’s enough for me to call it a pattern, though, so clearly, mechs are creatures that run on oil, electricity, and festive spirit. There’s more information and a video of the new update in action after the break.
By Nathan Grayson on November 22nd, 2012.
I don’t think it’s possible to have any misgivings over an update officially titled “Mechsgiving.” As for Portalmas, well, that one’s a bit more up for debate, seeing as it’s just a word I made up. But generosity’s officially in the air, and both Piranha and Valve are doling out fairly significant updates to their breadwinners, MechWarrior Online and Portal 2. Unfortunately, neither involves gigantic mechanized turkeys, but I suppose beggars in the midst of celebrating a decadent holiday of feasting and lethargy can’t be choosers. Still though, that’s far from a reason to mope. So let’s look under the ol’ turkey tree and see what we got.
By Nathan Grayson on November 7th, 2012.
What do MechWarrior Online and PlanetSide 2 have in common? Well, they both have robots, guns, cold levels that affect gameplay, free-to-play options, explosions, planets, sides, walking, death, life, founder’s programs, other kinds of robots, rocks, trees, smoke, and battles that tickle fancies and funny bones. Also, war.
Oh, and they’re both in beta. I knew I was going somewhere with this. Anyway, videos!
By Nathan Grayson on October 27th, 2012.
Very few things on this Earth can stop a fully operational giant robot. One of those things is another giant robot impacting the first with equal and opposite force. This is known as Cyber-Newton’s 23rd law, and he personally destroys all who dare oppose it. All the other things that can stop a giant robot, meanwhile, are crushing realities of game development. Case in point: the recent delay of MechWarrior Online‘s open beta. Stability apparently wasn’t up to snuff, so Piranha decided to tinker away a while longer. Now, though, it’s in acceptable shape, so the robots will begin rocking, socking, and vaporizing each other early next week.
By John Walker on October 17th, 2012.
Kickstarter isn’t the only way to make insane amounts of money without even releasing a game. MechWarrior Online has been having a concerted “pre-order” campaign, and has announced it’s made $5m in the process. The stampy robot fighting game is yet to enter open beta, but despite this it’s accrued those extraordinary sales figures since July. And let’s stress – this is for a free-to-play game.
By Nathan Grayson on October 16th, 2012.
I like giant robots. I like them a whole, whole lot, actually. But let’s be honest here: their titanic clashes are nothing without heaping helpings of human intrigue. They need us and our elaborate, hilariously political squabbles as much as we need their impossibly large arsenals and devil-may-care approach to dealing with skyscrapers. Back in the day, single-player was the perfect middle ground between those exceedingly admirable goals. Now, though – as Piranha president Russ Bullock explained during GDC Online – things are a bit more complicated. Not to mention more expensive. A lot more expensive.
By Jim Rossignol on October 11th, 2012.
Piranha Games have announced the following: “Make a MECH-sized marking in your calendars for Tuesday, October 16th. In just one week, we will be opening up the InnerSphere to all MechWarriors and their friends.” This signals the end of Mechwarrior Online‘s Founders program, where you could buy in for early for in-game currency and other bonuses, but since it’s F2P I expect to see a lot more activity kicking off in the coming weeks. As I mentioned previously, I’ve rathered enjoyed my time with it, although it seems like there’s a lot of content to come. I’ve posted some recent gameplay footage below.
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By Nathan Grayson on August 21st, 2012.
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.
By Nathan Grayson on August 8th, 2012.
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.”
By Jim Rossignol on August 2nd, 2012.
*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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