Used together in the same sentence, terms like "free-to-play" and "browser-based" generate images of the kinds of fluffy, gameplay-light play experiences that often result in rolled eyes and shoulder shrugs. Curiously, MechWarrior Tactics -- coming later this year to browsers on Mac and other platforms via the Unity engine -- hits both of those points and yet still remained on the lips of many writers covering the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week.
What's different here? Aside from the storied source material, which began in the world of tabletop games in 1984 before spawning a series of giant mech games on multiple platforms, MechWarrior Tactics boasts production values like those generally seen in for-pay titles. Playable on nearly any computer via browser, the game features sharply rendered and customizable mechs, with battles unfolding on colorful hex-based battlefields. Each player prepares a "lance" of mechs (four of them) and leaps into combat, but what they'll find there is something very different from past entries.
Rather than directly control mechs or view the gameplay from the perspective of a lone pilot, MechWarrior Tactics thrusts you into asynchronous turn-based strategic combat, not dissimilar in structure to Hero Academy or Words With Friends. Each player in the head-to-head skirmish can take his/her turn whenever convenient within the agreed-upon rules -- for example, you can set a five-minute turn limit, or even a full day for executing turns -- and you can manage games with multiple players at once, giving you a better chance of staying busy while opponents take turns.
Due to the turn-based approach, players alternate actions with each of the four mechs in tow, picking spots on the map to move to and actions or attacks to perform. But nothing actually happens until every mech has a plan, at which point the game ditches the overhead perspective and adopts a cinematic camera, quickly and effectively demonstrating the results as mechs zip around and blast each other with long-range lasers and up-close attacks. When complete, it's back to the hex to battle with whatever mechs remain in your command.
According to the developers at Roadhouse Interactive and A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games, MechWarrior Tactics takes the form the kind of free-to-play title that lets players spend money for convenience, not to overcome artificial barriers or necessarily dominate in battle. Essentially, you'll start the game with enough mechs and parts to jump into battle, with credits earned in both victory and defeat and used to purchase STACs -- digital booster packs containing cards that unlock new mechs, pilots, armor, weapons, and more. Want more bits and pieces to customize your lineup right away? You can naturally pump cash into the game to snag more and more of the packs, if desired.
Whether that ability leads to a misbalance between the haves and have-nots remains to be seen, but from what we saw of the game at GDC, learning and knowing how best to control the mechs in combat seems at least as important as having the best-armored or most-powerful warriors. The asynchronous approach is tremendously appealing and could lend itself well to potential iOS apps down the line -- something the developer said they're not yet considering, as the browser-based version is leading the way for now. Still, even if it never leaves your browser of choice, this attractive free-to-play offering looks like a smart and entertaining use of the source material, and certainly something to keep an eye on when it launches later this year.
