The new mechs provide about as much variety as you’d expect-though the Hatchetman is a bit of a disappointment. You’ll notice it a lot when it comes time to rebuild after a mission. They’ll get two or three volleys off against you when previously they sometimes might struggle to get one before suffering critical damage, and that is a lot of damage that’s suddenly back in play. You might still win, but you’ll have far fewer of those engagements where you just get in someone’s face and rip the heart out of their mech in a single turn of sustained fire. This change works for and against you but, since you’ll be outnumbered in most missions, in general it means you end up taking much more of a pounding as you batter opposing mech lances into submission. Where BattleTech at launch was more about making mechs harder to hit via Evasion, now it’s more about making mechs harder to damage even when you do hit them. Most tankier mech pilots will still have the Bulwark ability, but now it’s a passive ability that makes sticking to cover way, way more effective than it ever was before. And it turns out that is a much, much harder game.įirst, BattleTech itself has become even more of a game of grinding attrition via a few major mechanical changes, which have inspired some mixed reactions. While there are still random events onboard your ship and the occasional “flashpoint” short story sequence (more on those later), you’ll be playing a version of BattleTech that doesn’t give you the cushion of narrative missions and their hefty rewards. You’re able to play Flashpoint with either your endgame mercenaries from the original campaign, or as a new company in the “Career” mode, which challenges you to be the most successful merc you can be in 1200 in-game days of action (complete with a high score at the end). It’s also a $20 cherry, which has understandably rubbed some players the wrong way, though I think I can make the case that it punches above its weight class despite being underwhelming at first-glance. Flashpoint is more of a cherry on top of a game that grew and improved in the months after it debuted than a major improvement and expansion in its own right. The other half is thanks to a lot of smart design revisions and seemingly improved map rotation that Harebrained Schemes made since the original launch of the game. What’s funny is that Flashpoint itself only gets about half the credit for that. More importantly, it’s become a great game that has enriched a mech tactics game that I already loved. It’s a lot of extra fun crammed into a surprisingly affordable package, adding a lot more horsepower and mileage to the BattleTech experience.With Flashpoint, mercenary management has literally become a game unto itself. It’s a nice, faster change of pace from the usual big, lumbering ‘Mech battles that made up the bulk of the main game. There’s also another new mission type, Target Acquisition, which shine the spotlight on the smaller ‘Mech units, challenging players to rush key positions and triangulate a firing position at an enemy installation. And the Crab is a speedy ‘Mech able to position itself to chip away at a larger ‘Mech’s weakpoints. The Cyclops brings with it a boost for your entire squad (or “lance”, in game terms), allowing your whole team to take actions faster in the turn cycle. The Hatchetman, as the name might suggest, is well-suited for close combat situations with its massive axe-like arm. The new units (the Crab, Cyclops, and Hatchetman ‘Mechs) each bring something new and unique to the battlefield. This alone is a healthy addition that’s great for fans looking to enjoy more time as a MechWarrior in the space frontier.Īs much as the Flashpoints in BattleTech: Flashpoint add to the base game, the content doesn’t end there. These mini-campaigns adds lots of action to the basic experience while also boosting players’ options in Career Mode. Flashpoints are like smaller story campaigns that chain missions together based on player decisions, usually awarding some specific benefit at the cost of another. While it does add three new ‘Mechs to the mix and a brand-new tropical world ripe for battle, the expansion tosses in a solid 30+ extra hours of gameplay while giving fans of the story something that was lacking before: choice. BattleTech: Flashpoint does a lot more than just add a couple of extra units and missions and call it a day. This expansion to the popular strategy game adds more content, more gameplay, and more action to keep mech pilots blasting robots for hours.
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