Browser-based games have been awesome for a long time thanks to independent Flash developers, but there's still a general distaste for them amongst the gaming community due in part to the legion of generic, boring titles unleashed on Facebook users. If you still hear the word "browser" and immediately think about closing the story you're reading (please don't go!), MechWarrior Tactics could be the title that changes your mind. Using a Unity engine plugin, the team at Roadhouse Interactive has accomplished some strikingly pretty visuals. While Tactics won't be as complex as playing a classic round of tabletop MechWarrior, a surprisingly robust customization system and deep combat mechanics make this anything but a throwaway, casual version of the franchise.
While MechWarrior Tactic's turn-based nature makes it a bit more approachable than the intense in-cockpit combat of MechWarrior Online, Tactics doesn't shy away from layering on complex mechanics. To start, you have to decide which types of mechs to include in your four-member fighting group, or Lance, and then which armaments they take into battle. Things get a bit more intricate when you consider that every weapon you get, even if it's the same type of laser or missile, will have different stats associated with it based on the manufacturer. Adding to that, you assign your four mechs a pilot, each of whom has specific traits that affect how they play, and any would-be mech commander already has a host of things to consider before he ever drops into the field.
Not that you'll have a gigantic list of items and pilots to choose from the start. All items and pilots are acquired by either earning or purchasing randomly assorted packs of items called STACs. (Think of a booster pack for a collectible card game.) Using whatever items you get from your STAC, you then do your best to, as the team behind Tactics says, "create synergy" by mixing items, pilots and chassis that complement one another. For instance you might have a pilot who does additional damage to damaged targets, so you might equip him with a mech that can handle heavy weapons, and then put a super long-range laser or missile on him so he can really give it to a hurting enemy.
How you outfit this first mech and its pilot would then have a trickle-down effect to the rest of your Lance. You'd start equipping items and chassis that lend themselves to group tactics. That long range mech we just talked about? It could benefit from a tank-like, heavy chassis soaking up damage in the front, with a pilot that gives it greater survivability.
Once each mech is outfitted and you drop into battle, you and your opponent dive into the nitty gritty of each turn. Turns occur simultaneously, so during the movement and combat phase, each commander tells their mechs where to move and which enemies to target. You can keep it simple and just fire all weapons at a target, or you can get specific, splitting your fire between targets to take advantage of which weapon types will do the most damage to the types of chassis your facing. For instance you might fire your lasers at a mech that's close to you, while using long-range missiles to lash out at a mech that's in the distance. Since the battlefields you fight on aren't flat, you also have to consider terrain: how might enemies move into or between forests? Are we close to a water source I can use to dissipate heat?
Like pretty much every MechWarrior game ever, managing heat makes a world of difference in Tactics. However, unlike MechWarrior Online, where keeping your heat as low as possible always gives you an advantage, Tactics gives some benefits depending on maintaining heat in specific ranges. Some weapons might operate better as you risk overheating, thus shutting down your mech, while others might be best suited to maintaining a lower temperature.
Once you've lined up all your shots and decided how you want each mech to move, both players set their status to ready and then see how everything plays out. The battle sequences take all the hard choices you made during the movement and attack phases and distill it into a short action sequence that makes you forget you're playing a turn-based game for a few seconds. No system is currently in place to break down what exactly happened, but the plan is to have Tactics launch with a hit-by-hit readout that displays exactly what happened, allowing players to adjust strategies for the next turn appropriately.
MechWarrior Tactics has the potential to outdo its real-time combat sister game, MechWarrior Online, and could be just the sort of game that changes misconceptions about what's possible in a browser. As mores systems and mechanics get fleshed out, I'm excited to see what comes of this slower, yet far-from-casual take on the MechWarrior universe.
