I don't play a lot of video games these days, because music takes up most of my time. However, I've been a huge fan of BattleTech in its many forms since shortly after the release of the first tabletop game by that name when I was a nerdy teenager. When I heard that a new game was coming, and that Jordan Weisman was actually even involved, well, I knew it would be one of the exceptions. I even got in on the kickstarter back when it was announced, which was a first (and probably only, at least for games). Glad I did though, it ended up being cheaper than waiting. :)
I've only played through the first campaign mission so far, but I've gotta say, I'm impressed. If it keeps up like this, it could be the best video game in the franchise, imo. I've enjoyed pretty much all of the MechWarrior games (some more than others, of course), but the fact that they're sim-style shooters automatically means they aren't the same as the TT game. While I've never had a problem with that, I have always wished for something more like the "real thing". The MechCommander games came somewhat close, but lacked the detail, which is a big part of the draw of the TT game for me. There is MegaMek, which is indeed a very faithful interpretation, but lacks the whiz-bang appeal of fancy graphics and all that stuff. I kinda hate to say it so early on, but I think they pretty much nailed it here. Like I said, I'm only through the first mission so far, but I think there was enough in there to get a pretty good feel. You get to fight both 'mech and non-'mech (!) enemies, so I think that's a good taste of things to come. So far, that taste is very good. The way the turns play through seems really well-done, and I particulary like the firing-cam setup that happens during the appropriate phase. It just feels good. I included a screenshot.
I've only done a quick poke around in the 'Mech Bay through the Skirmish mode (yay! skirmish mode!), just to see what it's like. This is my one big complaint so far: it looks like they borrowed that stupid 'hardpoint' system from MechWarrior Online. Okay, it could be worse, like MechCommander, but I'm still kinda bummed. This doesn't ruin the game by any means, but full customization like the TT game would be preferable. I suppose they have their reasons.
Obviously it's a little early for me to say much about the story, so far it seems good enough for a BattleTech game. It has me curious about what will happen next, and even caring a bit about the characters, which is pretty good for any game really. I did really like the intro sequence, though it's more of an introduction to the overall universe than directly related to the game's plot, but still really cool I thought. The cutscenes are apparently all faux-animation style, kinda comic-book-type art as opposed to the CG animations and attempts at live-action stuff from previous games, which I think is cool. I did actually like a lot of those older ones for what they were, but I think this opens up some possibilities that might be beyond the reach of even modern 3D animation, especially for the budget of a smaller company like this.
The music and sound, which of course I have to comment on, is also quite good.
Well, I think I've gone on long enough about this. Don't worry, I won't get too distracted from music, I promise. Here's some screenshots:
Links:
http://battletechgame.com/
https://www.gog.com/game/battletech