BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge (full title) is a 1990 computer game by Infocom/Westwood Associates set in the BattleTech universe. The player again assumes the role of Jason Youngblood, commander of the Crescent Hawks. He gets to fight a series of scenarios, which can differ slightly depending on the outcome of previous scenarios, or because of decisions made by the player. For example, enemy 'Mechs that fled in a previous battle may augment the enemy forces of a successive battle; in other instances, the player can chose which part of a multi-pronged mission he wants to take part in.

Although it is a sequel to The Crescent Hawks' Inception, and continues the storyline, the gamplay is decidedly different. Roleplaying elemtents have largely been removed. The storyline is more or less linear, and essentially told through a series of combat missions with intermediate briefings. The player occasionally gets to chose one of several alternatives how to proceed, creating small branches in the storyline, but is generally more limited in his choices than in the previous game.

Plot synopsis

The game picks up the storyline immediately after the events of the previous game: In October 3028, Katrina Steiner has given command of her elite Lance, the Crescent Hawks, to Jason Youngblood in order to find his father who is missing after the recent Kurita attack on Pacifica (the previous games' storyline).

For this mission the Crescent Hawks receive new BattleMechs to start with, and the player gets to assign 'Mechs to the four MechWarriors at the beginning of the game. 'Mechs available are: Griffin, Enforcer, Phoenix Hawk, Hermes II, Commando and Wasp.

Lyons: Defending the Kell Hounds

Having learned that House Kurita pursues a vendetta against the Kell Hounds, the Crescent Hawks set out to the Kell Hounds garrison base on the world of Lyons to warn them. They arrive in April 3029 in the middle of a Kurita attack and their Leopard-class DropShip is shot down. The crashlanding in a lake kills their DropShip pilot and fourth MechWarrior, Captain Victor Stewart. Before long, a Kurita Locust approaches the crash site to finish off the survivors, but a friendly Jenner piloted by Rick "Grease" Anderson responds to defend the remaining Crescent Hawks.

After eliminating the threat from the Locust, Jason and his second-in-command Rex Pearce manage to retrieve their 'Mechs from the wrecked DropShip, which then sinks to the bottom of the lake. Anderson informs them that the Kurita raid is led by a Draconis Combine commander named Chiun who claims to be honoring a vendetta. They caught the Kell Hounds by surprise; even damaged units like his Jenner are now in the field, piloted by anyone who can pilot a 'Mech. The nearby bridge across the lake must be held, or the invaders can overrun the Kell Hound base. While Anderson receives medical treatment, Kurt Graham, the third Crescent Hawks MechWarrior, tries to repair the Jenner. Two more Kurita 'Mechs (a Panther and an Ostscout) approach, and are defeated by Jason and Rex in their 'Mechs. Finally, the Kurita scout Lance's command 'Mech, a Whitworth, arrives (along with any enemy 'Mechs that were not destroyed in the previous missions). The Crescent Hawks are reinforced by Kurt Graham in this fight, who is now piloting the Jenner. A last Kurita assault by two Rommel heavy tanks and an APC must be repulsed before the Crescent Hawks can finally withdraw to the Kell Hounds base.

Upon arriving at the base, the Crescent Hawks learn from Kell Hound Captain Kaitlin Shaw that the base defenses have been breached and infantry squads are entering the base. Sgt. Krall is sent to retrieve valuable Listen-Kill Missiles in a hovertruck to prevent them from falling into Kurita hands. Jason Youngblood assumes command from the truck and Rex Pearce and Kurt Graham receive a pair of UrbanMechs to guard the hovertruck against infantry attacks while it collects the SRM ammo, then the LRM ammo. At the end of the mission, they have to fight their way past an enemy Assassin 'Mech.

After the exhaustive fighting, night falls and both sides pull back to repair and rearm.

The Crescent Hawks are guests of honor at the dinner table in the Kell Hounds base. Morgan Kell personally congratulates them on their performance, which may have saved the base. He also reveals that "Grease" Anderson is a tech, and not yet a qualified MechWarrior. During the night, the remaining Crescent Hawk 'Mechs are salvaged from the sunken DropShip. On the next day, plans are made to penetrate the enemy frontlines and attack their HQ to sever their communications and hopefully disrupt their operation enough to force a retreat. Captain Shaw devises a plan by which two light 'Mechs (Javelins) should flank the enemy frontlines while the Crescent Hawks runs the gauntlet to break through to the HQ. These two forces would meet at the enemy HQ and attack it (and the Dragon guarding it) from two sides. For this mission, all units are equipped with the Listen-Kill Missiles retrieved in the previous mission. Jason Youngblood can chose in which part of the two-fold mission he participates:

• a) The Gauntlet - While "Grease" Anderson and Kell Hounds volunteer Jessica Riley flank the enemy, the three Crescent Hawks 'Mechs move out to run the gauntlet.
  • In the first part of their mission, they are to assist a lance of Kell Hounds 'Mechs (elite pilot Casey in a Hunchback, veteran pilot Corrigan in an Enforcer and regular pilot Hall in a Vindicator) in repulsing an attack against the base carried out by a Rifleman, a Shadow Hawk, a Dervish and a Blackjack.
  • In the second part they must then proceed towards the enemy HQ six kilometers beyond the base and try to avoid enemy units underway, which include a Dervish, a Hatchetman, a Clint, a Whitworth, a Hermes II, a Vulcan and an Ostscout.
• b) The Road Run - Alternatively, Jason Youngblood can elect to swap places with Anderson and pilot one of the two Javelins in the flanking maneuver.
  • In the first part of this mission they must sneak past (or fight) enemy forces that include a Whitworth, a Cicada, a Spider, a Stinger, a Locust and a Rommel tank.
  • The second part begins with the Crescent Hawks lance approaching the Dragon guarding the HQ from the opposite side; the Javelins can join the fight at any point to ambush the Dragon from the rear.

Regardless of which part Jason partakes in, the primary mission objective is to destroy the Dragon that guards the mobile enemy HQ. Following the defeat of the Dragon, Kurita commander Tai-sa Chiun challenges Jason to a duel, implying he had done the same with Jason's father. The (very fast) mobile HQ then retreats towards the Kurita DropShip, supported by a Panther and an Ostscout, with the combined friendly units that survived the previous mission in pursuit. After the destruction of the mobile HQ, Chiun's forces retreat for good.

Dieron: Operation Liberty

During the debriefing, Chiun's claim that he killed Jason's father is discarded by Morgan Kell as a trick to provoke Jason and to impair his judgement on the battlefield. Morgan rather believes that if Jeremiah is still alive, he will be interrogated on the Kurita prefecture capitol of Dieron. With the Fourth Succession War raging, a full assault on Dieron is out of the question but a small extraction raid can be done. The Kell Hounds provide the Crescent Hawks with vehicles and troops, and even allow for Rick Anderson to become a Crescent Hawks member.

Jason gets to decide decide wether he would prefer three lances of standard vehicles or two lances of vehicles with better armour and firepower for the upcoming missions. The forces come out as 1 APC escorted by some Pegasus hovertanks, Skulker vehicles and Rommel tanks. Surprisingly, they are not Lyran or mercenary forces, but Federated Suns troops. Jason must also decide on one of two possible approaches, going through either the Mountain pass (longer distance, lighter defenses) or the Forest path (shorter distance, heavier defenses). Beyond the mountains, closer to the city, the raiders encounter hovertanks (Drillson and Pegasus), as well as a Spider and a Panther. Outside the city the player can break into a BattleMech depot and hijack four Crusaders to augment his forces; this is not a neccessity however. The raiders must fight their way into and through the city and blast open the prison, then withdraw to their DropShip with the rescued prisoners within a certain timeframe. On the way back, Chiun (piloting an Archer) challenges Jason again, supported by a Dragon and two Marauders.

Resources

• Strategy Guide
• 'Mech Stats
• Keyboard Commands

Downloads

• All Downloads