Result : 7 - Update of the original Mech-sim
 | Graphics: 6 - Smooth but simplistic. |
| FMV : 6 - Good but unsophisticated. |
| Sound : 7 - Whirl, clunk, Blam! Blam! Blam!. |
| Music : 5 - I cant remember it, so what does that say?. |
| A.I. : 5 - Nasty mainly due to their accuracy. |
| Lifespan : 8 - Missions galore. |
| Gameplay : 7 - Better than driving a mini. |
| Adrenaline : 7 - You gotta multi-task to survive. |
I got Mechwarrior 2 for only £3 recently, this has to be an all time bargain. I played the PC version briefly, and the "conversion" seems to have been done very well. The box says that this is an updated "arcade version". I guess that means there will be less mech tweaking, a pity, but then again it often got a little annoying trying to balance your heat-sinks Vs your weight and space limitations.
Mechs, if you don't know, were invented in the 3rd millennium AD. They are huge human-like "tanks", big weapon platforms on a (normally) two-legged frame. With enough firepower to obliterate whole buildings, and armour that renders conventional infantry and tanks obsolete, these are the combat units of the future. There is a big storyline about different warring clans, and also the conflicts between these clans and the inner systems Earth-based civilisation. All instantly forgotten as you first jump into the cockpit of one of these beasties.
Sound and graphics are, as I said, very similar to the non-3D card PC version. Although this means it looks a little dated to the newer mech games that have been released using Voodoo3 cards, but such is life. Sound is good, lots of big bangs.
The only real annoyance is that the levels seem to open, this lets the enemy mechs happily shoot you up, and as speed doesn't really seem to help being hit, you always end up picking the most armoured mech you are allowed. Hopefully a better version will come out on the Playstation 2, as I think you really need some more computing power to do this great idea justice.
Go to the Password menu and enter the following:
#AXO/A4YYA Cruise Throttle (allows you
to set your mech's speed)
TOX0/AX>TU Extra Ammunition
T/XO/AZ<#* Elemental
Mech (a very small mech)
#/XO/A4<LY Tarantula
Mech (Spider style mech)
T#XO/AX<<< Extra
weapon Variants (more weapon combinations)
##XO/A><UZ Invincibility
#YXO/A>YOL Jump Jets
T#XO/AX>TU Mech Variances
#XXO/A4>Y+ Extra Heat Sinks
T<XO/AXA<= Unlock all missions (be
careful with this one)
