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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Kolimar
    Sep 21, 2013
    3
    Very disappointing. This game hold many promises, and failed to deliver them.
    First off, players were told by the developers that Community Warfare and an improved UI, which are two essential features for an online multiplayer game would come in first quarter 2013. Then they pushed it to Summer 2013. Then to launch. Now here we are, with still nothing but two gamemodes that are    Very disappointing. This game hold many promises, and failed to deliver them.
    First off, players were told by the developers that Community Warfare and an improved UI, which are two essential features for an online multiplayer game would come in first quarter 2013. Then they pushed it to Summer 2013. Then to launch. Now here we are, with still nothing but two gamemodes that are essentially the same, and a dozen of maps. There is literally NOTHING ELSE.
    Oh yes there is :
    - Third person view, which players did not want, but was implemented anyway.
    - Consumables which again players did not want, but were implemented anyway.
    - Hero mechs, which are basically improved variants of the standard 21 mechs of the game. They are just here to make players spend real money on it and gain an advantage with XP and money boost.
    - Poorly balanced weapons, and an atrocious hardpoint system that allows any absurd loadout that you can think of, and basically makes some mechs irrelevant (example the Stalker has similar hardpoints to the Awesome, but with more weight capacity.)

    To sum up, this game smells like straight amateurism, and should not be considered a triple A game by any means. Hell I would even have preferred a good indie game. But after all, what would you expect from the guys who made Duke Nukem Forever     … Expand
  2. Sabbath61
    Sep 21, 2013
    6
    Great potential, egregiously consummated. I'm not certain that the Devs are even concerned about the "big picture," rather financial interests in the short term.
  3. Reod
    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    As fan of mechwarrior and battletech fan since 90' id say its cash grab.Devs promise a lot and lie a lot dont keep their promises .Its just pure cash grab.
  4. BillAnderson
    Sep 20, 2013
    7
    Would like to see more to it and the grouping function is clunky, otherwise I like it. Have only been playing it since July, however. I like where it's going.
  5. armyof1
    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    Well what is there to say when a once promising game has been made successively worse by devs insisting on adding features that huge majority of the players that care enough to share their opinion don't care for? I started playing back in Jan 2013 and back then this game showed a lot of promise, despite being quite limited in gameplay and had problems with a bunch of persisting bugs. TheWell what is there to say when a once promising game has been made successively worse by devs insisting on adding features that huge majority of the players that care enough to share their opinion don't care for? I started playing back in Jan 2013 and back then this game showed a lot of promise, despite being quite limited in gameplay and had problems with a bunch of persisting bugs. The core gameplay though was good enough to keep me interested despite the problems. You have a large selections of mechs to fight with against other players and the weapons and ability to outfit your mech the way you see fit kept it interesting.

    But the last few months the devs have progressively made this game worse. going from 8vs8 to more players with 12vs12 looks good on paper. The problem is about half of the maps are so small they don't work well with that many players occupying that little space. But that's not the major problem, it's what they changed about your in-game earnings, called CBills. Suddenly they decreased your earnings by 25-30% with a really bad excuse that now you have more mechs to destroy thus you can make more CBills. Hello?! What about more players that are going to share those rewards? It's done just to try and make people either buy mechs with real money or buy the so-called premium time that will increase your earnings by 50%, which of course also costs real money. Because if you don't buy either, the game has become a real bad grind to earn CBills to afford new mechs and gear.

    So if you've read this far it sounds pretty bad right? Well the worst is yet to come. The last month they put 3rd person view into the game, a feature that really no one asked for except the devs themselves. Originally the lead developers promised we would have split player queues so anyone who wants to keep this game as purely 1st person shooter would not have to play against players that can enable 3rd person view. But suddenly they went 180 on this promise, that they themselves posted in their game forum, and put 3rd person view in the standard player queue, meaning everyone had to deal with 3PV being used as a toggle to peek around and over lots of obstacles you'd never be able to look around/over in 1st person, effectively crippling anyone that want to just play in 1st person. If you read through a lot of the other negative reviews you'll see this mentioned quite a few times so it's something a lot of players are truly disappointed about being deceived in this manner.

    Last but not least due to the uproar and negative posts in the MWO forums from us disappointed players the devs recently saw fit to change the rules to posting. Now if you basically express your opinion that the devs are doing a bad job developing this game, even when done in a calm manner with valid points without the slightest name-calling or insults, you're risking to be banned from the forum whether temporary or permanently as they see fit. What that means is they only keep the yes men (and there are still a bunch of them, just look at the perfect scores given here to a game that is effectively still in beta and still lacking lots of features to make it worthwhile) in the forum and are busy removing anyone with critical opinions. I just got banned from the forum without a single message from whoever banned me with any info why I was banned. So if you visit the forums and you see a lot of posts where people are happy with the game in its' current sad state, be aware that it's simply because they're working hard to censor or ban people that disagree with how they've been ruining this game.

    To sum it all up, Mechwarrior Online was once a game that showed promise, but development took an awful turn despite a huge amount of feedback trying to sway the devs from some of their really poor decisions. A game with problems can be fixed given time, but a dev team that refuse to listen to its' own community and even heavily censor their own players that disagree with the poorly chosen direction the development is moving in, are really beyond any hope of redemption. For a game that is midway in development, how the dev team handle feedback from their players is a crucial part of the game's success or failure. The PGI dev team is frankly the worst I've encountered in their way to handle their players and their game community, which effectively has ruined this game. There are quite a few more blunders I can't even explain due to the 5000 char limit here, just google and you'll without a doubt find more. You have been warned, get involved in this game at your own peril. The only reason I don't give this game a zero is because it hasn't blown up my computer.    … Expand
  6. Jestun
    Sep 20, 2013
    3
    Sadly MWO is a shadow of the game it should be.

    First, lets look at what it is, ignoring what it was promised to be. Gameplay 6/10 Fairly solid core gameplay. The feel of the mech controls is good, the difference between torso aiming and arm aiming works well. However when you look beyond the basic core features it's not so good. One example would be the ghost heat system.    Sadly MWO is a shadow of the game it should be.

    First, lets look at what it is, ignoring what it was promised to be.

    Gameplay 6/10

    Fairly solid core gameplay. The feel of the mech controls is good, the difference between torso aiming and arm aiming works well. However when you look beyond the basic core features it's not so good.

    One example would be the ghost heat system. There is not a single part of the game which explains, or even acknowledges the existence of this system that adds additional heat which appears from nowhere when you fire too many of the same weapon types. But the only way to know what effect it will have on your build is to search the forums (a chore in itself given the search functionality), find the actual figures and do the math yourself. Although some of the fansite build calculators may now account for this.

    Graphics 5/10

    The CryEngine 3 is an engine that can really look good. And earlier in the beta it did look quite good. But as time went on they lowered the graphics to allow people with lower spec machines to play. While this in itself is a good thing, it should only be the *low* graphics settings that are decreased. Instead the maxed graphics settings have steadily decreased in quality.

    The graphics options themselves are very limited. Depth of Field (blur for distances not being focused on) can only be disabled by turning off all post processin and, film grain (digital blurryness over the entire screen) is forced on for example.

    On top of that everything from buildings to trees to abandoned vehicles are completely indestructible.

    Content 2/10

    2 game modes, both of which are team deathmatch with "stand in this spot to capture a seemingly randomly placed oil derrick" added in. Each battle effects 3 things your c-bills (ingame currency), your mech xp and your pilot xp. It is essentially one meaningless battle after another.

    Sound 5/10

    The weapon sound effects are quite good, but there is no soundtrack whatsoever and walking my 100 ton mech through a city seems like a very quiet affair.

    Features 1/10

    It has a friends list. That's about it.

    It doesn't have any way to chat other than within a match (and even there only via text, no VOIP integration). It doesn't have a lobby system to select a server to join. It doesn't have any "big picture" objectives the kind of thing community warfare was supposed to provide. You can only play solo or in teams of 2, 3, 4 or 12. It doesn't have any achievements.

    You can't even change the order that your mechs are displayed in the garage, and once you have a few you may well want to.

    Developer community interaction 1/10

    Regardless of what some people have posted in other reviews, this matters. Unlike in a single player game you are required to deal with the developers, even if that interaction is limited to downloading whatever patch they put out (something that is optional in a single player game, so understandably has less importance there).

    Unfortunately this is the biggest issue the game has. A quick Google search will find various gaming press articles if you want to read more about the developer community interaction, so I'll just say that they (specifically Russ) troll people on Twitter for critisism, write off the "core" playerbase (their words) as being the vocal minority, they announce changes, get dozens of pages of feedback showing exactly what is wrong with it and then implement it with exactly the flaws that the community repeatedly told them about, and much, much more.

    So that's what the game is, but what it's not is much more interesting and gives a real insight into the developers (who, as mentioned above, you will have to deal with if you play the game).

    What it's not is true to PGI's self-announced design pillars of the game. The core design pillars included no coolant flush, 1st person only simulation, role warfare and community warfare. Every one of these design pillars has been broken or delayed with little to no information given to the community about them.

    MWO was a kickstarter, and some people may well dispute that but a quick Google search will show the developers (PGI) and the publishers (IGP) both stating that it was, as well as various media outlets agreeing. While the founders packs never explicitly stated that the above design pillars would be met, the implication when you say "we are going to include these things, give us your money" is that you are paying money to support the development of the game as described to you.

    Sadly the end result is that the meaningless battle after battle make the game feel like nothing more than a low rate MOBA. And even judges against other MOBAs it's extremely lacking in content and basic features.    … Expand
  7. giant_snark
    Sep 20, 2013
    4
    MechWarrior Online is the skeletal shadow of the good game it might have been, lacking almost every promised feature over a year after open beta, over which time period almost no progress has been made. DirectX 11 support, lobbies, hit registration and netcode fixes, mech scaling problems, even the much-played-up Community Warfare and UI 2.0 updates are nowhere to be found, and are now aMechWarrior Online is the skeletal shadow of the good game it might have been, lacking almost every promised feature over a year after open beta, over which time period almost no progress has been made. DirectX 11 support, lobbies, hit registration and netcode fixes, mech scaling problems, even the much-played-up Community Warfare and UI 2.0 updates are nowhere to be found, and are now a year overdue. And in this state, Piranha Games has chosen to say the game is now "launched" instead of "beta".

    Currently, MWO is a 12v12 deathmatch with two flavors of capturing squares thrown in. In Assault you can capture the other base by sitting in the square, and in Conquest you can capture various squares around the map. And this is after explicit promises that base capturing would not just be sitting in squares, but rather would involve disabling defenses and systems in an actual base. All you can do is queue to be thrown into 12v12 deathmatches. The game has been in this state for over a year.

    In fact, in some ways the game has gotten worse. Graphics have been scaled back in an attempt to make the game more accessible to low-end hardware, but performance has not actually improved. Instead all the pretty features on weapons effects and textures have been removed, and a film grain has been added to cover it up.

    The weapons balancing has been a bewildering and incompetently managed mess. Fixes are slow to come, even many months after they are obvious issues, and what fixes are made demonstrate a complete misunderstanding of their own mechanics, and often create new problems. Flamers for the longest time did more heat to YOUR mech than to your target a problem that would only take a simple database tweak to fix, and which did not happen for over half a year. Now, the flamers are merely useless, rather than suicidal, as they still do not do much more heat to the target than to yourself. In response to a meta dominated by long-range weapons, PGI misinterpreted the problem as being about boating (using many of the same weapon), and introduced a nebulous undocumented feature called Ghost Heat, which adds extra heat when too many of the same weapon are fired within a short period. There is no way for a new player to know about this in the game it is nowhere mentioned or explained. So instead of directly rebalancing long-ranged weapons, PGI introduced complex and hamfisted "solutions" that didn't actually solve the problem. This kind of behavior has consistently been PGI's pattern. They are not competent.

    Piranha Games has not merely failed to implement most of what would make this a finished game they have instead implemented features that are entirely against what the playerbase wants and what the early supporters paid for. Despite promises that this game would be first-person-only, they broke that promise by then saying there would be 3PV, but with separate queues so you would not be forced to play with people using 3PV to peek from behind cover. Then they broke THAT promise by having no separate queues. The same went for promises that there would be no consumable coolant items, which provide a distinct in-game advantage to those who use them by reducing the heat that limits your firing rate.

    The promised features that would make MWO a good game are all in the future as they have been for over a year, after deadline after deadline has come and gone, and we have now reached launch with none of these features (Community Warfare, UI 2.0, lobbies, etc.) being in sight. The game as it stands today is barely worth of being called a beta demo, and as a launched game it completely fails to deliver. Playing this deathmatch arena can be fun for a while, but it does not have the features required to make it last, and PGI's history is strong evidence that those promised features will not be coming anytime soon.

    Mechwarrior is a great franchise. It's so sad what Piranha Games has done to it.    … Expand
  8. HDMan
    Sep 20, 2013
    10
    Though the game isn't complete yet (Community Warfare, New User Interface, additional maps and all the game types) This is BY FAR the best MechWarrior/BattleTech game I've played in AGES. I have been playing since closed beta and I still marvel at the sights and sounds of battle and LOVE seeing the iconic mechs finally stomping around the battlefield. I highly recommend joining a unitThough the game isn't complete yet (Community Warfare, New User Interface, additional maps and all the game types) This is BY FAR the best MechWarrior/BattleTech game I've played in AGES. I have been playing since closed beta and I still marvel at the sights and sounds of battle and LOVE seeing the iconic mechs finally stomping around the battlefield. I highly recommend joining a unit and utilize teamwork to take down opposing teams. I think it will be about another year before the game is fully fleshed out, but it's still a TON of fun to play as is...… Expand
  9. Monsoon
    Sep 20, 2013
    8
    A very fun, light Simulation Mech Combat game, I've been playing it for over a year (closed beta) and can see myself playing it for years to come. Granted not all the features are implemented yet and require patience, but what we have is a solid game with plenty of room to grow. It's one current draw back is only to game modes, but more are on the way. I'll give this game a 10/10 once theyA very fun, light Simulation Mech Combat game, I've been playing it for over a year (closed beta) and can see myself playing it for years to come. Granted not all the features are implemented yet and require patience, but what we have is a solid game with plenty of room to grow. It's one current draw back is only to game modes, but more are on the way. I'll give this game a 10/10 once they do implement many more of the expected features, assuming their as good as we hope.… Expand
  10. Lord_Banshee
    Sep 20, 2013
    5
    Slow-Paced gaming, piecemeal-destructible battlemechs are back. Worth a try, if only to understand why all these old guys love them so much.

    Mechs are cool, don't usually die in one shot like squishy soldiers, and can be sorely messed up but still functional. Wonderfully rendered by artist Flying Debris, they make awesome sounds with their weapons and when hit by effects. To some, the    Slow-Paced gaming, piecemeal-destructible battlemechs are back. Worth a try, if only to understand why all these old guys love them so much.

    Mechs are cool, don't usually die in one shot like squishy soldiers, and can be sorely messed up but still functional. Wonderfully rendered by artist Flying Debris, they make awesome sounds with their weapons and when hit by effects. To some, the pace of the gaming, like baseball, is a plus. If you find it too slow, hop in a Light Mech and double-time it.

    I got more value out of my $60 Founder's pack than I did with Skyrim or Starcraft2. However, getting that value is Fraught With Peril and best attempted with a masochistic streak or Asperger's or both.

    Allegedly there are over 1 million MWO accounts. Read before you download and have a chance to be one of the 2-4% of accounts that actually still play.

    1) Buddies!

    You'll enjoy the game more, and be able to use all of its drop modes, only after you meet others who play and drop into games with them. Solo players operate under multiple disadvantages:

    A) you'll never drop as a group, and can never play premade 12v12
    B) other groups will drop against you in a coordinated fashion, making it more likely that you face 2-1 or worse tactical engagements
    C) less likely to learn tips of gameplay, mech loadouts, or gain cbills/experience
    D) "win" a match is either kill all enemies or occupy the most bases. There are two similar flavors of base occupation. This is the way it has been since first day of closed beta, and there is no concrete assurance of expansion. You will face this realization alone, with no one to inspire you or challenge you.

    Dropping with others helps alleviate these conditions. Once the repetitive aspects of the game take hold, you show up more for your drop buddies than the "same-old, same-old" gameplay.

    Therefore, your first download should be TEAMSPEAK. Grab it, set it up, use it. Meet peops at the NGNG or ComStar TS servers. Find a group that mirrors your personality and gaming experience. Look for experienced helpful pilots while you conduct...

    2) the Learning Curve

    No one you met completely turned you off to this game? Good, now it's the game's turn to try that. Install MWO and ignore all attempts that this FtP game tries to remove your money from you.

    Pick a trial mech and then activate a Training session on a map of your choice.

    Get familiar with the options menu and assign keys as you see fit. Get used to third person view, then turn it off and enjoy the minimap.
    Get used to movement, targeting, firing, managing heat, then doing them all simultaneously.
    Learn the maps: what you can see, where you can/can't go, timings. Boring, I know, but less boring than spectator mode or the seat-sulk after a ragequit.

    3) the Constant is Change

    Being alpha/beta and unfinished, it'll change, early and often. Sometimes ridiculously so, as PGI can't balance weaponry to save our lives, and they don't ask the oldschool elite players for help.

    So, in the case of LRM missiles, we were treated to multiple waves of LRMageddon, where misses rained from the sky in wildly OP batches, only to be nerfed into oblivion. Rinse, repeat. Mech variants were not immune either.

    4) Promises, Promises

    Entice the old-schoolers who start the word-of-mouth for you and then change your mind for business reasons.

    This was to be first-person view, no coolant used, never pay-to-win, with a slick UI, new mechs/maps regularly, timeline-accurate, and all leading up to backing your favorite faction/merc corps/clan and live out Mike Stackpole novels during Community Warfare.

    Hated third-person view crept in under cover of darkness.
    Hated coolant was initially added with pay-to-win overtones until the hue and cry reached epic levels.
    Influx of new mechs gradually slowed, maps appear sporadically and some are environmental rehashes of existing maps.
    No lobby at all.
    Timeline was junked once it was obvious that the Dev team fell behind for good.
    Clan mechs and weapons? Dream on.
    UIv2.0 for Launch? Nope. You may look upon the clumsy current UI and frown, but I assure you it was worse in Closed Beta.
    Community Warfare? No guarantee this company will be alive to implement it, and I'm leery of what it will look like if they do. The Launch amounted to nothing more than a typical bimonthly update. No new concept was instantiated that hadn't been tried before. PGI in their Launch gave thousands of online gamer guys a glimpse of what it's like to be the hot girl who finally gets the stud of her dreams in bed, only to find he consistently cums in 3 seconds. Is MWO fun? Yes. Hard to learn? Can be. Boredom sooner than later? Yes. Is it the only MechWarrior genre game that will have future updates? Yes. Could be great and actually implement its vision? Maybe, 20% chance.    … Expand
  11. xMWHOx
    Sep 20, 2013
    2
    Waited 10 years for this game. PGI started out amazing, talk of many game pillars, and great concepts, but forced to rush out the game by IGP. A lot of us gave a lot of money in the founders program to fund the game, and IGP takes it and puts into there other projects, thus delay many important game features.

    This game has a lot of potential, great looking game, but its so bare bone,    Waited 10 years for this game. PGI started out amazing, talk of many game pillars, and great concepts, but forced to rush out the game by IGP. A lot of us gave a lot of money in the founders program to fund the game, and IGP takes it and puts into there other projects, thus delay many important game features.

    This game has a lot of potential, great looking game, but its so bare bone, and not much has changed since closed beta. There is a couple of maps, 2 game types, and no real reason to play but to grind Cbills to pokemon collect them all. After 1year doing the exact same thing it gets boring. Any other franchise I would of stopped playing after 1-2 months. Only thing that kept me going was Community Run tournaments. But IGP does not want to support that community.

    Terrible balance, no lobbies, no CW, really bad new user experience and should have not launched. It should still be in an alpha stage.

    I may take another look at this game in a year, but if IGP continues to ruin this franchise, it might not last too long. Really sad as PGI seems like they have their heart in the right place, but just seem to continue to disappoint everyone. With IGP's Gestapo forum mods censoring anyone who says anything bad about the game, and banning players because they are posting without playing the game in 1-2 months is the last straw. They should be trying to win the player base back and not throwing them to the curb.

    Without IGP I'd say 5/10. With IGP its 2/10.    … Expand
  12. Naotaka
    Sep 20, 2013
    9
    The gamepleay features the Mechcombat we have all been dreaming about. Controls work well and the models are great, in fact much better then the original designs they are heavily based on. For this to be perfect it needs Community Warfare, more maps, Occulus Rift support and ongoing balancing like the developers are doing. And a Marauder dagnabbit :D
  13. Flunkie
    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    Mechwarrior Online is a Battletech game in name only. It has the intellectual property, a few of the dozens of possible weapon systems, and the feel of piloting a mech. The graphics are OK for a game in this era. The main problem is that the game-play itself boils down to nothing more than a bigger and slower version of multi-player Call of Duty. The developer has repeatedly tweaked weaponMechwarrior Online is a Battletech game in name only. It has the intellectual property, a few of the dozens of possible weapon systems, and the feel of piloting a mech. The graphics are OK for a game in this era. The main problem is that the game-play itself boils down to nothing more than a bigger and slower version of multi-player Call of Duty. The developer has repeatedly tweaked weapon systems in a vain attempt at stopping players from finding and using the most lethal mech configurations possible. If their telemetry tells them that 60% of the players are employing the ERPPC successfully, and winning more matches with them than not winning, then the ERPPC will be altered so that nobody wants to use it any longer. When the herd of players then alter their mech designs to utilize the Gauss Rifle, because it has now become the weapon of choice, the developer will step in and nerf the Gauss Rifle. Then the players switch to heavily using Long Range Missiles because the developers decided that they weren't being used at all and doubled their damage. Well, you can guess what happens. There has been an endless cycle of this weapon “balancing”, and it has led to nowhere. The players always gravitate to what calculates out to be the best build; alpha strike, DPS, speed, and range. The developer is like a puppy chasing its tail in this regard.

    When you consider Mechwarrior as a game, you think of completing missions with some greater goal; a story arc, capturing planets, controlling a region of the galaxy, etc. The developers promised something called Community Warfare, which was supposed to have some kind grand strategy that would allow the MWO community to do more than fight in 12 on 12 matches. In theory, the 12 on 12 matches would mean more than just another win/loss in the player’s personal profile, there would be benefits or consequences to success or failure. This was not only never delivered, it seems to have simply disappeared from the table! Community Warfare is what the vast majority of core audience wants to be a part of, even if only a very small part-time role in. Not only has the developer failed to deliver, they simply have failed to understand the game and it audience, and seem to be focused on the minutia related to weapon specifics and bell curves for matching players. They are also very focused on bringing in a broader audience and have told their community that they don't really matter any more.

    The biggest failure developer has made is in its communication to its community or core audience. The developer has made numerous promises, both big and small that it has not kept, and as far as its community is concerned, probably never intended to keep. In short, they have broken their promises, or simply outright lied. They then had the audacity to tell the community that is upset by the broken promises that the community was not its target audience. It is hard to say what exactly the developer’s target audience is, but it apparently is not the following:

    Original founders that paid money to fund the development
    Players since the beginning of beta that paid money based on the promises that were made
    Anyone with a complaint about virtually any aspect of any promise that was broken
    Players that don’t want to play in or with 3rd person perspective players
    Players interested in Community Warfare
    Players wanting more than Assault or Conquest victory conditions for matches
    Players wanting more weapon systems than the set that was released during beta
    Players wanting something of a physics system that doesn't allow playing bumper cars in a match

    The developer appears to be targeting the following as its preferred audience:

    Players with little or no knowledge of Mechwarrior/Battletech
    Players so fascinated by package deals that they impulse buy
    Players more interested in paying money for decorations and paint than achieving any kind of goal
    Players with such a short attention span that they could not be bothered to learn anything complex
    Players that drop in for a few matches and have just enough fun to spend some money converting XP
    Players that are loners and don’t care about team coordination or communication
    Players uninterested in any kind of strategy, tactics, realism, physics, fire, water, or the wheel

    This review could go on and on, but the bottom line is that Mechwarrior is a one-third baked cake that came out tasting like something from the sewer. The developer’s condescending, and frankly insulting, communications to its core supporters about it’s broken promises and lies should be enough to make anyone wary of this game. If it is not, then you are a member of their target audience and they will be expecting to see you logging on soon.    … Expand
  14. tvaughanx89
    Sep 20, 2013
    0
    Warning this is not a complete product an if you intend to play this game you will end up spending 60-80$ for bays an such. No community warfare 3pv no story or single player mode just drop kill repeat. The only content added on a regular basis is more mech's first the hero for about 15-30$ depending on size. Then a week later the other variants pgi is milking the community for but theWarning this is not a complete product an if you intend to play this game you will end up spending 60-80$ for bays an such. No community warfare 3pv no story or single player mode just drop kill repeat. The only content added on a regular basis is more mech's first the hero for about 15-30$ depending on size. Then a week later the other variants pgi is milking the community for but the community is letting them. Feels more like a cash grab then a video game. Pgi can consistently release things that cost real money while delivering no game adding content occasionally the community complains enough an gets a new map but then its back to making hero mech an campion mechs. If you ask me i say they have no clue on how to do community warfare an don't care to as long as the community keeps lobbing cash at them for new skinned mechs. Again warning this game is clearly a beta it is not complete it does require you to spend money to be good at the game there are no features other than 12v12 combat a clunky mech lab bad hit detection absolutely horrendous chat interface an the constant release of 15-30$ hero mechs.… Expand
  15. Panzerfloof
    Sep 20, 2013
    9
    This is the game every battletech fan has been waiting for!

    It has fast paced mech combat and full customization. The in game experience is excellent!

    The UI needs work but everything will be worked out soon(tm)
  16. JoachVil
    Sep 20, 2013
    5
    Faction warfare nowhere in sight at launch (despite it being a "design pillar" from day 1). Small selection of maps, and very unimaginative game modes.

    Incredibly poor communication between devs and the community. Hostility from the company president towards fans who were critical of his design decisions...

    Give it a pass. it just isn't worth committing cash into at this stage.
  17. Aastarius
    Sep 20, 2013
    7
    Taken for what it is the game is a lot of fun and just officially taken out of beta the upcoming additions planned for the next few months look to be taking the game in a very good direction. Should they be implemented well then score will increase accordingly.

    Has to be said that new players will find their enjoyment of the game greatly enhanced simply by avoiding the games official    Taken for what it is the game is a lot of fun and just officially taken out of beta the upcoming additions planned for the next few months look to be taking the game in a very good direction. Should they be implemented well then score will increase accordingly.

    Has to be said that new players will find their enjoyment of the game greatly enhanced simply by avoiding the games official forums. Appears [some] people don't like the decisions made by the developer for the game and have decided no one else should either     … Expand
  18. Xianyu
    Sep 20, 2013
    4
    I give this game a 5 at most. A 4 for a really, really, really terrible development team.

    Right now, the game, from a gaming standpoint, is below average. Simply put, features are broken. The main one 'host state rewind' touted to fix the lag issue that causes your weapons to do no damage, is doing the exact opposite. As someone with a few hundred games, I can honestly say that many of    I give this game a 5 at most. A 4 for a really, really, really terrible development team.

    Right now, the game, from a gaming standpoint, is below average. Simply put, features are broken. The main one 'host state rewind' touted to fix the lag issue that causes your weapons to do no damage, is doing the exact opposite. As someone with a few hundred games, I can honestly say that many of my attacks simply do not land. Ever.

    Whether or not a weapon remains effective or not is completely at the whim of the Piranha Games employees who change their mind as often as they change as their clothes. They nerf this, buff that, and quite frequently either make a weapon completely useless, or so overpowered that two days after a patch it's all anyone will use. And there are no 'hotfixes'. These changes stay in for months at a time, leading to heavily biased weapon/mech metagames that migrate to new choices every few weeks.

    To date, the development team has gone back on foundimg principles, belittled those who complain about the changes, and outright ignore the vocal portion of their playerbase citing that they are 'a small portion of the demographic'. That's right. Founders are a 'small portion' and should be completely ignored.

    A short list of things they changed their minds about: Consumables. Said they'd never be in the game. They are. Thankfully, most of them are completely, utterly useless.
    3PV: If you haven't heard of this one, you don't know this game. The first documentation for this game said that it would NOT contain third-person in any way, shape or form.
    The c-bill nerf coming into launch: Several months ago, the patch notes claim that the nerf to earnings (somewhere in the realm of a 40-50% decrease for most players), was to 'balance' the amount of income because of the change to 24-player battlefields rather than 16. When this proved to be a massive nerf rather than a 'balance', PGI refused to comment on anything, until an 'ask the devs' and a podcast revealed that they did it deliberately to force people to grind longer. Agree with the nerf or not (85% of players don't), it was still placed in the PATCH NOTES as a 'balance'. And it follows a common vein of PGI outright lying to their customers.
    Hero Mechs: Only available to purchase for MC, the 'real life currency' of MWO. Many argue they are no better than normal mechs, but these mechs have a C-bill earnings bonus attached to them, and often have hardpoints and abilities that heavily follow the current 'metagame' trends. IE: Releasing a jump jet sniper mech when the jump-jetting sniper meta was prevalent. While not strictly pay-to-win, these mechs are often superior to common mechs of the same chassis, and can NOT be purchased with normal currency. This rings alarm bells.

    New players are lulled into a false sense of security with the 'cadet bonus'. You get near eight-million credits for your first twenty five games. After that many credits are accrued, your cadet bonus is gone. The heaviest mechs, the stalkers and atlas', cost 10 million credits. You will be lucky to be earning ten thousand credits a minute.

    In other words, an assault mech will cost you 20 hours of playing to earn. In an arena-based shooter with only two game modes.

    Weapons can cost anywhere from 10000 for a machine gun, to 700,000, or more.

    DHS, a 'required' upgrade for mechs, costs millions of dollars. Engines cost millions of dollars. Swapping armor or ARTEMIS costs millions. The different modules cost millions.

    In short, the game is too grindy, too samey, and too meta-gamey. Though don't worry, the veterans of MWO will be happy to tell you to 'ignore the grind' while they sit on their accounts with literally hundreds of millions of credits in them, gathered up from times when earnings weren't so cripplingly small.

    So, to summarize. The game is decently fun for a while. But any casual gamer will be turned off by the huge grind and exorbitant prices on the 'pay real money' function. Hardcore gamers willing to put up with the grind will be scared away by the incompetence of a team that balances on a LOWER SKILL LEVEL, instead of UPPER SKILL LEVEL. That's right. They perform balance on the low-skill gamers, not by observing the elite.

    PGI are either incompetent and honestly believe that their changes are for the betterment of the game and just can't see what they're doing wrong. Or they've got their heads so far up their collective asses that they don't even care what their core demographic is saying.

    I don't know which possibility bothers me more.

    I honestly think that, at this point, PGI are beyond help. They've alienated their once-hardcore fans and corrupted MWO with features attempting to pander towards 'casual' audiences, in spite of all protests.

    Clearly, PGI is on an island.

    Maybe this game should be, too.

    An island without you.    … Expand
  19. polaco
    Sep 20, 2013
    7
    The game is really fun to play. However you have to know something about battlemechs. This is a thinking game where you can't just charge to battle as a brainlesss horse. You need to know your mech, it's abilities and flaws hence you won't last long in battle. You need to also know how to play your mech and where to stand in battle, an scout is not the same than heavy and a heavy hasThe game is really fun to play. However you have to know something about battlemechs. This is a thinking game where you can't just charge to battle as a brainlesss horse. You need to know your mech, it's abilities and flaws hence you won't last long in battle. You need to also know how to play your mech and where to stand in battle, an scout is not the same than heavy and a heavy has nothing to do with an assault Mech. Each has it's role in the battlefield and to survive it needs to be played as so. The game still has it's issues and lacks of many things. However it's very enjoyable and since matches last just some minutes you can jump into battle at any free space time you have, for instance to take a short break while working or studying. The game looks impressive and guns sounds impressive. Still is a game in development and I really wish the developers don't turn it into a brainless shooter for the masses.… Expand
  20. Blodpaatann
    Sep 20, 2013
    2
    MechWarrior Online, at the core, has very solid and cool gameplay, with pretty decent graphics. However, it is not very engaging, as it has no narrative to keep people interested for role-playing reasons, or good balance and support for a competitive scene. In the end you're left grinding for the sake of buying new bits rather than because you actually enjoy or care for what you're doing,MechWarrior Online, at the core, has very solid and cool gameplay, with pretty decent graphics. However, it is not very engaging, as it has no narrative to keep people interested for role-playing reasons, or good balance and support for a competitive scene. In the end you're left grinding for the sake of buying new bits rather than because you actually enjoy or care for what you're doing, which is a shame because the concept is quite cool and the basics are well done.

    Pros:
    - Cool gameplay, interesting take on old school MechWarrior.
    - Good graphics, cool designs, pretty good sound effects as well.
    - Free, and initial monetary boost helps you get into it enough to form an opinion.

    Cons:
    - Somewhat dodgy balance.
    - Little variation in game modes.
    - Many bugs and glitches, freezing and crashing to desktop is uncommon but still happens way too often.
    - VERY expensive cash shop, easily up towards 30 dollars for a single chassis.
    - If you have more than three or less than 11 friends you won't be able to play with them all at once. :(
    - Very bad user interface.    … Expand
  21. oldhasu
    Sep 20, 2013
    2
    It's just a voice of "vocal minority". I liked the game the way it was promised to be. Spent a whole lot of money and time on it. But. Well, to be honest, currently im playing this game by inertia, cant drop it cause I spent too much on it.. Developers keep pumping the money by selling 'mechs and trinkets. Still no community warfare. People are trying to entertain themselves by makingIt's just a voice of "vocal minority". I liked the game the way it was promised to be. Spent a whole lot of money and time on it. But. Well, to be honest, currently im playing this game by inertia, cant drop it cause I spent too much on it.. Developers keep pumping the money by selling 'mechs and trinkets. Still no community warfare. People are trying to entertain themselves by making leagues and tourneys. But leagues and all other stuff made by community itself are not supported by developers. You cant even drop with another group of other players by choice, you have to sync-drop and hope to get in the same game. For all other people who do not organize in units, trying to compete between each other, this game is Counter Strike on robots.… Expand
  22. Bugalski
    Sep 20, 2013
    8
    A solid, fun Battlemech sim that feels good, plays well and has a heap of potential. A more tactical, less 'twitch' oriented game for those who like a slower pace than the Counterstrike crowd. Some important features are yet to be implemented (some of these due in the near future) but it's still well worth a look. Being a free-to-play title you've really nothing to lose. Take some time toA solid, fun Battlemech sim that feels good, plays well and has a heap of potential. A more tactical, less 'twitch' oriented game for those who like a slower pace than the Counterstrike crowd. Some important features are yet to be implemented (some of these due in the near future) but it's still well worth a look. Being a free-to-play title you've really nothing to lose. Take some time to learn the unique controls and you'll find an absorbing and rewarding Mech-based shooter.
    *Note there are a number of scorebombers on here trying to lower the User Score but to be honest, while some of their gripes are legitimate (if perhaps overstated) I've had no stability or performance issues for a long while, even on older equipment. The publishers have certainly made some communication blunders along the way (they are a fairly small team after all), but for the most part these have been blown out of proportion by a highly vocal minority of passionate community members.    … Expand
  23. Pictomancer
    Sep 20, 2013
    9
    As far as large, hulking, customizable mech FPS' come by, this is one of the best I've played. The redesigns by "flying debris" used for this game are incredible, I never thought inner sphere mechs could look this "Awesome"

    They also did a good job in balancing gameplay. No more heat neutral, laser spamming, OHKO mechs of old.

    Someone summed it up best "A thinking man's FPS"
  24. FlyingBlind
    Sep 20, 2013
    10
    great core game with tons and tons of content coming. graphics and art are amazing especially the mech designs.
    right now it is pretty basic but the foundations have been laid, soon we will have community warfare, then the Clan Invasion and things are just going to go up from there.
    if you were ever a fan of battletech, or mechwarrior you need to play this game. if you like sci-fi    great core game with tons and tons of content coming. graphics and art are amazing especially the mech designs.
    right now it is pretty basic but the foundations have been laid, soon we will have community warfare, then the Clan Invasion and things are just going to go up from there.

    if you were ever a fan of battletech, or mechwarrior you need to play this game.
    if you like sci-fi shooters with lots of tactical problem solving and team work play this game
    if you are human, play this game.
    you can play as a large slow bruiser with lots of fire power or a light fast dancer that pokes in and out of fights controlling tempo and hitting the slower guys where they are soft.
    great mix of long and short range weapons that are nearly all good.
    nearly 100 different variant of mech to fight in and more coming out every month

    MWO is going to be huge get in now.    … Expand
  25. ryvrdrgn14
    Sep 20, 2013
    8
    I really enjoy the game for what it has to offer. The only thing that is currently missing is the framework to blend all the mech scrapping combat together and give it more purpose beyond improving one's skill and having fun trying out new builds.

    The connectivity issues are fine considering internet from the Philippines is usually horrible. The tweaks to make it more available on lower    I really enjoy the game for what it has to offer. The only thing that is currently missing is the framework to blend all the mech scrapping combat together and give it more purpose beyond improving one's skill and having fun trying out new builds.

    The connectivity issues are fine considering internet from the Philippines is usually horrible. The tweaks to make it more available on lower end computers has also been working wonders since release. The mech construction system is quite solid in my opinion and very fun to play around with and combat is always enjoyable for me as a casual player. The mech designs are just amazing compared to original Battletech/Mechwarrior designs and art.

    If you're looking for a nice game to pass the time with while piloting a giant robot and blowing up other giant robots, then Mechwarrior Online is a good game to try out. If you like customization, then it's definitely a good game for you try out. Just make sure you read up before buying your first mech. You will get a huge bonus in currency for your first 25 games as a new player. Don't waste it (but you can always start over with a new account).

    It's F2P so here's what you have to pay for: Paintjob, cosmetics, XP conversion (not necessary but it speeds things up), and Hero Mechs (mechs with a currency bonus when you play but they are by no means better than regular mechs). Overall it has a good F2P setup which lets me pay when I want to and it doesn't strongarm me into opening my wallet (which is how I prefer my F2P games).

    The download is not that big and you should be able to patch up quickly. Check the video guides, do the tutorial and take the trial mechs out for a spin (for best experience, make sure you pick a Champion Trial Mech since it is fully upgraded compared to regular Trial Mechs. Champions have a (C)).    … Expand
  26. Rattazustra
    Sep 19, 2013
    9
    The game started out slightly below average and improved slightly over the first half of the beta phase. Then it fell into rapid decline as it became more and more evident that neither did the developers know what they were doing, nor did they care. The game turned into a soulless money-whoring machine over the course of the past months, while at the same time all promised improvementsThe game started out slightly below average and improved slightly over the first half of the beta phase. Then it fell into rapid decline as it became more and more evident that neither did the developers know what they were doing, nor did they care. The game turned into a soulless money-whoring machine over the course of the past months, while at the same time all promised improvements never came.
    The launch know is beyond disappointing and the resulting game is as close to a scam as such a product can be. PGI already made enough undeserved money from this as it is. Do yourself a favor and do not give them any more. Companies who neither respect their product nor their customers deserve nothing from the player base.    … Expand
  27. theDashRendar
    Sep 19, 2013
    0
    This game gave me cancer.

    It's a pay2win mess, a total debacle with no game modes and no lobbies and no thought put into the design. This is not Mechwarrior 3 or Mechwarrior 4, it somehow is worse in every way, with even worse graphics than MechAssault an original XBOX game. Strategy is nothing but stick together in a ball and the grind is evil and terrible. Spend hundreds of    This game gave me cancer.

    It's a pay2win mess, a total debacle with no game modes and no lobbies and no thought put into the design. This is not Mechwarrior 3 or Mechwarrior 4, it somehow is worse in every way, with even worse graphics than MechAssault an original XBOX game.

    Strategy is nothing but stick together in a ball and the grind is evil and terrible. Spend hundreds of hours to master one single mech.

    Hero mechs are only available for real money and allow access to exclusive game play styles. That's the textbook definition of pay2win, and this game reeks of it. Avoid with your life.    … Expand
  28. Maspa
    Sep 19, 2013
    3
    Would have been a solid game but as beta progressed they kept making really bad decisions and cramming in new game systems which were confusing even if you took the time to work them out and also not explained anywhere in the actual game. So if you don't go hunting through their massive forums you can totally accidentally create broken builds which won't work as they should by the statsWould have been a solid game but as beta progressed they kept making really bad decisions and cramming in new game systems which were confusing even if you took the time to work them out and also not explained anywhere in the actual game. So if you don't go hunting through their massive forums you can totally accidentally create broken builds which won't work as they should by the stats presented in-game.

    They ban anyone who speaks up against the bizarre new direction the game is taking and are generally being horrible about it.

    They also keep delaying the promised Community Warfare and it's becoming clear that the CW which is finally going to make it into the game is going to be nothing more than a glorified global scoreboard.

    It's a real shame that it turned out this way, at one point I thought this was an amazing game and couldn't have imagined they would screw it up so badly.    … Expand
  29. GuineaRabbit
    Sep 19, 2013
    3
    The game is no where ready for release. The only two game modes are death match while standing in a glowing box. The game is still rife with bugs and missing features:

    The promised persistent universe affected by your victories or losses in battle which was dubbed Community Warfare is still vaporware with no ETA. Roughly 50% of all matches are lopsided from the get-go, on average it    The game is no where ready for release. The only two game modes are death match while standing in a glowing box. The game is still rife with bugs and missing features:

    The promised persistent universe affected by your victories or losses in battle which was dubbed Community Warfare is still vaporware with no ETA.

    Roughly 50% of all matches are lopsided from the get-go, on average it is a coin toss to whether your team will actually have a full roster of 12 players. Very often if your team does get assigned 12 players one or more will immediately disconnect from a crashed client. There is no way to reconnect to your mech after a crash, even though it is still stuck inert in the match. The team that starts the game missing players will most likely be steamrolled with no chance of winning.

    There is no lobby where players can communicate with one another to meet friends or form teams. There is no in-game voice communication system. There are no team command hotkeys to issue quick commands to your teammates such as 'Target this enemy', 'Charge!', 'Take cover!', etc... These features are standard fare for team based FPS type games, but sadly lacking from MWO.

    The new player experience is horrific to put it mildly. There is no real tutorial demonstrating how to drive your mech while controlling your torso and your arms independently. Nor is there any explanation on how to use your weapons to damage opponents. No where is it mentioned that Long-Range Missiles need a lock-on maintained for the entire flight time, laser weapons must be focused on the same aiming point for maximum damage, or the team crippling effects that ECM has. The new player must figure this out all on his/her own, thrown into the same pool against veterans who have been playing since Closed Beta with thousands of games under their belts.

    That's right, there is no 'Newbie Zone'. New players immediately face opponents with the most expensive and powerful Mechs fully upgraded with hundreds of games experience.

    Overall I rate the game a 3, due to the technical issues which have plagued the game since Closed Beta testing, the terrible new player experience, and lack of compelling content to keep you playing. The only reason it didn't get a lower score is because it is loosely based on BattleTech.    … Expand
  30. R_Razor
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    The principle behind the game is sound, and the in-game combat is fun and exciting for the most part. The game needs more content, an in-game voip and more content. I'm confident that these issues will be addressed as the game matures but would not hesitate to recommend it as it stands now to anyone that grew up loving Battletech.
Page:

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
See all critic reviews »