Hello everyone,
This article is going to be about the F2P game MechWarrior Online (MWO). This will not be a review of it as such, as it is only in the Beta stages, but it will be a round up of my opinions of it after nearly a year of playing it.
First of all for people who don't know, MWO is a F2P multiplayer game set in the BattleTech universe. You pilot massive Battlemechs into Huge scale combat and hope you come out the other side.
I followed the developments of the game from the moment it was announced nearly two years ago (I think), with a lot of excitement, so the moment closed beta was announced, I had to get a founders pack (I put a gun to my own head) for the early access. I had not seen a MechWarrior game this graphically detailed and realistic since Mechwarrior 3. The disappointment of Mechwarrior 4 enhanced the excitement I had around the graphics. I had a lot of fun playing in the closed Beta. Sure there were only 4 'mechs available and only 3 maps at the time, but the gameplay was incredible, it felt like scenes from the Battletech books, rather than the other games. The community also was amazing, as the other people on there were all players of the older Mechwarrior games or followers of Battletech. Much has changed (and continues to change) on the game since it went to open beta. There are a lot more 'mechs available as well as new maps and one other game mode. The variability that has come about in the game has really made it that little bit more awesome.
More on the gameplay itself. At present the game revolves around 8v8 battles in two game modes. Either assault, which is kind of your basic Team Deathmatch type battle, but with each team having a base, which of course the other team can capture to win the game. This in my opinion can be problematic. This is as close to a deathmatch you can get, and you can end up losing a game you should win, because the last enemy player went straight for your base. This problem, will of course subside, once additional game modes are added to the game. The other gamemode is conquest, which is similar to your Domination matches in CoD. There are 5 'points' your team must capture and hold. I can't really comment too much on this mode, as I don't play it much. It's a good mode, don't get me wrong, but it's a little too predictable for me.
In terms of the combat itself, it is everything a Mechwarrior game should be. As I mentioned earlier, it plays like the scenes in Battletech books, rather than other Mechwarrior games. Graphically it is awesome, some of the best graphics I have seen and you are fully immersed in the game, which very few games can pull off. The effect is complete if you are using a headset (just sayin') and are communicating with other players. 1 on 1 'mech combat is unlike any other battle you will have in any other game, I promise. Each fight is (pleasantly) stressful and highly intense. It doesn't matter what type of 'mech you are using either, it is all down to the pilot's skill, which is why it is intense. You know if you can take down a 'mech double the weight of yours and if you believe you can you go in for the fight of your life! It is hard to describe the game without a visual element to be honest, simply because there is nothing to compare it to. One small issue I do have with the game is you have to choose your 'mech before you know what map you are playing on. This has become a problem with the introduction of huge maps as you may only have short range weapons and will be largely ineffective during the game, unless you want to die quickly.
Another tier of the game which makes it awesome, is your skill in terms of customisation. We're not talking CoD or BF customisation here, this is real customisation. Your loadout is totally dependant on the 'mech you have. You are forced to balance between energy, ballistic and missle weapons and through this you get to see some really cool and interesting loadouts (as well as some really annoying ones). But it goes beyond weapons, as you also have to consider heat issues, and balance your weapons with the heatsinks on your 'mech. I usually go overkill with heatsinks, not going to lie. You can also tweak the level of armour you have on your 'mech as well as the internal structure of your 'mech (including engines). Be aware though, that each 'mech as a limited number of 'slots' for components. Another customisation available, which is not as cool as it should be is paints and camo. The reason it is not as good is I feel it can be is because real money becomes involved here. There are other things you use real money for in the game, but this one is not justifiable as the others. There are so many different paints available in the game, but only about 5 are available to buy with in game money (which will cost as much as another 'mech) and the rest are purchasable with real money. I want to use the other paints, but I wont pay (quite a lot) of real money to do so. If each palate was a real money purchase and individual paints in game money, then sure, but no way in it's current format. It's a shame really, because you do not see people with really cool 'mech designs anymore.
Despite a couple of small issues though, the game is still in development, so who knows what we will see in the future. It's my favourite multiplayer game and has been for a long time and the developers themselves are brilliant and are happy to listen to as well as help players. Everyone should go play it!
Thanks for reading!
Pointman
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Empire Total War Review part 2- Napoleon and multiplayer
Hi Everybody,
This is the second part of the Empire Total war review and in this i'll briefly cover multiplayer and the Napoleon expansion.
Firstly the expansion. Napoleon total war is surprisingly different to Empire. Not really in terms of gameplay, but in terms of layout. It may not sound like very much, but for me it made quite a difference to the feel of the game. This is not a bad thing, in some ways it feels more ordered than Empire, however it's another part of the game that you need to get used to. The campaign is as much fun and as addictive on this as it is on Empire. However, at the start of the first campaign (after the tutorial) it kind of feels like you are being thrown in at the deep end. you start off only with your little corner of northern Italy and enemy armies are preparing to attack you from the start.
As for the multiplayer, it is very interesting to see how everyone else plays the game. Their is a difference with every player and this keeps it alive and fun to play, even if your tactics turn out to be pretty crap. I've been playing a lot of naval battles (as you may guess from part one) and i've found myself playing a hell of a lot of one on one battles. I didn't expect this, i thought there would be mainly large fights, but those battles last a long time, so i can see why. It was wierd only using one ship however, especially after going from battles on the single player, where i've been using maximum capacity fleets vs fleets not that much smaller. It definately makes for interesting gameplay.
So in conclusion the expansion and multiplayers are pretty cool. The multiplayer gets 9/10 for the sheer randomness and the fact it's a great way to improve tactics and the Napoleon expansion gets 8/10. It is awesome, but it's a pain that the layout is slightly different to the main games.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the game.
Pointman.
This is the second part of the Empire Total war review and in this i'll briefly cover multiplayer and the Napoleon expansion.
Firstly the expansion. Napoleon total war is surprisingly different to Empire. Not really in terms of gameplay, but in terms of layout. It may not sound like very much, but for me it made quite a difference to the feel of the game. This is not a bad thing, in some ways it feels more ordered than Empire, however it's another part of the game that you need to get used to. The campaign is as much fun and as addictive on this as it is on Empire. However, at the start of the first campaign (after the tutorial) it kind of feels like you are being thrown in at the deep end. you start off only with your little corner of northern Italy and enemy armies are preparing to attack you from the start.
As for the multiplayer, it is very interesting to see how everyone else plays the game. Their is a difference with every player and this keeps it alive and fun to play, even if your tactics turn out to be pretty crap. I've been playing a lot of naval battles (as you may guess from part one) and i've found myself playing a hell of a lot of one on one battles. I didn't expect this, i thought there would be mainly large fights, but those battles last a long time, so i can see why. It was wierd only using one ship however, especially after going from battles on the single player, where i've been using maximum capacity fleets vs fleets not that much smaller. It definately makes for interesting gameplay.
So in conclusion the expansion and multiplayers are pretty cool. The multiplayer gets 9/10 for the sheer randomness and the fact it's a great way to improve tactics and the Napoleon expansion gets 8/10. It is awesome, but it's a pain that the layout is slightly different to the main games.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the game.
Pointman.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Empire: Total War Review Part 1
Hi Everyone,
Today i am reviewing Empire Total War, possibly one of the best strategy games around at the moment (That's the Total War series as a whole). I have only played one campaign so far, Road to Independance, but it is really engrossing and hard to stop playing. I've also been having loads of fun playing random battles, primarily naval battles. The introduction of naval battles has been key in this game. Particularly if you don't like auto resolving battles, which was the only choice you had in previous Total War games. Naval battles are extremely varied in the way they play out. One tactic which is effective in one fight, probably wont be as effective in another. Land battles also work out differently from previous games, which is an obvious statement to make considering the difference in technology (rifles), but i found it quite surprising, just how different it is. It's more fun though, i think. They don't seem to last as long, which isn't a bad thing if you're more into the political side and moving armies around the map.
Naval battles aside, the gameplay is generally very different, which takes some getting used to if you used to play the other games. But it doesn't take all that long to get used to. One example is the tax system, which is different becuase you can't change individual towns and cities tax, you can only change tax in relation to the rich and the poor. You can however exempt individual regions from tax, you just have to remember to change it back after a turn or two.
This game is definitely one of my favourites at the moment, It's like a history lesson, but played out in your own way. I give it 9/10, for sheer awesomeness. I know i haven't covered expansions or multiplayer in this review, but don't worry as i will be reviewing them in exactly one week from now( and i actually will do it on time this time) in Part 2 of this review! I will also give them individual scores. The reason i'm doing it this way is, of course because of university, so time has been hard to find. But i leave for the holidays in a few days, so i'll have my life back for about a month!
So until then, peace out,
Pointman
Today i am reviewing Empire Total War, possibly one of the best strategy games around at the moment (That's the Total War series as a whole). I have only played one campaign so far, Road to Independance, but it is really engrossing and hard to stop playing. I've also been having loads of fun playing random battles, primarily naval battles. The introduction of naval battles has been key in this game. Particularly if you don't like auto resolving battles, which was the only choice you had in previous Total War games. Naval battles are extremely varied in the way they play out. One tactic which is effective in one fight, probably wont be as effective in another. Land battles also work out differently from previous games, which is an obvious statement to make considering the difference in technology (rifles), but i found it quite surprising, just how different it is. It's more fun though, i think. They don't seem to last as long, which isn't a bad thing if you're more into the political side and moving armies around the map.
Naval battles aside, the gameplay is generally very different, which takes some getting used to if you used to play the other games. But it doesn't take all that long to get used to. One example is the tax system, which is different becuase you can't change individual towns and cities tax, you can only change tax in relation to the rich and the poor. You can however exempt individual regions from tax, you just have to remember to change it back after a turn or two.
This game is definitely one of my favourites at the moment, It's like a history lesson, but played out in your own way. I give it 9/10, for sheer awesomeness. I know i haven't covered expansions or multiplayer in this review, but don't worry as i will be reviewing them in exactly one week from now( and i actually will do it on time this time) in Part 2 of this review! I will also give them individual scores. The reason i'm doing it this way is, of course because of university, so time has been hard to find. But i leave for the holidays in a few days, so i'll have my life back for about a month!
So until then, peace out,
Pointman
Monday, 14 November 2011
Update!
Hi everyone,
This is just a quick update of what is coming up in the following couple on months. Firstly after thinking about it for some time... There will be a review of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (Around the 20th of December hopefully). Then around the 30th of December there will be the Battlefield 3 review and towards the end of January there shall be a review of Star Trek Online, since it's going free to play, and i can afford that.
During this period i will also be reviving my Minecraft blog and try to do something with the world that i started for it. I may also do a review of PC components, as i'm going to be upgrading my computer around that time.
As for the rest of this month and start of the next? It may be a little dead. There might be another couple of reviews and updates about Mechwarrior Online and stuff, but until late December nothing exciting will be going on.
Pointman.
This is just a quick update of what is coming up in the following couple on months. Firstly after thinking about it for some time... There will be a review of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (Around the 20th of December hopefully). Then around the 30th of December there will be the Battlefield 3 review and towards the end of January there shall be a review of Star Trek Online, since it's going free to play, and i can afford that.
During this period i will also be reviving my Minecraft blog and try to do something with the world that i started for it. I may also do a review of PC components, as i'm going to be upgrading my computer around that time.
As for the rest of this month and start of the next? It may be a little dead. There might be another couple of reviews and updates about Mechwarrior Online and stuff, but until late December nothing exciting will be going on.
Pointman.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Sins of a Solar Empire Review.
Hello everybody!
This is a review of a not very well known, yet very awesome game! It's a strategy game based in the far future, when humankind has expanded into space and discovered alien races and all that general Sci-Fi jazz. The idea is that you pick a race to play as (Either TEC, Advent or Vasari) and you must try to become the most dominant "nation" in the game. You don't only do this be completely wiping out the other nations (however this is obviously important), but you can also do it through colonisation and diplomacy. You can in theory win the game without any players being destroyed, but this is unlikely.
The central gameplay style is based around; Military, Economy and Expansion. Key to victory is to be dominant in all these things. For example if you have half of all the planets on the map and the strongest military, it does not mean you'll win, because a strong economy is needed to make civilisations on the planet stable and productive (however having a superweapon helps in cases like these). When playing i often opt for the economic route. So i wont have that many planets until much later in the game, when my economy is strong enough to facilitate for expansion. This does of course mean starting wars with other people to take their planets.
There are many other things to take into account in the map, such as gas planets, magnetic fields, wormholes and so on. This also includes the maps themselves, they can range from small maps of one star and 20 planets to five stars with 150 planets (Those games last a long time). All of these features make the game really easy to immerse yourself in. It's so hard to stop playing the game! It's also a surprisingly relaxing game.
Another great thing is the add-ons for it. I mean the game was great as it was originally, but the add-ons really did take it up another level. Introducing new units like battlestations and new forms of diplomacy made this game even better and gives the player more aspects to think about when deciding who to declare war on.
It works very well as a multiplayer aswell. Diplomacy works in completely different ways when your playing against real players, or with real players versus AI. You can save multiplayer games and go back to them aswell, which is needed most times unless it's the smallest possible map.
Every person who says they are a gamer should own one strategy game, and that strategy game should be this one (now that's a recommendation). So i give this game 9/10. Here's hoping another will come out!
Thanks for reading,
Pointman.
This is a review of a not very well known, yet very awesome game! It's a strategy game based in the far future, when humankind has expanded into space and discovered alien races and all that general Sci-Fi jazz. The idea is that you pick a race to play as (Either TEC, Advent or Vasari) and you must try to become the most dominant "nation" in the game. You don't only do this be completely wiping out the other nations (however this is obviously important), but you can also do it through colonisation and diplomacy. You can in theory win the game without any players being destroyed, but this is unlikely.
The central gameplay style is based around; Military, Economy and Expansion. Key to victory is to be dominant in all these things. For example if you have half of all the planets on the map and the strongest military, it does not mean you'll win, because a strong economy is needed to make civilisations on the planet stable and productive (however having a superweapon helps in cases like these). When playing i often opt for the economic route. So i wont have that many planets until much later in the game, when my economy is strong enough to facilitate for expansion. This does of course mean starting wars with other people to take their planets.
There are many other things to take into account in the map, such as gas planets, magnetic fields, wormholes and so on. This also includes the maps themselves, they can range from small maps of one star and 20 planets to five stars with 150 planets (Those games last a long time). All of these features make the game really easy to immerse yourself in. It's so hard to stop playing the game! It's also a surprisingly relaxing game.
Another great thing is the add-ons for it. I mean the game was great as it was originally, but the add-ons really did take it up another level. Introducing new units like battlestations and new forms of diplomacy made this game even better and gives the player more aspects to think about when deciding who to declare war on.
It works very well as a multiplayer aswell. Diplomacy works in completely different ways when your playing against real players, or with real players versus AI. You can save multiplayer games and go back to them aswell, which is needed most times unless it's the smallest possible map.
Every person who says they are a gamer should own one strategy game, and that strategy game should be this one (now that's a recommendation). So i give this game 9/10. Here's hoping another will come out!
Thanks for reading,
Pointman.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
MechWarrior Online!
Hi everyone,
I just been reading up on the developments about the MechWarrior reboot. I'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty excited about it!! After 2 years of hearing nothing it's good to finally get some information. I have to say i'm a little disappointed about the shift in the story idea. I was looking forward to the original story line because it was something that had not been done in the series before. Also, i would prefer it to be a full game, with a single player campaign rather than just Online.
With the story time changed to 3049 and the character changed to a mercenary, i'm a little worried that this game maybe too similar to MechWarrior 2: mercenaries. Even though they haven't confirmed the clans, it's safe to assume that you'll have to take part in fighting off the clan invasion in some way, just as you did in Mech 2: Mercs.
All that said though, i'm looking forward to finally play a new Mechwarrior game. As a life long fan of the Battletech universe, i've been waiting too long for this. I will post about MechWarrior Online as i hear more news and have new thoughts and ideas about all things MechWarrior.
Thanks for reading MechWarriors,
Pointman
I just been reading up on the developments about the MechWarrior reboot. I'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty excited about it!! After 2 years of hearing nothing it's good to finally get some information. I have to say i'm a little disappointed about the shift in the story idea. I was looking forward to the original story line because it was something that had not been done in the series before. Also, i would prefer it to be a full game, with a single player campaign rather than just Online.
With the story time changed to 3049 and the character changed to a mercenary, i'm a little worried that this game maybe too similar to MechWarrior 2: mercenaries. Even though they haven't confirmed the clans, it's safe to assume that you'll have to take part in fighting off the clan invasion in some way, just as you did in Mech 2: Mercs.
All that said though, i'm looking forward to finally play a new Mechwarrior game. As a life long fan of the Battletech universe, i've been waiting too long for this. I will post about MechWarrior Online as i hear more news and have new thoughts and ideas about all things MechWarrior.
Thanks for reading MechWarriors,
Pointman
Monday, 24 October 2011
Homefront Review!
Hi Everyone,
I finally got to play Homefront this weekend and have been really taking it in. Could the story evetually become reality? I doubt it, but the game developers really went to a lot of effort to make the story as close to reality as possible, to the point of bringing someone from the CIA in to assist in the story writing. It is meant to be based on something that could potentially happen in the future, however is highly unlikely.
Has this helped the game have impact with the single player? Hell yes. The opening sequence is almost scary with the amount of thought put into how things developed in the world over 15ish years. This makes the story enjoyable (Is that the wrong word?) to follow. The game flows very smoothly from place to place, i.e. from Montrose- Utah very easily, with a nice change from fighting the Koreans, to fighting a bunch of nutcases- San Fransisco. I think it moves smoothly due to the fact that the story is so strong. It would of really annoyed me if there was a "2 years later" part.
The gameplay itself however, slightly lets the game down. This is mainly because of the friendly AI. During the course of the game the team i was with consistantly failed to keep me covered despite shouting "I'll keep you covered!!!!!" The AI frequently failed to kill multiple enemies in open areas, resulting in my death to fucking many times! Another thing that pissed me off (personally) was that Connor guy. He really irritated me, i was hoping he would get killed mid way through the game or something. At the end was just way to late... Other than those "minor" issues with the AI, the gameplay is very good. The areas you fight in are fun to play in (despite the game being a little too linear) and the textures are really good too. The gun details are also very good.
Lets move on to Ye olde multiplayer. The multiplayer is very good and a lot of fun to play. I thought it would be a knock off of CoD's and yes it has many similarities, but the differences are hugely different from CoD. For example the way it's played. You have to rely heavily on tactics if you want to do well. If you run around blindly in this game, you're fucked. I found myself taking corners carefully with the sights up. I really like the way you "drop in" when you respawn, you get an overview of the whole map includung enemy locations and can plan your tactics accordingly, allowing you to do the maximum amount of damage possible in 1 life. The inclusion of vehicles is a good feature, especially as you have to buy them into the game. The Battle Points system is awesome too. It differentiates this game from all the others because it is so unique, with a brilliant pay out system. The only flaw with the multiplayer that i can think of is the damage system. The weapons are a little too weak in my opinion.
The flaws of this game are made up for by the multiplayer i think. Definately a competitor along with the big game companies when it comes to multiplayer. Wait for the sequel, i reckon they will nail the multiplayer then.
I give the game 8/10. Definately worth having for all FPS players, especially since it's so cheap now (in the UK anyways!)
Thanks for reading, peace out.
Pointman.
I finally got to play Homefront this weekend and have been really taking it in. Could the story evetually become reality? I doubt it, but the game developers really went to a lot of effort to make the story as close to reality as possible, to the point of bringing someone from the CIA in to assist in the story writing. It is meant to be based on something that could potentially happen in the future, however is highly unlikely.
Has this helped the game have impact with the single player? Hell yes. The opening sequence is almost scary with the amount of thought put into how things developed in the world over 15ish years. This makes the story enjoyable (Is that the wrong word?) to follow. The game flows very smoothly from place to place, i.e. from Montrose- Utah very easily, with a nice change from fighting the Koreans, to fighting a bunch of nutcases- San Fransisco. I think it moves smoothly due to the fact that the story is so strong. It would of really annoyed me if there was a "2 years later" part.
The gameplay itself however, slightly lets the game down. This is mainly because of the friendly AI. During the course of the game the team i was with consistantly failed to keep me covered despite shouting "I'll keep you covered!!!!!" The AI frequently failed to kill multiple enemies in open areas, resulting in my death to fucking many times! Another thing that pissed me off (personally) was that Connor guy. He really irritated me, i was hoping he would get killed mid way through the game or something. At the end was just way to late... Other than those "minor" issues with the AI, the gameplay is very good. The areas you fight in are fun to play in (despite the game being a little too linear) and the textures are really good too. The gun details are also very good.
Lets move on to Ye olde multiplayer. The multiplayer is very good and a lot of fun to play. I thought it would be a knock off of CoD's and yes it has many similarities, but the differences are hugely different from CoD. For example the way it's played. You have to rely heavily on tactics if you want to do well. If you run around blindly in this game, you're fucked. I found myself taking corners carefully with the sights up. I really like the way you "drop in" when you respawn, you get an overview of the whole map includung enemy locations and can plan your tactics accordingly, allowing you to do the maximum amount of damage possible in 1 life. The inclusion of vehicles is a good feature, especially as you have to buy them into the game. The Battle Points system is awesome too. It differentiates this game from all the others because it is so unique, with a brilliant pay out system. The only flaw with the multiplayer that i can think of is the damage system. The weapons are a little too weak in my opinion.
The flaws of this game are made up for by the multiplayer i think. Definately a competitor along with the big game companies when it comes to multiplayer. Wait for the sequel, i reckon they will nail the multiplayer then.
I give the game 8/10. Definately worth having for all FPS players, especially since it's so cheap now (in the UK anyways!)
Thanks for reading, peace out.
Pointman.
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