Mech Games (PC)

[Kathinka]

the only think i didn't see mentioned yet is g-nome. it's pretty ancient but it had some cool ideas (like leaving your mech and fighting on foot to hijack enemy mechs, IFF code management for friend-foe-ident and the subsequent mutual attempts to abuse them) and a rather fun campain.

of course by today's standards it's atrociously fugly.

 

[Exhuminator]

hello people, i've been searching around and noticed a lack of many newer pc mech games outside the ones that are rather "big" right now such As Hawken and Mech warrior online. Anyways, i'm looking for some mech combat based games to play. The newer and more customizable the better. Multiplayer is also a big bonus.

Mech simulators for PC died after Mechwarrior 4 circa '02. The newer stuff like Hawken or Titanfall are basically mech flavored FPS more than actual simulators. I can't recommend anything new in that vein because there really isn't anything new, at least not for PC. What I can do is tell you some good ones from the mid-90's that are lesser known, back when this was still a popular genre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova:_Strike_Force_Centauri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattered_Steel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-Nome
->This was Titanfall before Titanfall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabots

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krazy_Ivan

 

[Xan Krieger]

As far as im aware, mech games are kinda scarce post-2005. You have MechWarrior 4 and MechCommander 2, but those graphics are going to look dated.

Other than that, I think Xbox (original) had two decent mech games. Mech assault I believe, but even those are dated (2002 and 2004)

Oh hell, I almost forgot. The Armored Core and Front mission series. Although the new Front mission is kinda....meh. Also, most of the front mission games were tactical rpgs rather than shooters (think Disgaea or final fantasy tactics)

Of course, there is Titanfall.

Front Mission 3 and 4 are both great games, best mech games out there in my opinion since it's giant mechs with turn based strategy. Very interesting story to both games, plenty of customization, different skills, what's not to love?

 

[Fat Hippo]

Somebody already mentioned Mechwarrior 4, and if you aren't too picky when it comes to graphics, I would recommend Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, especially because it has been released for FREE (!!!) so there's really no reason to not give it a shot. And I do believe it actually has multiplayer severs still up and running, so knock yourself out. Ehh, you may also want to look into configuring the controls, I don't know what the free release is version is like on default, but the original had the most absurd control scheme if you didn't fiddle with it in the options...or practiced using those strange controls like a boss.

Yeh the control scheme is messed up by default, you just need to sort it so that it reads the mouse as turning your torso and WASD as turning and moving your legs then its pretty much sorted. The sensitivity takes a bit of getting used to though, its very all or nothing, it almost feels as though you are having to fight against the weight of the damn Mech to get your cross hairs on target.

Yes, that's precisely what I did when I played it a few years ago. But I remember when I was a kid, like 10 years old, and I got the MW4: Mercenaries demo on a PCGamer disc, I just stuck with that strange control scheme for some reason and played the entire demo maybe a dozen times. By the end, I actually got pretty damn good at it, though I probably had a far higher tolerance for this kind of shit back then. I can't figure out how the hell you're supposed to control Descent without a joystick either these days, even though I vividly remember playing the crap out of Descent 3 with a keyboard. Now getting the hang of it just seems way harder than it did back then.

 

[Caliostro]

Yeah... If you're looking for new stuff that is a "true mech simulator", you're kinda shit out of luck...

You have Hawken, but as someone else put it, that's more of a mech-flavored FPS. Not that it's bad, but having lived through the "mech generation" with games like the original Mechwarrior games and Armored Core, it's not the same.

You have Mechwarrior online, but last I heard that was a bloody mess.

And you have Titanfall. While I love the game to death, it's also not exactly a "mech simulator", much like Hawken, and more of an FPS with lots of awesome things including mechs. Again, fantastic game, but not necessarily what you might be looking for.

I haven't tried it, but I heard good things about Strike Suit Zero. Haven't played it though. Also I think that's strictly singleplayer?

So yeah, the genre just kinda died, or is at least laying comatose, at least in the sense of Mechwarrior/Armored Core kinda mech game... Maybe with the success of Titanfall (and Hawken to a lesser extent?) other companies might see an opportunity to invest in more mech games. Maybe we'll see a return of the genre.

 

[gsilver]

Is anyone else following M.A.V.?

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=213963346

It looks like it could be interesting.

The full release is a ways off, but Early Access should be soon, if you're into that sort of thing.