Now that MW5 is on Steam, I went and bought a copy, as did a few friends, and the mercenary squad “OSHA Violators” in yellow-and-black caution tape livery have been tearing it up and down the Inner Sphere for a little while.
(Seriously Discord, how is this thread like “Spider man: The Animated Series?” Come on.)
Anyway, the coop implementation has been surprisingly good and I’ve had a great time playing with friends. I’m told the allied AI isn’t very good but I haven’t seen that.
Is anybody else here getting any giant robot on?
I’m tempted. I’ve been a fan of the MechWarrior series going back to the second game. I’ll probably wait until a sale or something because I’ve got so many games already and not enough time to play them. But this is on my list for sure. This gameplay is so my thing.
It turns out my Xbox Game Pass gives me access to this game so I’ll be playing it after all.
I’ve spent a shameful amount of time at it this weekend in the be-a-generic-mercenary mode, playing with some pals and letting them do goofy things on their machines. A game that’s kept people hooked for this long is a rare thing.
I don’t know if the Steam version works with the Xbox version but as time and interest permit, I’d be up for giving it a whirl.
I just bought this game off of Steam last night and played through one mission. And, wow. It’s been nearly 30 years since I’ve played the original Mechwarrior and a little over 25 since I played Mechwarrior 2. Back in the day I had a fancy joystick rig that included a little wheel so I could turn my torso while I steer. It’s a little odd that over the last 20 years joy sticks have gotten worse when everything else has gotten better. Anyway, I think it’s going to take me a while before I get used to the controls.
I’m a fan of fancy joysticks, don’t get me wrong, and I understand it’s “lore correct” to use a joystick, pedals and hand-throttle drive a mech. In some regards, the joysticks are better than they ever were, but you want to be looking for a “HOTAS” joystick: Hands On Throttle And Stick. They’re mostly used for flight sims, but some will have all the buttons and widgets and gewgaws you need to control all the myriad mech functions if you really want to get hands-on about it.
On the other hand, they can be a bit spendy, and there’s one name-brand company that sells overpriced rubbish, so your mileage is really going to vary.
Trying to wrestle this back on topic, MW5’s default control scheme really is the way to go if you’re not that interested in being true to the lore. The mouse controls your torso and weapons fire, affording you precision* aiming, the keyboard controls throttle and steering and all the rest of your mech functions.
* “Precision” aiming will vary depending on how bouncy your mech is when it’s moving, and how fast you’re running.
I have only played the tutorial (I just don’t have a lot of time for any more yet) but it felt very comfortable and enjoyable. It is just cool. I’m playing it on my Xbox One with that controller and I feel like it really works. The gameplay is exciting and fun without being overwhelming and I like the overall graphics and all the little details.
