Preview: MechWarrior Online (PC)

An opening paragraph of any Mech-whatever game invariably ends with a question mark and starts with a brief history of the franchise or series. Rather than do a disservice trying to recap MechWarrior -- its origins, the military machinations, the BattleTech universe -- which would only irritate fans and completely confuse newcomers, it's much better to sum things up with, "You pilot a giant mech and blow things up."

That's the general start point for MechWarrior Online, a persistent real-time action/shooter game, where one day in the game is equal to one day in the real world. Piloting BattleMechs aside, this actually peaks my interest the most if only for the fact it will be easier to translate in-game time. And they're also looking to feature "up-to-the minute detailed player statistics" to run alongside that.

"Meet me in Caustic Valley on February 4."

If they have the resources, developer Piranha might want to look into development of an app that tracks these appointments alongside major "universe" events to ensure people are continually updated on what's happening.

MechWarrior Online is using CryEngine 3.0

No doubt that some of the attraction of MechWarrior Online is the plethora of customization options. It looks like everything from paint to weapons to mech upgrades can be tweaked and adjusted and with an extra layer provided by experience points, unlocks, and C-Bills (i.e. currency), it will be interesting to see how deep Piranha goes. Too complex and newcomers might balk; not complex enough and the fans will respond with derision.

The game is currently in closed beta and so far the chatter has been positive, which is a very good thing for Piranha. With a launch date of "2012" MechWarrior Online looks to go toe-to-toe with free-to-play Hawken, which features mechs of its own. MechWarrior certianly has more cachet with gamers but having two mech-esque games launch in close proximity to one another may split the user base for both games.

- Aaron Simmer