MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries

Overveiw

Developed and published by Activision, MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries was released in September of 1996 as a stand-alone sequel to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat; it would be the last MechWarrior title created by Activision before the company lost the rights to the BattleTech franchise. As with previous games in the MechWarrior 2 line, gameplay focuses on the actions of large BattleMechs (or 'Mechs) in various combat situations, with an emphasis on simulation-style controls over straightforward action. Unlike the previous games, Mercenaries includes an detailed economy in which players can salvage parts from the battlefield and purchase new 'Mechs with the credits earned from their missions. While it uses the MechWarrior 2 graphics engine, Mercenaries features a number of tweaks such as more detailed textures and lighting. 
 
While MechWarrior 2 and its expansion Ghost Bear's Legacy focused on Clan activites, Mercenaries' story unfolds from the perspective of an Inner Sphere mercenary. Due to this change, many new Inner Sphere 'Mechs are introduced in Mercenaries, with the total number of usable vehicles being more than twice that of the previous games.

Plot

Happening before the Refusal War conflict depicted in MechWarrior 2, the plot of Mercenaries focuses on an independent mercenary unit taking contracts from various factions within the Inners Sphere. The War of 3039 has recently ended, and it is a period of relative calm, with both major powers, the Draconis Combine and the Federated Commonwealth, recuperating and rebuilding in order to prepare for their next war. The player can take various jobs from either faction, as well as from others such as Comstar and the Free Rasalhague Republic, in addition to participating in closed arena competitions. 

The player's mercenary activities are abruptly interrupted by the Clan invasion, and during the latter part of the game their mercenary unit is swept up in the ensuing war. The final event depicted in the campaign is the Battle of Tukayyid, the decisive confrontation between the Clans and the Inner Sphere that precipitated the Refusal War of MechWarrior 2.

Gameplay

The gameplay of MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries remains largely unchanged over previous iterations in the series. Players are still required to display adept handling of various BattleMechs while simultaneously keeping tabs on its various systems, such as heat dissipation, targeting, and radar display. While the missions themselves are unchanged, Mercenaries allows a larger degree of freedom outside of battle by giving players more control of the specifics leading up to each engagement. From their office players are allowed to purchase and sell 'Mechs, hire new pilots, and decide which missions to take. Furthermore, players must be aware of the game's economy even during missions, as performance determines what is salvaged; anything from individual parts to full 'Mech chassis can be taken from the battlefield. 

The single-player component of Mercenaries is split into three modes: Mercenary Commander, Mercenary, and Instant Action. Mercenary Commander is the main campaign mode, with all of Mercenaries' economic elements enabled, while Mercenary is a simplified version of the campaign which plays more similar to previous games in the series. Finally, Instant Action is a slightly expanded version of the Trials of Grievance and Combat Simulation modes of the past two games. Players can choose 'Mechs (both theirs and their opponents') and mission objectives before engaging in a randomly generated combat scenario.

'Mechs

Mercenaries introduces roughly 40 new 'Mechs for players to pilot, the majority of which are of Inner Sphere design. In addition, many of the Clan 'Mechs featured in the previous MechWarrior 2 games return, though the campaign focuses mostly on the new Inner Sphere additions. Finally, two types of 1-ton battle armor are selectable during Instant Action.

'Mech	Classification	Weight	Top Speed	Jump Jets	Default Weapons
	Light 'Mech	20 tons	86.4 kph	Three	1 Medium Laser 1 LRM-5
	Light 'Mech	25 tons	97.2 kph	None	1 Medium Laser 1 SRM-4 1 SRM6
	Light 'Mech	25 tons	130 kph	Three	1 Small Laser 3 Medium Lasers
	Light 'Mech	30 tons	86.4 kph	Five	3 Medium Pulse Lasers 1 Streak SRM-2
	Light 'Mech	30 tons	97.2 kph	Six	2 SRM-6s
	Light 'Mech	30 tons	32.4 kph	Two	1 Small Laser 1 Autocannon 10
	Light 'Mech	35 tons	118.8 kph	Five	4 Medium Lasers 1 SRM-4
	Light 'Mech	35 tons	64.8 kph	Four	1 PPC 1 SRM-4
	Light 'Mech	35 tons	92.7 kph	None	3 Medium Lasers 1 SRM-6
	Medium 'Mech	40 tons	118.8 kph	Seven	1 Medium Laser 1 SRM-2 1 LRM-5
	Medium 'Mech	40 tons	129.6 kph	None	1 Small Laser 2 Medium Lasers
	Medium 'Mech	40 tons	97.2 kph	Six	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 5
	Medium 'Mech	40 tons	97.2 kph	None	1 Small Laser 1 Autocannon 5 1 SRM-2
	Medium 'Mech	40 tons	64.8 kph	Four	3 Medium Lasers 2 LRM-10s
	Medium 'Mech	45 tons	64.8 kph	Four	1 Small Laser 1 Medium Lasr 1 PPC 1 LRM-5
	Medium 'Mech	45 tons	97.2 kph	Three	1 Medium Laser 1 LRM-5
	Medium 'Mech	50 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 10 1 LRM-10
	Medium 'Mech	50 tons	86.4 kph	None	1 Small Laser 1 Medium Laser 2 Large Lasers
	Medium 'Mech	50 tons	64.8 kph	None	1 Small Laser 2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 20
	Medium 'Mech	50 tons	86.4 kph	None	3 Medium Lasers 2 LRM-15s
	Medium 'Mech	55 tons	86.4 kph	None	1 Medium Pulse Laser 1 ER Large Laser 1 SRM-6 1 LRM-20
	Heavy 'Mech	60 tons	86.4 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 5 1 LRM-10
	Heavy 'Mech	60 tons	86.4 kph	Five	4 Medium Lasers 1 SRM-4 1 LRM-10
	Heavy 'Mech	65 tons	86.4 kph	None	1 Machine Gun 1 SRM-4 2 LRM-20s
	Heavy 'Mech	65 tons	64.8 kph	Four	4 Medium Lasers 2 LRM-15s
	Heavy 'Mech	65 tons	86 kph	None	1 ER Medium Laser 1 LB 5-X Autocannon 1 Gauss Rifle 1 SRM-2 1 LRM-10
	Heavy 'Mech	65 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 2 Large Lasers 2 LRM-15s
	Heavy 'Mech	75 tons	86.4 kph	None	1 Flamer 5 Medium Lasers 2 Large Lasers
	Heavy 'Mech	75 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 10 1 SRM-4 1 LRM-15
	Heavy 'Mech	75 tons	86.4 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 2 ER Large Lasers 1 Medium Pulse Laser 2 LRM-10s
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	54 kph	None	1 Small Laser 3 PPCs
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 PPCs 2 SRM-6s
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 3 LRM-20s
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 PPCs 2 SRM-4s
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	64.8 kph	Four	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 20 1 SRM-4
	Assault 'Mech	80 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Large Laser 1 Autocannon 5 1 LRM-15
	Assault 'Mech	85 tons	54 kph	None	4 Medium Lasers 2 Large Lasers 2 SRM-6s 2 LRM-10s
	Assault 'Mech	90 tons	64.8 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 20 1 SRM-4 1 LRM-10
	Assault 'Mech	90 tons	54 kph	None	2 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 20 1 SRM-4 1 LRM-10
	Assault 'Mech	90 tons	54 kph	None	2 Large Lasers 4 Autocannon 2s 2 LRM-15s
	Assault 'Mech	100 tons	32.4 kph	None	4 Medium Pulse Lasers 4 LB 10-X Autocannons
	Assault 'Mech	100 tons	54 kph	None	4 Medium Lasers 1 Autocannon 20 1 SRM-6 1 LRM-20