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It appears that the Battletech universe is never at rest. In some form or another conflict constantly rages across the Inner Sphere, which is itself the fragmented remains of an old Terran empire known as the Star League. Strife and disorder rule the day as the various Successor States of the Star League vie for supremacy and one of the flashpoints in their struggle is the planet Carver V. This is probably due to the fact that some of the Successor States have a significant military presence on the planet, and all it takes is one spark to set off this proverbial powderkeg.

Mech Commander 2 puts you in command of a mercenary unit that was initially hired by House Steiner to help solve their bandit problems on Carver V. Unfortunately things get a bit out of hand and you’ll be knee deep in the conflict, fighting for the various sides on the planet. Basically put, this game is perfect for you if your allegiance lies only with money because you will find that conflict on Carver V is indeed profitable, if not also dangerous.

Operating a mercenary unit can be a very daunting affair, but MC2 makes it easy through intuitive interfaces and menu options. Most commands are self explanatory, and if you are familiar with the original Mech Commander you will be right at home with the interface. About the only things that are new that everybody needs to learn are the 3D camera controls and the new in-game support commands available at your disposal. These include the much-welcomed ability to salvage enemy mechs in-game, as well as the handy ability to call upon the assistance of a mobile repair truck. Thus, it is essential that you properly manage your resource points in the game. Do you spend some for repairing a few damaged mechs? Or do you put down some points towards salvaging a mech on the battlefield? Maybe calling in an air strike or some fixed artillery would be a prudent course of action? Spending too many points on other things could prevent you from salvaging that nice looking Atlas that managed to get destroyed near the end of the scenario. Note however, that despite the fact that you get first dibs to all the salvageable mechs on the battlefield after the end of the scenario, acquiring mechs this way can cost a lot. Usually it’s better to salvage the mech that you want in-game on the battlefield since it costs much, much less to call in a salvage crew than buy it new or used and also since repairs appear to cost absolutely nothing in the game. Although it isn’t possible to choose your actual contracts (since there is a story line to the game) there are certain points in the game where you may choose to complete a certain mission first before other ones. Sometimes this may be beneficial as you can end up getting vital equipment or resource points that can be used to make another otherwise difficult mission a cakewalk.

The ability to customize a force that is appropriate for the strategic situation at hand is vital for victory and thankfully MC2 allows you to do this as painless and as quickly as possible. The mechlab for MC2 is different from previous Battletech games in that customization utilizes a drag and drop interface in an attempt to make mech customization more accessible and less arcane to newbies. Instead of dragging items into critical slots or weapon-type slots (as in Mechwarrior 4) you are given free reign as to what weapon to drop onto your mech provided that you have enough room on the “grid” (actually called a payload model) while keeping in mind the total heat output of the mech. Note that this means there isn’t a way to specify what weapons go onto which limb or torso of the mech. Veteran Battletech players may feel a little let down by this method of customization but since the focus of the game is on the tactical and strategic elements of mech warfare rather than actual individual mechs it shouldn’t really be too much of a big deal.

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