It's Battletech, so if you played Mercenaries and enjoyed that you should enjoy the core of this game and the mech combat - with some significant caveats. It's campaign based so you lack the agency of Mercs and the sense of exploration and discovery. More significantly, the main capaign is at times tedious. When the tedium of "it's another gauntlet and ambush" map isn't happening it's poorly scripted mission objectives and BS fights against various enemies that are not mechs. Once or twice is fine but as a recurring "feature" I just found it frustrating. Playstyle is inhibited, though not completely nerfed, by the need for survivabilty and being prepared for yet another wave of mechs. Long missions with lack of waypoints meant that, as a busy father, I often had to leave the machine running overnight with the game on tactical pause and hope I had time tomorrow to finish the mission off - and not have it crash at exit screen so I had to do it again. Finishing the campaign on expert difficulty did feel like an achievement though - mostly for perserverance. In contrast the Flash Storm DLC was actually enjoyable in most places and rather seemed like an apology for the main campaign. More ammo crates and repair bays with shorter missions (generally) made the story something you could then enjoy rather than just wanting to skip past and HTFU. Probably a different experience for those who really love their story and cut-scenes but, for me, Flash Storm was refreshingly more direct and more what I would expect of warriors rather than whiney kids in the main campaign. So, overall, an enjoyable experience but not enough to make me want to drop more coin on the other DLC or play again. Once was enough, ending on a very positive note with Flash Storm.

Greetings Again! I’ve been a Battletech fan for many of years and I knew I’d enjoy Clans as I did Mercenaries so in many ways this review is more of a formality. There does, however, seem to be a bit of a question if the game is actually worth the price tag. Let’s Discuss!

It is the Way: This game, in most ways, is more of an expansion from Mercenaries and less of a new game. Yes, the graphics have been improved and yes most of the effects have been improved. The story is very much improved from previous titles but the core gameplay loop is the same as it has been. One thing somewhat jarring is that the awesome sound effects of the physical projectiles is gone, the whistling sound was probably the single ‘wow’ experience from the previous title and I’m sad to see it gone. In place, we have improved laser visuals and sound effects.

Savage Contractions: Instead of a ragtag group of mercs you have an organized military so gone are the days of taking days to swap out parts, it’s all instant; though it still cost money to buy the parts. It also uses an ‘omni-pod’ system allowing a mech to swap out limbs for other variation of the same model. The limbs feel mostly the same, usually having different weapon hardpoints; which does help to create more custom mechs. I still would have liked to see more customization though, too many parts were locked (hips and such make sense but why is a DHS locked?).

Freebirth Propaganda: The Allied AI is still pretty bad, sometimes obscenely bad but other times tolerable. Mech still die in amusing ways and sometimes just kill themselves in odd ways. The leveling mechanic seemed completely pointless, why they didn’t just give you currency after each level and unlock mechs as you progress I’m unsure. Money was absolutely and completely useless. I had multiples of most mechs (5 Dire Wolves) but still had over 50M by the end of the game. Components however are another story, though I did have mostly everything I wanted researched by the end of the game they are a limited resources, you can’t even buy them. As far as game breaking bugs or crashes, I had no issues there.

Overall, it’s another Mechwarrior title, I enjoyed it but I can see how some are saying it isn’t worth the cost. The story was enjoyable and I walked away with a new interest in the clans. But, the game is worth the purchase but lately, I’ve always waited for sales (too many games to play) so I’d suggest doing the same. Enjoy!

I mean it's alright. Maybe it was a me issue but I never really felt like I cared much about my Starmates or those from my sibko despite hearing the characters tell each other how much they care for one another or how I should care about them. Some parts of the game feel a bit drawn out and I would've like some more varied environments and missions. The progression honestly is meh, and maybe that's because you're using clantech vs is tech but I never once felt restricted in money or in what mechs I could bring to bear. This is def a personal failing because I don't like the clan assault mechs that are available in the game but I only felt the game was difficult in the final 4th.

Regardless of this little complaints this game is def worth it, whether you are a longtime fan of battletech or not. If you're interested for sure get it on sale with the DLC, they're all p good (those come without elemental wives/husbands sadly)