BattleTech mechs its way to release on April 24th
One month to go
Whirr-stomp. That's the noise a big stompy mech makes as it patrols the battlefield. It's entirely dissimilar to the pitter-patter my heart makes when I finally see a release date for BattleTech, the turn-based tactical MechWarrior game from Harebrained Schemes and Paradox. I've been waiting for this one for a long time - not just the years it's actually been in development, but the preceding decades when the world stubbornly refused to give me a BattleTech game that didn't strap me into the cockpit rather than letting me do what I do best: backseat drive, well out of harm's way.
BattleTech, with its splendid combat and intriguing merc-management campaign, will be out on April 24th.
The trailer gets across the age of chivalry qualities of the setting quite well. The lady doing the talking is Kamea Arano. Her house has lost control of its space sector following a coup and she needs precisely the kind of mech-merc that you're playing to help bring her back to her seat of power.
"In BattleTech, you play as the commander of a mercenary company on the edges of civilized space, negotiating and executing a variety of combat contracts while attempting to keep your 'Mechwarriors happy and your operations prosperous. The game's story features the player falling in with the deposed ruler of a noble house and, fighting for either coin or cause, becoming a player in her bid to retake her throne."
Or you could just rush around blowing things up for kicks and profit.
We haven't seen enough of the campaign in action to give me full confidence that it'll all work out as hoped, with lots of dynamic elements to keep things interesting, but the combat is brill, and I can't wait to take my mechs for a proper spin.