MechAssault: Phantom War

MechAssault Phantom War.jpg
MechAssault: Phantom War
Product information
Type Video Game
Development Backbone Entertainment
Publication information
Publisher Majesco Entertainment
First published 2006
Content
Series MechAssault console games
Preceded by MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf

MechAssault: Phantom War is a 2006 video game developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Majesco Entertainment exclusively for the Nintendo DS console. It is the third game in the MechAssault series after 2002's MechAssault and its sequel MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.

From the back cover[edit]

You are a MechWarrior, an elite fighter trained to control the ultimate war machine of the 32nd century. Wield massive destructive power as you commandeer 20+ vehicles including 'Mechs, Tanks, Turrets, and Battle Armor. The thrilling intergalactic combat of the renowned MechAssault series is now in the palm of your hand!

BATTLE AGAINST 3 FRIENDS IN MULTIPLAYER COMBAT

USE THE TOUCH SCREEN TO HACK INTO ENEMY TERRITORY, HIJACK 'MECHS, AND MORE!

WREAK HAVOC WITH A FULLY UPGRADEABLE ARSENAL

Canonicity[edit]

Computer games are explicitly excluded from the list of products that contribute straight Canon to the BattleTech universe while at the same time it was stated that the IP owners are "not in total denial about these sources either"; it has also been stated that fluff from certain official, licensed products (namely certain computer games including those produced for Nintendo) can be assumed to be part of the shared universe as long as it is not directly contradicted, and makes sense. On this premise, MechAssault: Phantom War is considered to be an apocryphal product.

Areas of divergence from canon:

  • Delicate solar arrays on JumpShips, which take hours to safely retract in preparation for a jump, are visually portrayed as glowing with bluish energy and then rotating extremely rapidly, like a propeller, as a JumpShip prepares to energize its K-F drive.
  • The Rommel II's "gravity cannon" is not an official BattleTech weapon system.
  • All references to the Lyran state are as the "Lyran Alliance," but the story is set in the thirty-second century, by which time the state has reverted to its original designation as the "Lyran Commonwealth."

Plot Summary[edit]

The story follows Lyran Alliance MechWarrior Vallen Brice, Hauptmann Jane Faulkner and Vernon Styles in their battle against the Anodyne Cross Militia Commander Dante Fierus. In the aftermath of the HPG network blackout, the Lyrans are on a mission to utilize Vallen Brice's unique technical skills to see if nonfunctioning HPGs on depopulated worlds can be turned into weapons. The tests are ultimately successful, but the resulting focused EMP blast is deemed unsuitable as a weapon system. Fierus and his AGM copy the technique, however, and are revealed to be collaborating with Clan Hell's Horses to amass weapons in the Periphery-adjacent region of the Lyran Commonwealth in preparation for an attempt to carve out his own empire. Vallen ultimately defeats Fierus in personal combat, ending the rebellion.

Missions[edit]

Arluna[edit]

Hauptmann Faulkner goes to the MechWarrior Training Facility on Arluna and orders MechWarrior Vallen Brice and Tech Warrant Banon Styles to accompany her to Wroclaw on a special ops mission to liberate it from bandits and protect the planetary hyperpulse generator, with the help of the planetary militia. They travel aboard the DropShip Drake and the JumpShip Sentinel. (Transcript)

Wroclaw[edit]

Training Day - Vallen Brice defends Cadet Korin Geiss of the Anodyne Cross Militia (ACM) from the bandit tanks and Elementals who are attacking him. Geiss proves unable to fight, and Faulker dismisses him as a liability. Vallen destroys the bandits' bunker, then secures a landing zone for the Drake. Faulkner contacts ACM leader Dante Fierus for support forces. (Transcript)

ACM Support - Using Battle Armor, Vallen uses jump jets to infiltrate the bandit base and then neurohacks a bandit 'Mech. Vallen secures a service entrance by destroying the Kit Fox guarding it. (Transcript)

Terminal Barrier - Vallen hacks a terminal to open the gate leading to the HPG and neurohacks a Cougar. The ACM support forces are still a no-show as Vallen emerges onto the HPG facility grounds. (Transcript)

Great Divide - Vallen fights through a large number of bandit attackers using a neurohacked Uziel. (Transcript)

Last Chance - Faulker orders Vallen to convert the Wroclaw HPG into a weapon. He activates the HPG station's fusion reactor and aligns the dish, but finds the "weaponized" HPG's circuits are fried, and it cannot be used. With the bandits expelled from the HPG compound, Faulkner orders the JumpShip Sentinel to prepare to carry them back to Arluna. (Transcript)

Knife in the Back - ACM forces under Dante Fierus approach up the far side of the mountain crater in which the HPG is located. Instead of supporting the Lyrans, the ACM attacks Vallen. There is no answer to Faulkner's hails. Vallen destroys the ACM forces in the field and then rendezvous with the Drake at its new, safer, landing zone. (Transcript)

Come Out Fighting - As Vallen arrives at the LZ, the Drake is under attack by the ACM. Once the threat is dealt with, Styles detects an unusually large energy reading in the most remote region of Wroclaw. (Transcript)

Up in Flames - Vallen takes out three security buildings to clear a path to Dante's position, and destroys the ACM's communications. (Transcript)

Juggernaut - The strong energy readings are revealed to come from a giant, tunneling, scorpion-shaped drone 'Mech. Vallen destroys the scorpion-'Mech, but Faulkner receives word from the Sentinel that Commander Dante Fierus has fled to the world of Tsinan - another uninhabited planet with a downed HPG. (Transcript)

Tsinan[edit]

Eating Static - Communications jamming transponders initially make communications difficult on Tsinan, but Vallen and Styles hack or destroy the transponders and clear the communications channels. (Transcript)

Rolling Thunder - Using a tank equipped with a gravity cannon, Vallen punches through ACM lines and hijacks an unmanned Assault 'Mech. (Transcript)

Blackout - Faulker reports the ACM is using two independent generators to power their base. She orders Vallen to infiltrate the facility in Battle Armor and destroy the generators. (Transcript)

Unsinkable - Vallen destroys supply ships in the process of clearing an LZ so the Drake can land. (Transcript)

Burning Bridges - Vallen uses a POV turret to take out access bridges to the landing site of the Drake, then boards a 'Mech to defend the DropShip from a counterattack. (Transcript)

Secure the Lines - Styles guards the Drake while Vallen neurohacks a Timber Wolf and returns to help defend the DropShip. Faulkner orders Vallen to proceed to Tsinan's HPG. (Transcript)

Divergent Entry - Faulkner reports Dante's ACM technicians are using the technique they learned from the Lyrans on Wroclaw to weaponize the Tsinan HPG. Vallen fights his way through ACM lines to the HPG compound perimeter. (Transcript)

Vallen's Gamble - Vallen evades ACM patrols and destroys a watchtower to reach the HPG. Vallen finds the HPG undisturbed, and again attempts to use his technique to turn it into a weapon, intending to turn it against the militia. Vallen aims the dish at the base's main generator, theorizing that firing the HPG off like a giant EMP will cause the generator to explode. (Transcript)

The Gauntlet - Vallen describes the result of the weaponization as a focused, immense electromagnetic pulse. Faulkner assesses the results as visually spectacular, but generally useless as a weapon. They fight their way back to the Drake, where they receive word from the Sentinel that Dante Fierus' JumpShip has jumped for Niangol. Faulkner orders the Sentinel to jump to Qarahta, anticipating that Fierus may have stockpiled weapons on Qarahta, where Clan Hell's Horses warriors are rumored to be stationed. (Transcript)

Qarahta[edit]

Munitions Sweep - The Lyrans find the expected ACM munitions on Qarahta. They destroy the warehouses before encountering a Hell's Horses patrol. (Transcript)

Enemy Revealed - Vallen neurohacks a Hell's Horses Ymir and uses it to enter their base undetected and activate the base's self-destruct sequence. He defeats a Horses' Ragnarok on the way out of the base. (Transcript)

Bombshell - Vallen uses a POV turret to smash a supply convoy bringing weapons to a newly arrived DropShip for transport to Niangol. Once the convoy escorts are destroyed, Vallen attacks the DropShip. When a last Ymir attacks, Vallen neurohacks the 'Mech and rigs it as a time bomb. The Sentinel pursues the ACM JumpShip back to Niangol. (Transcript)

Niangol[edit]

End Transmission - Vallen clears out transponder towers to clear the communications channels. Dante Fierus unleashes an orbital cannon on Vallen's 'Mech. A tracking beacon on his 'Mech makes it impossible for Vallen to evade the beam, so he abandons his 'Mech and enters the base on foot. With no way to target Vallen, Dante orders the battlesat to target the Drake, killing Faulkner and Styles. (Transcript)

Subjugation - Vallen hijacks an enemy tank and joins a tank column heading into the ACM base. (Transcript)

Sovereign Prince - Vallen infiltrates the ACM base and confronts Dante, who boasts that his orbital cannon is far more powerful than a mere HPG. Vallen attacks Dante Fierus and finds that Dante's Battle Armor appears to be healing itself, so Vallen uses the tracking device to lead the orbital beam directly towards Fierus, vaporizing him. (Transcript)

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

Combat Vehicles[edit]

Featured Planets[edit]

Resources[edit]