MechWarrior Online

 PC
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 874 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 323 out of 874
  2. Mixed: 177 out of 874
  3. Negative: 374 out of 874

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  1. Stasgamming
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    I have to say for a free to play game this one does the job. But be warned this game does have a huge learning curve.
  2. Iracundus
    Mar 29, 2016
    5
    This game rides really on the Battletech franchise, yet strangely does little to nothing to actually promote the lore or lore based gameplay. Its faction warfare is basically fighting over the same few chokepoint maps for the right to color in a dot on the map, with no logistics or consequences for fighting whatsoever. The developers seem intent on trying to make an e-sports game yetThis game rides really on the Battletech franchise, yet strangely does little to nothing to actually promote the lore or lore based gameplay. Its faction warfare is basically fighting over the same few chokepoint maps for the right to color in a dot on the map, with no logistics or consequences for fighting whatsoever. The developers seem intent on trying to make an e-sports game yet many initial fans were attracted by the prospect of fighting for a faction or cause, not just endless arena deathmatches. The balance of the game is thrown by the customizing possible, creating a meta-game of laser alpha strikes that leads to repetitive gameplay. It is possible to not play this meta but you will be at a disadvantage. The business model is a ripoff, with the price per Mech at ridiculous levels of real $, and there does not seem to be a coherent development plan beyond releasing the next Mech and maybe jiggling around some quirks, creating as many problems as it solves. The game has potential but the developers seem to be consistently picking the least inspired and easiest $ squeezing way out.… Expand
  3. Qldgamer
    Feb 5, 2016
    7
    The cost of cash bought Mechs is too much, but the game play itself is fairly good fun. Smaller items like colours and patterns is way too expensive as is consumables.

    With the new Phase 3 I am hopefully it will get better.
  4. LakeDaemon
    Aug 12, 2015
    7
    The Mechwarrior franchise will never really die or even get old as long as blasting your enemies to flaming scrap in giant robot combat remains enjoyable and I think we all love that on a genetic level. It would be easy to write reams about it’s history, the tabletop origins and the minis, the fiction and the lore that spans well over one hundred novels, Technical Readout manuals, andThe Mechwarrior franchise will never really die or even get old as long as blasting your enemies to flaming scrap in giant robot combat remains enjoyable and I think we all love that on a genetic level. It would be easy to write reams about it’s history, the tabletop origins and the minis, the fiction and the lore that spans well over one hundred novels, Technical Readout manuals, and the distinguished line of PC and console games but, suffice it to say, the following and anticipation for this game has been huge since the last PC release Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries was about 10 years ago. The bottom line is… Does Mechwarrior Online deliver?

    The short answer is a strong Yes but with major caveats that make portions of MWO seem incomplete and downright clunky as Piranha Games continues to develop this title. There are frustrating refinement issues as a result of the small dev team and development approach adopted by PGI. The road has been rocky for PGI and MWO. By 2013, the word was MWO was a shameless money grab and a lost opportunity to be something great by a disinterested, tunnel-visioned development company. PGI however maintained that their numbers were always strong from a silent fan base despite the bad press and angry fans represented a vocal minority. By 2015, MWO has survived and grown to over half a million registered players (probably 5% playing), a greatly improved community relations approach, increased staff and talent, added and evolved game content, launched servers in Europe and Asia, and has plans to add Steam as an additional distribution method.

    So where does MWO stand presently?

    Free to Play – This is a free to play game that has successfully negotiated the hazy line between pay-to-win and grind-to-insanity. Grinding for in game currency isn't as mindless as some other games and you can build very competitive mechs. If you have the money but don’t have the time, you can pay for content that will save you grind time and effort (such as hero-level mech). Unfortunately for the grinding player, some things (such as mech-enhancement modules) are over-priced and newly introduced mechs are only available with real money at first so paying players tend to dominate game play when new mechs are injected into the game. It takes about 3 months before these new mechs become available for purchase with grindable currency.

    Multiplayer – MWO delivers solid and refreshing mech combat. Public matches are easy to access offering 12v12 combat that feels more than adequate (and sometimes glorious) as the teams tactically engage each other in rolling brawl fests of blistering lasers and canon fire. There is plenty of long range sniping, missile barrages, and air strikes to be had as well. Private matches between organized teams can be accessed from group menu as long as at least the captains of each team are premium subscribed players. These are often used for various tournaments and league matches. Currently in playable beta is planetary combat based on the classic star map of Battletech. This feature represents another pillar of the game and supports attack, defend, and counter attack modes.

    SinglePlayer – There no single player experience in MWO much to the disappointment of fans. PGI has said this could be added in the future after all the goals of the multiplayer game have been adequately completed.

    Graphics – Visually enticing and exciting graphics but this is where more and development is needed. The mechs themselves are beautifully designed (if you can call a mechanized bipedal war machine beautiful) and are unequivocally superior to any designs of past MW titles. Newer maps tend to be rich and visually varied with cityscapes, lunar, industrial, alien marshes and barren deserts. Older maps produced during beta and up to about 2014 tend to be smaller, dated looking, use repeated textures and are otherwise beta-level content. PGI has a team that is currently reworking older maps to update them making them far larger, more interesting, adding day and night cycles, destroyable content such as trees and streetlamps.

    Over all MWO is a solid combat action sim surrounded by layers of potentially wow-factor content if ever finished. The key to MWO is connecting with a team as solo public play feels more like grinding and team play feels more like the real game. MWO of 2015 has more to offer than MWO of 2013. It’s fun and engaging with friends on the field but needs work on nearly all the layers of features. If PGI can address those, MWO will achieve that wow-factor.    … Expand
  5. corumeach
    Apr 27, 2015
    5
    I still play it (although less and less) as there simply is no alternative when you want to play a battlemech simulatior on PC. Too bad the developer broke too many promises (or simply forgot about them), doesn't really know how to handle the game engine, has zero experience in designing tactical MMOs more ambitious than Unreal Tournament. Three years have been waisted for bug fixing,I still play it (although less and less) as there simply is no alternative when you want to play a battlemech simulatior on PC. Too bad the developer broke too many promises (or simply forgot about them), doesn't really know how to handle the game engine, has zero experience in designing tactical MMOs more ambitious than Unreal Tournament. Three years have been waisted for bug fixing, nerfing and boosting everything 3 times, creating basic gaming content (like maps) and producing tons of mechs for a brilliant mechlab that actually causes the major issues of this game: had they simply chosen to release stock mechs ONLY no balancing issues, no cheese builds, no frustration would have arisen. Instead the community would have about 200 mechs and their (stock) variants at hand now, happily playing. the other thing is the flawed elo ranking, team building and match maker, especially in Community Warfare mode. They released the BT universe map with over 3000 systems to fight over, BUT every day you are allowed to fight over about 6 or 7 of them. The different factions may even fight in remote areas siding with their arch enemy to face clan invaders without paying for transferring their units over there. The game had minor logistic during beta (ammunition and repair costs) - it was taken out forever... Logistics for sending your mech lance from system A to system B? No, it's instant teleport now, all you need is, that the developer opens the jumo gates for a specific system and there you go. So we have zero strategy in the game, tactics are very thin as you know the mini maps after a few weeks by heart. Players use the mechlab to build overpowered alpha strike (one shot) killer mechs, not well balanced interesting ones, that would allow to show skill and give everybody a fun experience. No, it's all about killing your enemy on sight,preferably by a single mouse click and auto aiming long range missiles. By now I doubt that the developer still has the means to get this cart out of the dreck (or actually the dreck off the cart). Community is tiny and dwindling, so I guess I will play on a little bit until the servers will shut down one day or I really can't stand it anymore.… Expand
  6. Axeface
    Jan 27, 2015
    6
    The game has gone through many problems, a period of total pay-2-win, but what is the game currently? It's a battletech deathmatch simulator with micro (and not so micro) transactions. Combat is good, prices are high, and the grind is long - but there is fun to be had.
  7. Ming120
    Jan 23, 2015
    6
    Back in the mid-late 1990s, getting into the Mechwarrior franchise was a matter of going to the store, paying the average price of oh, say, $55, and taking home a rather large box that contained a disc and a beautifully printed manual. Within the disc was the core game--a game that contained up to 60 'mechs to drive, unlimited customization, a single player campaign with an engagingBack in the mid-late 1990s, getting into the Mechwarrior franchise was a matter of going to the store, paying the average price of oh, say, $55, and taking home a rather large box that contained a disc and a beautifully printed manual. Within the disc was the core game--a game that contained up to 60 'mechs to drive, unlimited customization, a single player campaign with an engaging storyline, a richly composed musical score, and a function to connect to a multiplayer community where people really got to know each other.

    Today, paying $55 dollars to get into Mechwarrior Online can afford you maybe one 'mech and a couple variants to that 'mech, and pretty much lacking most of the mentioned features above. To be fair though, you really don't have to pay a dime to get into Mechwarrior Online, but this is how the developers of the game earn their their money. Generally, getting what you want in the game either involves earning in-game currency by playing with mostly random people on the same three game modes over and over again, or by paying up.

    The game itself is okay though, and hence why I would be hesitant to give it a lower score. To some extent, the sounds and the graphics are top-notch, so it really does feel like you are driving a large 'mech while playing. Most of the maps are beautifully crafted as well.

    What really hinders MWO from the get-go, however, is that it is probably the most hollow game of the series. The lack of features is appalling; the business model is appalling; and the need to grind gets old over time. There are also times when you really don't feel like you accomplished much after a game outside of grabbing a bit of in-game currency and xp to unlock stuff (kind of like your typical F2P game). Factions and the implementation of community warfare seems to improve on the game, but it just doesn't feel like much. Is it a likeable game? Sure. I do like the game myself. I just can't love it.    … Expand
  8. snip4r
    Dec 10, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. At its core this game is incredibly fun. However, yet again this free to play game is ruined by you being forced to pay just to get an OK mech outside of the 4 free ones you are given. SPOILER ALERT Takes a month to get your first free mech with out spending any money. Then you need atleast 2 just to get started on the ingame tech trees that add so much stuff to your mechs and make you so OP. This game would have gotten a better rating if it wasn't such a big grind. However, they really messed this game up and made it too pay 2 win.… Expand
  9. Jetfire
    Oct 28, 2014
    7
    I have been playing the game since closed beta and all through its ups and downs. I can say at this point they are making real progress and with the launch of CW this winter could have a real winner on their hands very soon. If you have any interest in Mechwarrior or slow tactical mech combat give it a shot or keep an eye on this one. It's been a somewhat painful birth but I haveI have been playing the game since closed beta and all through its ups and downs. I can say at this point they are making real progress and with the launch of CW this winter could have a real winner on their hands very soon. If you have any interest in Mechwarrior or slow tactical mech combat give it a shot or keep an eye on this one. It's been a somewhat painful birth but I have enjoyed every moment I was actually playing.… Expand
  10. Chocksa
    Jul 23, 2014
    5
    This is a game i have mixed feelings about. On one side i like it, on the other side i hate it. Explanation below.

    Things i like: - Strategic gameplay: The actual battles require a higher amount of tactics than most others games in this genre. - Mech costumization: There is a lot of it available. - Numbers of mechs: There are a lot of mechs to choose from. There is something for    This is a game i have mixed feelings about. On one side i like it, on the other side i hate it. Explanation below.

    Things i like:
    - Strategic gameplay: The actual battles require a higher amount of tactics than most others games in this genre.
    - Mech costumization: There is a lot of it available.
    - Numbers of mechs: There are a lot of mechs to choose from. There is something for everyone.

    Things i don't like:
    - The F2P label shouldn't be on this game: I am the kind of guy that, in this kind of games likes to play different mechs. And here is my problem. You start with 4 mechbays. Once you have 4 mechs in those bays and have grinded enough in game currency to buy a 5th you also have to spend a bit of real money to buy a new mech bay to house this new mech. For me this means this is a payed game masquerading as a F2P game.
    - Gameplay is not fast: This is a bit personal but i like a slightly faster paced game than this. This is by all means not a fast game. Sometimes it takes minutes to take down a single enemy. I prefer fast excillerating duels wich rely on adrenalin fueled reflexes, i don't get that in this game.    … Expand
  11. Vunguard
    Jul 14, 2014
    5
    Allow me to preface this by saying that I adore the Mechwarrior/Battletech series, besides the very first two Need For Speeds, Mechwarrior was the very first game I ever played, and I have loved every other installment in the series, even the flawed MechAssaults. This though... this makes me want to cry. The core mechanics are perfectly serviceable. The mechs move and feel appropriatelyAllow me to preface this by saying that I adore the Mechwarrior/Battletech series, besides the very first two Need For Speeds, Mechwarrior was the very first game I ever played, and I have loved every other installment in the series, even the flawed MechAssaults. This though... this makes me want to cry. The core mechanics are perfectly serviceable. The mechs move and feel appropriately clunky and tough, though I do think some of the light mechs should jiggle around more. The jump jets feel about right. The heat management is exactly what should be expected and works perfectly. The autocannons are different from the styles of the old games but in my opinion feel much more appropriate to the type of combat that Mechwarrior is based on. The lasers are weird but not unreasonable, much like Mechwarrior 3's variants actually. The missiles are exactly what they needed to be. The PPC's (the big dogs of the laser family, for those not in the know) need a little more punch for the amount of heat they cause, in fact you never see them used for the most part, but they're not bad feeling, just need balancing. The gauss rifles are awkward to use, but rewarding. I think there's only two or three mechs in the entire garage that I would call useless, most of them have some sort of place for certain playstyles. Heck, this game made light mechs actually usable finally! That NEEDS to be worth some kind of medal. The damage system is nice and accurate, the hud is pretty decent though I think that some of the indicators need tweaks. The hangar hud is a bit clunky and crowded, but not unusable, a bit like how some websites need to lay off the side bars. The radar system is great and is pretty much World of Tanks' system without the invisible-tank nonsense. And to top it all off, even the customization system is very much something that translated straight from the old Battletech games, and in a good way.

    So why is the score so low?

    Well, while the mechanics are fine, they've been slapped onto a multiplayer system that is ten kinds of awful. First, the maps. The maps are downright dreadful. Most of them are urban maps, and to be very blunt, mechs aren't great for urban fighting, they specialize in mountains and small facilities--hell one of the best maps is one with high temperatures which make your mech overheat easier... and that's something that I should be raging about. And most of the non-urban maps have mountains too steep to climb, another big no-no for the mech series; you should have a few unscale-able mountains, but most should be just steep enough to be dangerously slow to assault mechs, but perfectly usable for scouts. Actually, a lot of the maps are kind of small to begin with, especially the already claustrophobic urban maps. On top of that, in the old games you were able to change your load-out depending on the map. Why? Because if it's cold or snowing you can go crazy with whatever you feel like, but if you're in deserts you should drop the heat-happy lasers and maybe even put heavier reactive armor on to repulse more common bullets. But here? Nnnooope. You're stuck with what you've got... which may be part of the reason for the heat-happy PPC's not being used now that I think about it.

    The monetizing is aggressively tight-fisted, worse than World of Tanks in a lot of ways actually. I don't mind monetizing custom gear or quick ways to get mechs, but make it so that in-game credits are actually viable, not something where you need to fight a hundred battles in one of the stock rentals just to get a scout mech. Actually, the 'rental' mech idea is pretty neat as a concept, but with the credits being so useless, it becomes taunting.

    And then there's the matchmaking. Sweet Jesus. In World of Tanks, the idea is that usually there's about the same number of tanks from certain tiers, or it's supposed to be balanced. Doesn't work, but whatever. Well not MWO. Here it's possible to have nothing but assault and heavy mechs on one side, and maybe two assault mechs and a support Catapult with a swarm of mediums and scouts on the other. It makes the game almost unplayably unfair.

    Also, why in Heaven's name can't I set my weapon groups in the hangar? It's annoying to be stuck with a new or modified mech at the beginning of a match and just sitting there regrouping everything.

    Beyond that, the graphics are CryEngine standard: good but hard on the computer. The animations are great, especially the start-up stuff. And there's some nice visual modifications to be had if you want to shell the money out.

    There is a wonderful mech game somewhere in here just begging to get out, but somehow it got buried under tedium, money grabbing, and horrid maps. Someone save Mechwarrior! Because these guys sure won't from the looks of things.    … Expand
  12. kelvincasing
    Jul 8, 2014
    5
    At its core, MWO provides some extremely fun mech on mech action. Be prepared for a steep learning curve, but the game looks slick and plays well. That said, there are some clunky in-game "balancing" quirks that no one fully understands (e.g. ghost heat).

    Unfortunately, that's as far as the game goes. The developers originally proposed a roadmap offering a wider meta-game, with mechs    At its core, MWO provides some extremely fun mech on mech action. Be prepared for a steep learning curve, but the game looks slick and plays well. That said, there are some clunky in-game "balancing" quirks that no one fully understands (e.g. ghost heat).

    Unfortunately, that's as far as the game goes. The developers originally proposed a roadmap offering a wider meta-game, with mechs battling it out for control of territory in a persistent universe. Many other features have seemingly fallen by the wayside as well. Currently, you can expect no in-game VoIP, no lobbies, no training, and no community warfare. It's just drop, shoot, rinse and repeat on a woefully small collection of maps. And it gets old fast.

    The game is F2P. However, if you do choose to spend, BEWARE. The game is ferociously overpriced for what it delivers if you buy into the packages. The latest Clan packs cost up to $500, or $55 for a single mech of your choosing. That's the price of a new AAA title for ONE mech, which you can only use in the same limited game and does little to change the core experience. Many fans have also been alienated by the fact that the developers have repeatedly failed to deliver on previous design promises and deadlines.

    Compared to today's in store retail titles, this entire game could never sell for more than £15 ($25). Unfortunately, the developers have clearly made the decision to focus on new "sellable" content, rather than content that would add to the overall game. Spending £15 on some new camo, or a couple of the unique "hero" mechs, is justifiable - but on no account spend more; there is simply no deeper game here to warrant it.

    The core of MWO is good fun, and it's sad that the developers have not built on this solid foundation to produce the compelling Mechwarrior game fans have been hoping for since Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries hit the shelves. A focus on making money, rather than a love of the franchise, seems to be at the crux of this. MWO pulls off the remarkable feat of being both completely free to play and horrendously overpriced at the same time.

    Bottom line: A fun mech shooter that's worth your time, but not your money.    … Expand
  13. McApple14
    Feb 15, 2014
    6
    Before I move into the review, I must state that these results are skewed when you take into consideration the following: This game was brought up without the use of advertising or significant marketing techniques, meaning its fan base is primarily hardcore Mechwarrior fans. Second, this game is entirely free and relies on donations, optional premium memberships and optional in gameBefore I move into the review, I must state that these results are skewed when you take into consideration the following: This game was brought up without the use of advertising or significant marketing techniques, meaning its fan base is primarily hardcore Mechwarrior fans. Second, this game is entirely free and relies on donations, optional premium memberships and optional in game purchases, so the funding for the development team is likely pretty low. Third, this game was designed using a game engine that does not play towards the strengths of Mechwarrior (I'm currently using Cryengine 3 in my current dev teams work, so I do understand some of the strengths it plays towards). Now on to my review.

    Graphics: 8/10
    If there is one thing that Cryengine does well, its graphics. While not entirely optimized for mid to lower level PC's, this game plays with a decent framerate. The maps are definitely designed to look the part, and from afar this game looks pretty good. The animations for the mechs and the mech models themselves actually look really good and grabbed my attention. All in all, the game LOOKS good.

    Sounds:
    I'm not going to give a rating for sounds and music mostly because there is not too much to go off of. What music does play, especially at the beginning of a round, really gets you pumped, but primarily sound is not really utilized in this game (unlike the single-player predecessors).

    Gameplay: 6/10
    The scheme of gameplay has a HUGE amount of great concepts. The weapons systems are done well and for the most part follow that of its predecessor. Weapon grouping is heavily utilized and done well (groups can even be changed in game on the fly) and does not detract from gameplay at all. Heating is done well, as was mech cooling, shutdown and system overrides. Aiming, firing, and basic weapons usage are where the game detracts a bit from its good concepts. This game caters towards the SKILLED PLAYER, or at least attempts to make you into one. For most players, these fire systems will be difficult to use as you must utilize an independently moving torso AS WELL AS independent arms (if you disable the lock in the menu). The current scheme is difficult to use with mouse and keyboard, and it can frustrate a large number of players because of the difficulty of using weapons. Mouse acceleration (at least in my experience) cannot be disabled in-game and has detracted somewhat from my gameplay. It is hard to describe entirely what makes this fire scheme so frustrating at times, but, for lack of any better descriptions, I would best describe it as "clunky" and "unpolished"

    Game Modes: 6/10
    Honestly, the game modes are done well, but there is not a lot making them different from other games. Quite average to say the least. One thing that threw a lot of players away from this game was the lack of a single player campaign, which, while certainly understandable, is what made a lot of Mechwarrior games shine. As for the multiplayer, they do a FANTASTIC job at forcing the players to work together. Lone wolves do not last long in this game, but the system is still unpolished. They enable VOIP, but the multiplayer system feels like it could be expanded upon. While it would be understandably difficult to do, I feel that the devs could learn a thing or two from Planetside 2 and how they forced cooperation. Unfortunately, they are designed with totally different game schemes, but nonetheless there are some aspects that could be learned.

    Miscellaneous (UI, Server reliability, etc): 5/10
    The first UI was crap. No other way of describing it. The second UI improved on the first, but also lost some of its better features (crap 2.0). While it is progress, it is still severely unpolished. You had no idea what the reliability of a server was going into it, and the game does not seem to entice players to continue working together after a single game. The number of purchases required to avoid grinding is annoying at times, but understandable. It would have been better for a cheaper premium (i.e. $5 monthly), but even better for a one time purchase up front. The premiums have an ENORMOUS advantage over the average players, and even more so if they are skilled, but that does not mean the average player isn't catered to. For both premium and normal players, the Mech lab is done incredibly well and realistically; it really makes the game feel like a Mechwarrior game. So yes, it has its ups and downs, but I feel that if this game were designed and tested in an alternate or more traditional fashion, that it probably would've done well.

    Overall: 6/10
    This is not a bad game. It just wasn't paid enough attention, both by the market and the devs. It could have been something good, but it still feels too much like a fan-made ripoff. I would still recommend taking a look. I think something good can be taken from this game.    … Expand
  14. Sivea
    Jan 13, 2014
    6
    As a Mechwarrior title, I expected this to be that game we have been waiting for. That game that would put the latest AAA titles to shame. As a free to play game, I didn't expect much. The sad truth is that I had gotten what I expected. Not much.

    The game is unique as its own. For a free to play title as well, it stands out among many other titles. It's refreshing to the genre, in    As a Mechwarrior title, I expected this to be that game we have been waiting for. That game that would put the latest AAA titles to shame. As a free to play game, I didn't expect much. The sad truth is that I had gotten what I expected. Not much.

    The game is unique as its own. For a free to play title as well, it stands out among many other titles. It's refreshing to the genre, in which I am very glad to see. The downside is how the game itself is executed. It's a basic Mechwarrior game. You have Mechs (that are based on the Battletech universe) kill each other in a mindless game mode, get money, the end. Fin. That's how the core game is. There are 3 games modes as of now, there were only 2 at launch. The launch was quite a shame to be. The 3 game modes are Assault, Conquest, and Skirmish. In assault, you kill the enemy team or capture their base, in Conquest, you kill the enemy team, or get 750 resources (in reality, there are just more bases), in skirmish, there are no bases; and that is all. The game modes aren't unique at all, and they can become very boring and repetitive at times.

    The gameplay is quite good, as said before, it's refreshing to the free to play category. Mech customization is nice but sometimes feels too restrictive. It's semi-tactical, not as I expected it to be (I wanted it to be as tactical and strategic as the Arma series but got a basic game instead). You have 4 different classes: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Assault. They have their different roles, but it almost feels like the current game always encourages one type of style. High Alpha, pin-point damage, LRMs or something else. A lot of the times you will find the same type of builds in almost every single match. No one has the creativity or skill to come up with their own unique and effective build. It seems as if there is only one build that works. Another gripe are modules. These act as perks and killstreak rewards from the modern Call of Duty franchise. You push a button to call in airstrike, you have your passive ability that scans for things. The game would feel much more balanced if these were removed so no one can have a benefit.

    The graphics are really nice, as they run off the Cryengine 3, however. The game has pretty bad performance issues. White Knights cannot run to their only reason for it being "beta" anymore. The only aspect that actually made the game "Beta" was the beta logo. That was literally the only thing making it beta. There are a lot of missing content from the game. Such as Community Warfare, which was planned long ago and was said that it was being developed when it actually wasn't. That is the biggest complaint of mine about the current game. The massive lack of any features.

    Matchmaking seems to be almost ruined. I am a PUG, yes a PUG which is for some reason ridiculed on the forums and is a reason why I don't want to talk to most people on them. As for the matches, most of them now feel like steam rolls. By steam rolls I mean, your team either wins fast and the enemy gets 4 kills or less; or you lose and your team gets 4 kills or less. They are never fun, they weren't like this before, I'm not sure how matches suddenly got like this.

    What bothers me the absolute most is that there is no progression system. The game can feel like a huge grind at times since your only real incentive is money (C-Bills). Apparently C-Bills were inflated before as PGI has actually decreased the income of everyone drastically. *A Warning For New Players* be careful not to spend any money for a while. The game does not encourage experimentation, it actually punishes you, so keep that in mind and spend your C-Bills wisely. Other than money, there are mech skills, which are more of a grind since they require a large amount of C-Bills to use on mechs. It feels like you're getting no where. You can have 100 Billion C-bills, and if you try to explore a variety of options, you will end up broke. It ends up becoming a huge turn off for new players who can be potential customers.

    There are a lack of basic features that make any game all the better such as in game voice chat, a real clan system, and a nice variety of maps and game modes. When basic features are added, I wish that PGI would consider community work for the game, it's always a good thing. The game is also very expensive, as they have $500, golden mechs that are somehow limited in quantity even though they are digital. I understand that it's free to play and that you don't have to buy anything. If they would lower the prices, they would sell more and make more money, a win win for everyone. As a F2P game, anyone can play, no one is obligated to pay, it was the devs choice for making the title F2P.

    It's definitely not the Mechwarrior game we have all been waiting for but it is a good free to play title worth checking out, just not good as a Mechwarrior title itself. Still worth checking out though.    … Expand
  15. filter41
    Dec 5, 2013
    6
    At its core MechWarrior Online (MWO) is a MMO-FPS and -TPS (you can change perspective at every moment of the match) with very big tactical and strategical component. This means, that high shooting-skills like reactions and awareness will pay off for sure, but also a deep understanding of reasonable mech loadouts (strategy) or right choice of useful combat zones (tactics) gives greatAt its core MechWarrior Online (MWO) is a MMO-FPS and -TPS (you can change perspective at every moment of the match) with very big tactical and strategical component. This means, that high shooting-skills like reactions and awareness will pay off for sure, but also a deep understanding of reasonable mech loadouts (strategy) or right choice of useful combat zones (tactics) gives great benefits. That point makes the biggest difference to its brother in mind: World of Tanks (WoT). MWO shares with this very popular game the FreeToPlay and Anti-PayToWin architecture.
    You can get into MWO with instant PvP combat on a trial mech together with 23 other players. The matchmaker tries to balance such a so called 12v12 PuG (randomly merged teams) for a close finish. You can also jump in a battle with a group of 4 (lance) or 12 (company) mates. In that case you will meet similar team structures on the other side. At the moment two game modes are provided: conquest (get resource points out of capturing bases) and assault (kill all opponents or get their base). Further modes are promised since months. But unfulfilled promises by the developer PGI would be another story...
    The first look and feel of MWO with a good performance PC is fancy, grounded on CryEnginge3. After some hours the lifeless and indestructible environment, multiple texture errors, not optimized effects or some breakdowns are a pain in your neck.
    The unique experience you can get in MWO is the high AND long learning curve, besides the official BattleTech IP. No matter where you veteran come from (WoT, BF, CoD, TF, etc.), there is a long way to go to become a good MechWarrior and this can be addictive. The complexity and interdependency of different weapon mechanics, mech classes, maps, teamwork opportunities, match-up situations and so on need hours of gaming and a high resistance against frustration. Even more because there are no introductions, tutorials or PvE-missions. As a reward for invested time you get a big stock of (necessary) equipment or access to special modules. They provide for example better sensors, visuals or movement and can not be bought with real money right at the start. You have to learn it the hard style, but spectator mode and the grown-up and international community helps significantly.

    MWO is a recommendation, if you played the previous games of the series with fun. Same for other Robo-Mechas-Tank-sims or -shooters as Heavy Gear, Steel Battalion, Front Mission Evolved, World of Tanks, Hawken and so on. Supporters of BattleTech in general, its table top game or other spin offs can take a look on it, but will have a rough start. At least it is the right choice for (semi-)competitive-PvP-gamers, which dislike the idea of respawn and appreciate substantial outcome from the needed combination of different skills and team play.
    Thus its hard difficulty MWO is NOT the right choice for newbies. Even more as the high priced, so called Hero-Mechs will not deliver any high value in challenge. They are just "bling-bling" chassis. So keep your money and save it for mech-bays or premium time, to minimize the grind.

    Summing all this up: 6 points out of 10 for me. And that means PGI sadly did not add strength or popularity to BattleTech or MechWarrior as a concept of SciFi yet. There are still some additions promised by PGI, but I would not bet on something substantial in the next months...    … Expand
  16. SupaChigga
    Nov 19, 2013
    6
    Single Player/Multi Player (1/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player) Gameplay (2/2) Visuals/Story (2/2) (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is    Single Player/Multi Player (1/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player)

    Gameplay (2/2)

    Visuals/Story (2/2)

    (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is better than the visuals, review this section as if the visuals didn’t matter)

    Accessibility/Longevity (1/2)

    (Review this section only on Accessibility if the game has no longevity) (Review this section only on longevity if the game isn’t accessible)

    Pricing (1/2)

    Wildcard (-1)

    This is a guideline for how to properly review games. Many reviewers like to get a “feel” for a game, and arbitrarily give a game a score that they believe it deserves. This results in wildly different scores between different reviewers, and vastly different scores between similar games. This guideline addresses these problems and scores games fairly and consistently. This guideline also gives scores that are usually similar to the metacritic score.

    The review score is based out of 10 points. There are no “half” or 0.5 increments. It is impossible to have a score above 10 or below 0. The review score will change as the game gets new dlc, drops in price, or if more secrets are found through the game increasing its appeal.

    The scoring is split into 6 sections. The first five sections can add a possible 2 points to the final score. The first 5 sections are Single Player/Multi Player, Gameplay, Visuals/Story, Accessibility/Longevity, and Pricing.

    Notice that 3 of these sections have two parts. These particular sections will be scored based on the stronger part of the game of the two. For example, if a game has a lousy single player campaign, but an excellent multiplayer component, that section will be based solely on the multiplayer as if the single player did not exist. This allows games to be based on their own merits, as many unnecessary features are shoehorned into video games by publishers to reach a “feature quota”. Games that excel in both areas of a section don’t receive should be noted in the written review, but cannot increase the score past 2 in that section. However, it can be taken into account in the final section

    The final section can add 1, add 0, or subtract 1 to the final score. This final section is the “wildcard” section. This section is for how the reviewer “feels” about the game, but limits this only to this section, rather than the entire 10 point review. This section can include any positive or negative point that was not covered in the previous 5 sections.    … Expand
  17. Trance
    Oct 24, 2013
    6
    It's fun. Sit around the computer at get drunk fun. But before that is a lot of time wasted and plenty of frustration to accommodate the experience to an average level at best.
  18. Kaizor
    Oct 24, 2013
    5
    I was very excited to try the game out, waited a night for it to download, and was sorely disappointed after playing a few matches. The game kept tossing me up against grizzled veterans, and squaddies who hated anybody who wasn't very good. I have to say, the community for this game is horrible when it comes to new players. I'm not saying it's a bad game, if you had friends or knew whatI was very excited to try the game out, waited a night for it to download, and was sorely disappointed after playing a few matches. The game kept tossing me up against grizzled veterans, and squaddies who hated anybody who wasn't very good. I have to say, the community for this game is horrible when it comes to new players. I'm not saying it's a bad game, if you had friends or knew what you were doing it'd probably be fun, the sounds are nice, the graphics are okay, but really none of that makes a difference when you're being murdered horribly.… Expand
  19. Idle_anon
    Oct 5, 2013
    6
    This game has its good points and bad points but it's also still under continuing development. It might be a while before we start seeing things such as the strategic element but they do have a roadmap and have given it much thought.
    I'd say this game is alright and has potential. Certainly worth checking in to see how it progresses but not something I would hold my breath over since the    This game has its good points and bad points but it's also still under continuing development. It might be a while before we start seeing things such as the strategic element but they do have a roadmap and have given it much thought.
    I'd say this game is alright and has potential. Certainly worth checking in to see how it progresses but not something I would hold my breath over since the progress is a touch on the slow side. Still, I enjoy it from time to time.    … Expand
  20. microcoma
    Oct 4, 2013
    7
    A fun and nostalgic game, but PGI made a huge mistake by bringing the game out of beta in the state that it's in. If they had waited until the release of UI 2.0, more game modes, and more polish, I believe the game would have been better at the official release, and subsequently, the reviews would have been better. The game needs a good bit of work to be great.
  21. ComradeWinston
    Oct 1, 2013
    5
    Boring.

    Where some games like Arma aren't action packed ADD experiences, they're still enjoyable. Mechwarrior is painfully uninspired and the customization system is too all over the place.
  22. Stackzonyou
    Sep 29, 2013
    6
    An adequate mech shooter marred by a polarised and toxic community, indifferent developers and what appears to be a main screen/menu that's comprised of 80% ads for overpriced in-game items.

    It is recommended that prospective players first approach the forums for information regarding C-Bill spending, as earnings after the initial cadet bonus are abruptly castrated not constructing the    An adequate mech shooter marred by a polarised and toxic community, indifferent developers and what appears to be a main screen/menu that's comprised of 80% ads for overpriced in-game items.

    It is recommended that prospective players first approach the forums for information regarding C-Bill spending, as earnings after the initial cadet bonus are abruptly castrated not constructing the first owned mech properly can make or break a new user's experience.

    If you're here purely for stompy-shooty, then this is your game. If you seek depth and the big vision of interplanetary mech warfare initially foisted on the wary long-time players by the dubious developers, look elsewhere.

    Teamspeak is a must.    … Expand
  23. Dexyt
    Sep 26, 2013
    7
    Mechwarrior Online is a decent game. The concept is solid and has potential, but at the moment there is not much content (and a lot of grinding to make up for it) and there is an inexcusable technical problem which makes small fast mechs unreasonably difficult to hit. Aside from this, the matches are fun. In organized groups, there is considerable depth to the gameplay as well.
  24. almeras
    Sep 26, 2013
    7
    UI (1.5) 4
    Gameplay 8
    Balance 8
    Graphics 9
    Replayability 9
    Progressing 7
    Chat 2
    ----------------
    6.7 from me. The core core is there they just need to add more game modes and a better UI which should be in soon
    Result 7
  25. Revenge
    Sep 25, 2013
    5
    A game of great potential, but persistently hampered by increasingly slow development times. There is a strong admitance that the game is not complete, but as it has been in beta for over two years, nobody should be holding their breath for the features that initially suckered us in to the game 2 years ago. I can certainly say that if Mechwarrior Online can sustain itself long enough toA game of great potential, but persistently hampered by increasingly slow development times. There is a strong admitance that the game is not complete, but as it has been in beta for over two years, nobody should be holding their breath for the features that initially suckered us in to the game 2 years ago. I can certainly say that if Mechwarrior Online can sustain itself long enough to truly full-fill its original design document, then it will be a great game to play, one worthy of proper competitive gaming. But I anticipate that this time is going to be at least another year or two, and it might not have hat long left to live.… Expand
  26. AntharPrime
    Sep 25, 2013
    7
    Mechanically and visually, MechWarrior Online is at it heart a 10 point rating game. However MWO is supposed to be a MMO but does not have any of the features that it should have as a launched title. It lacks in game VOIP and an overall immersive experience linking all the endless coliseum style matches.

    That being said, a majority of the negative reviews can be attributed to poor    Mechanically and visually, MechWarrior Online is at it heart a 10 point rating game. However MWO is supposed to be a MMO but does not have any of the features that it should have as a launched title. It lacks in game VOIP and an overall immersive experience linking all the endless coliseum style matches.

    That being said, a majority of the negative reviews can be attributed to poor community management at MWO. Other games have their detractors but have very little effect on the game reviews, in PGI's case with MWO, they are experiencing a backlash from their poor PR skills. As far back as Oct 2012 in closed beta, there were many vocal members pointing out all of the shortfalls which are being highlighted now by professional reviewers such as poor initial game experience and a longer grinding experience compared to other games. PGI unfortunately belittled them through posts on their forums, twitter, FB and in podcasts (yeah it wasn't just a one time careless comment) essentially telling them to off. While some of the negative reviews can be taken word for word, others are simply a vindictive backlash. There are plans to introduce a more immersive experience but no solid dates have been given.    … Expand
  27. bobthebomb
    Sep 25, 2013
    5
    This is mechwarrior so this is a good game !!

    But on the other hand we have no game room, no matchmaking, no way to balance different mech (no battle value, no tonnage), no visibility of your level (ELO, rating..) In itself the game is not bad, but the way we play it is terrible "Click the play button and hope you be in a good game". 30% of time you get pug stomped, 30% of time you    This is mechwarrior so this is a good game !!

    But on the other hand we have no game room, no matchmaking, no way to balance different mech (no battle value, no tonnage), no visibility of your level (ELO, rating..)

    In itself the game is not bad, but the way we play it is terrible "Click the play button and hope you be in a good game". 30% of time you get pug stomped, 30% of time you pug stomp, 30% of time you get a 900 tons vs 700 tons battles, 10% of time you get a good game.

    12vs12 game are terrible, and are forced, it's impossible to challenge an enemy lance to do a 4vs4 vs friend....heck we don't even have chatroom "Do you really want chat rooms?" ;)

    It's a good game but very far from completion, it's only alive because of the battletech fan base.    … Expand
  28. MRJayJ
    Sep 22, 2013
    7
    I have played since closed beta and the game is very fun and entertaining, but there has been a major lack of variation in game play and mechanics since closed beta. PGI has taken a big stance on giving the finger to some of their player base due to decisions made for the game (and i agree they are bad (3pv)). Other than that the game shows great promise just does not have a lot ofI have played since closed beta and the game is very fun and entertaining, but there has been a major lack of variation in game play and mechanics since closed beta. PGI has taken a big stance on giving the finger to some of their player base due to decisions made for the game (and i agree they are bad (3pv)). Other than that the game shows great promise just does not have a lot of variation or content to be worth paying money into it. Whenever Community warfare and some other key features are released this game should be well worth any monetary investment, but at its current state I would definitely take advantage, playing for free, the best mechwarrior game since mw3.… Expand
  29. CombatVolcano
    Sep 21, 2013
    5
    This review is impartial toward past-and-future. I don't care what was promised or what will be, only what is.

    I will rate those primary areas I feel are most important to average a final score and they are as follows; Learning Curve (approaching MWO as a newbie): (3/10) Let's start off with getting started: While MWO is not a difficult game by any means once a player can learn and    This review is impartial toward past-and-future. I don't care what was promised or what will be, only what is.

    I will rate those primary areas I feel are most important to average a final score and they are as follows;

    Learning Curve (approaching MWO as a newbie): (3/10)
    Let's start off with getting started: While MWO is not a difficult game by any means once a player can learn and map the controls to their liking, some very important options are not immediately obvious (such as the zoom feature, torso centering, leg centering) and some default options don't seem to make any sense whatsoever such as the 'hold button to move' being default instead of 'slider sets speed' which is a far more manageable mode.

    Critical to end-game success but not necessarily required for play is the mechlab. Those who are heavily familiar with Battletech will have little trouble understanding the basic principles however even these likely-also-computer-nerds will stumble around figuring out how to navigate at first. It is (perhaps by design) sometimes not immediately obvious which choices are best or even worse which choices cost real money and which cost in-game currency. Those who are unfamiliar with Battletech weapons and configurations will find that there is absolutely no build-in tutorial or tips whatsoever to guide them. While the development staff has done much better in recent months with providing tutorials and new player help, the in-game interface is absolutely devoid of information pertaining to how the game works. It is extremely common for a new player to go through their first 25 matches, earn the 'newbie bonus' credits, waste them all and then feel like they need to abandon their account for a new one to earn the newbie bonus over and do it right. Some of the best mechs (in general and also to get started with) cost the entire newbie bonus and then some. Much better would be to let you choose any mech you like once you complete the initial battery of newbie matches.

    Graphics: (7/10)
    While MWO does have modern graphics that in most cases are quite stunning the developers also have a very long way to go toward optimizing their engine. Often it seems that they will tack on new features that drastically reduce framerate without fully optimizing the engine, which leads to inconsistency between play sessions. With 8 GB of ram, 6 core processor and a Radeon HD 7970 on a fresh install of Win7 and the game on an SSD I was struggling to get a reliable 40 FPS out of the game on any settings level. While verbose, slow and sometimes even confusing (some of the screen shake effects are downright strange feeling) the graphics are very GOOD. Things look like they should and the game doesn't suffer from that that 'shrink wrapped in plastic" Crysis feel that plagues so many modern engines. Smoke and particle effects look very convincing and some weapons are downright pretty when fired.

    Control: (6/10)
    Ugh. They really should take an average of what people have configured for this game and change what the default options are. It can take quite a few matches to really understand how to set your controls up properly and how important doing so is. Some players never really seem to learn this at all which is really a stain on this game because this is the largest reason that players quit it simply is so very hard to understand what exactly is expected of you when piloting a mech though once you find a schema that works you shouldn't have a problem.

    Configuration aside, the controls do feel responsive once learned. I've never felt like the mech ignored my keypresses or that my mouse wasn't tracking correctly. The missile lock controls feel fair (if quite unforgiving) and leading properly will usually land you hits... but read on.

    Engine/Programming: (2/10)
    MWO in this regard is an absolute tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. Very frequently when firing certain types of weapons they will (seemingly randomly) appear to strike the target but return no red "confirmation" flash on the reticule or they will return that reticule but in both cases do no damage about half the time. Players often claim that light 'mechs have a "lag shield" that protects them from legitimate damage and this does actually appear to be the case. While certain measures (client side hit detection aka please hack our game) have been implemented for particular weapon types to compensate, nothing can change the fact that the hit detection in the underlying engine does not seem to be up to what they are asking of it.

    Taking damage also isn't very well explained. Supposedly your 'mech has as many internal hitpoints per location as it does armor points but this is not information that the developers seem willing to divulge. How the weapons and mechanics in the game actually function on a numbers level is gilded in dark obscurity and it makes one wonder if anyone on the developer staff actually has a clue what everything in the game is supposed to do.    … Expand
  30. Flavor-Country
    Sep 21, 2013
    6
    I love this game and play it near daily. I have for most of a year, since open beta began. I've learned to dislike the devs as promises made are not promises kept. 3pv specifically. Anemic content, horrid tutorials, broken hit boxes, bad netcode, cbill nerf, but...it's getting better. Someday we'll have a complete MechWarrior game. Someday just not now, not yet.
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
96
#96 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. IGN Italia
    Sep 14, 2014
    85
    Nice gameplay and deep strategy for the latest incarnation of Mechwarrior. Too bad it lacks any kind of Single Player content.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer
    Nov 4, 2013
    83
    Slightly overpriced, but a more than worthy successor to one of PC gaming’s greatest franchises that nails the important part: combat.
    Read full review
  3. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 22, 2013
    65
    MechWarrior Online does a pretty good job in balancing out the gameplay and gives you lots of BattleMechs, weapons and items to buy, but it's got only two game modes and it's definitely not that fun.
    Read full review
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