In MechCommander 2, you play as the commander of a band of mercenaries in the midst of a planetary civil war, which was propelled by feuding between rival houses. It's a feud that's gone way too far. The campaign, and unfortunately the only campaign, of MechCommander 2 has you working for the house of Steiner and it starts with you taking out bandits and terrorists and eventually an assault upon a rival house. The story line is nothing too special nor engaging, but it's not that bad either. Missions tend to be far too linear. Though each mission is rather interesting, there is always only one way to accomplish mission goals. At the start of each mission, the list of mission objectives is listed on what logical order mission goals should be accomplished. Sometimes a minor deviation from the manner a mission should be completed can result in failure.

RTS gamers may either be disappointed or excited with MechCommander 2's system. MechCommander 2 deviates from the standard design of RTS engines meaning that it does not emulate nor enhance the old Age of Empires or Warcraft engines. Unlike most RTS games, Mech Commander 2 doesn't require you to perform the tedious task of harvesting resources, developing a gigantic juggernaut of an army and then in turn - simply throw everything you got at the enemy until their base is turned to rubble. Instead, you're paid after every mission and can only purchase or modify units before launching into action. There's also a limitation on how many mechs can be transported into battle. Each mech constitutes a certain weight and each mission only permits the transport of a very limited amount of weight. Though you can't build anything in battle, you can still utilize the resources either taken into battle or stolen from enemy buildings to repair your mechs, call scout copters, or even authorize an air strike! The only way to reinforce your small band of mechs is to capture fallen enemy mechs. But since you can't take a lot of mechs into battle and normally don't have a lot of resources to salvage more mechs, you would often need to use hit-and-run or guerrilla tactics.

Though dubbed an RTS, MechCommander 2 has several RPG aspects since victory is determined by the 'skill level' of each individual pilot and the equipment on the mech. Individual pilots also 'level up' after a certain number of kills. Every time they 'level up' they can build up upon a certain skill, making them a specialist in that area. Each mech, before and after battle, can be modified as much as their carrying and heat capacity permits. There is a vast array of weapons to choose from. Each weapon has its own specific strength and weakness. The whole purposes of modification are of course either to make a mech stronger or make a mech suitable for a certain mission. The tactical officer at each mission briefings always gives some information on what sort of mechs you will encounter in addition to the modifications which could effectively counter them. Unfortunately, the tactical officer often gives away too much information, thus making downplaying the challenge factor and makes the mission very predictable.

Unfortunately, MechCommander 2 contains a great deal of flaws that are quite apparent. One of its flaws is that it can take a freakin' long time to load. I found the load times to be a pain (being the fact that I was playing the game on Pentium 700.) MechCommander 2's strengths ironically constitute some of its weaknesses. An example of this lies in the lack of unit expansion. Since you only control a small band, both you and your enemies don't build up anything in each mission, which unfortunately are either too easy or too difficult to complete. Furthemore, because your mission briefings simply give sometimes too much info, missions can become too predictable.

Mech2's graphics are very impressive and are detailed down to the tiniest little sprite. Though everything is detailed, battlefields tend to be a bit fuzzy. Every mission also has an FMV, which progress the story further. The FMVs have pretty good acting and gives the game an interesting atmosphere though the dialogue can sometimes be a little weak. Mech2's sounds are equally impressive with all of its sweet violent music of massive explosions and artillery fire. The in-battle voice acting gives a good atmosphere to whatever mission you're in. But it is common knowledge that a game that offers good sounds and graphics often demands a whole lot in your computer. It can take a while to load. Load times were a pain even on a Pentium III.

BattleTech fans may be disappointed with MechCommander 2, but as far as strategy gamers go, MechCommander 2 is worth trying out despite its weaknesses. Although the game isn't among the best of real-time strategy games on the market, it's certainly not the worst title ever released. Players looking for a title that delivers explosive action and impressive visuals should find MechCommander 2 an enjoyable experience.

· · · Kane