The Bigger the ‘Mech, the Harder They Fall
I have a personal love affair with the 3055 Technical Readout. Sure, it may have been the 4th readout in my hands (3025, 3050 and 2750 beat it to my bookshelves) but it was always number one in my heart. Some of my favorite Inner Sphere BattleMech designs are inside these covers.
Even though it was decades ago, I’ll never forget the Saturday morning where I became forevermore helplessly, HOPELESSLY addicted to large military robots. I have since developed a bit of ‘flowery’ disdain for the bastard chimera that is the Robotech saga, but I am at least nostalgic that it was the vehicle with which I first was introduced to Supredimensional Fortress Macross.
It was 1985. I was eight years old, and until then Saturday morning cartoons consisted mainly of an assortment of Hasbro toy advertisements and video game tie-ins. Anime was and would continue to be very sparse (though much of it was animated in Japanese studios). Transformers (of the aforementioned Hasbro adverts) had a very strong effect on me for getting turned on to big stompy bots.
And then Robotech showed up; which took the transformable robot thing and showed that “hey- people can drive these things dammit!”. The VF-1 Valkyrie in all its flavors (which became the Wasp, Stinger,Phoenix Hawk and their LAM equivalents), was NOT a nae indestructible machine like the Transformers were (until half of them got spawn-fragged in the animated movie the following year). They, at least the tan-colored ones popped like zits throughout the show. But they had it easy compared to the thrashings the poor Destroids received.
Three variant Valkyrie variable fighters; originally used as the Wasp, Stinger, and Phoenix Hawk ‘mechs.
It wasn’t long after the last expansion pack for MechWarrior 2 hit disc drives across the US when gamers-our teeth newly cut on 3D graphics, craved more. Even though I had no PC of my own yet at this time, I’d had dozens of hours of time running ‘Mechs. Then I ran into something called Heavy Gear, and my PC-imbued friends began to be mooched upon once again.
The first Heavy Gear was released in 1997 by Activision; fresh off their MechWarrior 2 game. HG1 used quite a bit of MW2 Mercenaries source code sound effects, and other features, so for us MechWarrior freaks it was a rather smooth transition considering ‘Gears are more like protomechs in size and loadout.
Can’t get enough mid ’90s combat ‘mech action? Gear Up!
MechAssault: Phantom War. This is a game I actually picked up and own to this day for my Nintendo DS. Instead of the masculine no-named Wolf’s Dragoon MechWarrior from the first two games, the player gets Vallen Brice, A multi-talented pilot from the Lyran Alliance. Her unique (from a video game perspective) blend of technical and physical skills in addition to her affinity for piloting ‘Mechs leads me to believe that Brice is a Loki agent, though I don’t specifically remember it coming up in the game itself.
I also think it’s an interesting departure from other games from within the BattleTech Property from this time. The FedCom civil war was still very much a thing. And with games like MechWarrior Vengeance, Black Knight, and MechCommander 2, House Steiner was very much a vilified organization. I like that instead of going with a Mercenary or Davion protagonist. Though it would be more refreshing still to see some even more underutilized factions in a video game. I digress.
Mobile Uller action. Unless you have an IOS device you won’t find better for now.
Like the original MechAssault, the sequel MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf centers on a no-named Wolf’s Dragoons MechWarrior supported by Lieutenant Foster from the original. The graphics are a few years more advanced of course, as are the sound effects.
But I feel that even more than the new BattleMechs, the dismounted gameplay in Lone Wolf is far more important for both the series and the genre of action games in particular. Never before had I seen the ability to crawl out of a ‘Mech and interact with the environment on a smaller scale in a BattleTech themed game.
Lieutenant Foster developed the armor after the events of the first game when the player recovered a memory core from a fallen ‘Mech. Given that the enemy was Word of Blake, the player’s armor could possibly be a derivative of the Purifier. It’s armed with an arm mounted small pulse laser, a mortar- (an autoloading large caliber grenade launcher really), a claw, and jump jets. Unlike the Purifier, this armor doesn’t use any kind of stealth capability, but has the ability to “hack” security protected ‘mechs- even while they’re in operation by means of a mini game.
I think I’d prefer SRMs, but at least you’re better armed than in the HALO games.
I remember having mixed feelings about this game when it came out. I never owned an Xbox, and only played it when over a friend’s house, so it was actually to my benefit that the game was more of an episodic arcade style action shooter. I could leave off practically anywhere. I also remember quite a few MechWarrior and MechCommander purists complaining about the powerups and other unrealistic aspects of the game (including a very non-canon super heavyweight ‘Mech or two in there as well). My main beef with the game is that you can only select one kind of weapon at a time; be it missiles, lasers, etc. They really streamlined the weapons inventory, and with none of that mechlab business fans love so much.
The Cougar, for when you want be able to haul ass yet still be able to kick some too.
Some legends are not as they appear
I recently ran a campaign through 3058 that included the module Living Legends. My personal mercenary unit had already accepted a contract to work for the Draconis Combine in anti-Clan efforts in the vicinity where the Manassas appeared. I did a little research and found this adventure was slated for that area and time frame. I bought it, and ran it with some modifications.
For those who may not be aware, this book chronicles a WarShip, the Manassas, from the original Kerensky fleet with an experimental modified jump engine that can jump an extra ten light years. It misjumps and leaps forward in time almost 300 years, into 3058. By the end of the adventure, this wonder of technology is destroyed.
One of the main concerns many have with Living Legends is that the time-travel component just doesn’t have the ring of the authentic BattleTech universe. One of the things I love about it is the feel of the universe. We are all alone out here. And things like time travel aren’t normally possible. And yet here we find a pristine ship from the Star League Defense Force on the backdoor.
Obviously, this adventure opens up other questions. Can a ship misjump backwards in time? Can the 40 light-year K-F drive be replicated? Can other misjumps from history be scheduled to arrive any moment?
What do you do with Living Legends? Do you run it? Do you modify it? Does it exist in your personal BattleTech campaigns and universe?
In a Big Country…
I guess it’s similar to the novel Far Country, where a misjump sends folks to a planet far away from humanity that has intelligent birdlike aliens running around. Do you add alien life to your campaigns? What about misjumps so far away as to be beyond known space entirely? Do you use the planet of Kaetetôã in your campaign?
It seems like we have similar questions. To what degree do these examples of out-of-flavor aspects of BattleTech populate your own universe? Do you use them for inspiration? Pretend they never happened? Modify them somewhere? What do you do with them?
I remember it taking a while to find a copy of this game that actually worked. I believe there was a technical issue with the software when it was first released. I’m not sure what exactly the problem was but it took nearly a year after my initial purchase to actually play it.
It’s another FASA Interactive sequel published by Microsoft, who had also developed MechWarrior IV. I like it about as much as MWIV. It had good production values, another decent live action cast, including a portrayal of Catherine “Katrina” Steiner. MC2 was a great game but like MechWarrior IV, it wasn’t groundbreaking like either MechWarrior 3 or the original MechCommander.
Control a larger force than ever before in a videogame.
Little Johnny Acolyte’s drill sergeant told him there would be days where a yellow Wolfhound on fire would come a-stompin’.
BASIC PLOTLINE
In the aftermath of the events detailed in Blood Legacy, Lost Destiny picks up the ball and starts to run with it at a breathless pace. With the events of Kai Allard-Liao being stuck behind enemy lines, to dealing with the aftermath of the Battle of Luthien, to the crazy one-on-many battles that Phelan Wolf goes through to earn a Bloodname, to a daring raid done behind enemy lines, to the final battle of ComStar vs the Clans. Although Blood Legacy had a lot of action, with most of the political stuff done in that book gives Stackpole a chance to get into some really hot ‘Mech battles. All the plotlines come together rather satisfactorily, but leaves enough of a hunger to find out what’s next.
In contrast to Blood Legacy, the characters in Lost Destiny are starting to trust in themselves and their fellow warriors, and in the case of Phelan he really starts to come into his own as a Clan warrior, besting many obstacles that are thrown their way. They’ve taken what they’ve learned and start to use that knowledge as a weapon, and leading to some interesting situations. Although the main focus of the book is split between Phelan, Victor, Kai, and Foct, you get a really interesting mix of points of view and how these characters respond to the ongoing changes. Along with their confidence, you can’t help but to cheer on these characters on their adventures, despite the sometimes terrible odds that they face.
This book was important because, for the first time, you see Inner Sphere nations start to come together to fight the larger threat that is the Clans. ComStar surprisingly also is a fascinating addition, as some of the secrets of this order are finally revealed. You also see that, yes, the Clans are extremely deadly foes, but they can be defeated and are not invincible. At the end of the book you have a very uneasy set of affairs, but a relative peace. With the Clans being a now-permanent fixture within the Inner Sphere, everything that had gone on before had been thrown out the airlock and a new destiny for all those in the universe to be charted.
With the political groundwork already laid down in the previous novel, the attention to the battles, and the ongoing character development, Lost Destiny is my personal favorite in the trilogy. Highly recommended reading for all BattleTech fans!
After the conclusion of “Lethal Heritage” you’re left in a bind. Michael A. Stackpole left us at the end of that book with a heck of a shock. We’ll continue exploring Blood Legacy as part of a continuing series of articles (starting with this one) to look back at the 25th anniversary of the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy.
That dude is going to have a problem explaining that autocannon scratch to his CO.