MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Reviews
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a welcome addition to the series thanks to its various mission types, online co-op, and a healthy roster of mechs and mech variants.
As we wrap up our review, I still feel there is a lot we can discuss about MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. The career mode being one, but to do that, we’d almost have to write an entire review just on it as the Career Mode, while slightly the same as the story, does have some minor changes to its “story” as well as what it has to offer.
Explosive 31st century 'mech combat with a satisfying single player experience.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is an ideal starting point for anyone who wants to get into the mecha game genre. Its technical mechanics are daunting at first, and the management system can be harsh, but there is fun to be had in the destructible environments and PvE mayhem.
After two decades away, the PlayStation is finally back inside the Battletech universe, and it feels…alright.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a lot of fun for fans of the BattleTech franchise. It may not be the flashiest game around, and its story can be very campy at times. But this is pretty much your best bet for playing a 'Mech game on a PlayStation console. If you have (online) friends, co-op will likely provide some extra thrills, and the generous DLC support is great to see. It may be a bit rough around the edges, but MechWarrior 5 is more than welcome on PlayStation after all this time.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries offers a surprisingly accessible action packed experience with an impressive amount of depth. The managing of resources and expenses creates an intricate and rewarding metagame that expertly complements the intensity of the game's battles. Despite some shortcomings in cumbersome menu design and lacking mission variety, MechWarrior 5 is easy to recommend for both series veterans and newcomers.
MechWarrior 5 is certainly a blast from the past, but I wish it was more.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a shooter with a considerable degree of customization, set in an alluring but static universe, with combat being its central and redeeming feature. The action tends to be generally fun and satisfying, although framed around repetitive missions. The missed opportunities are obvious - such as greater depth to your company's management, or having a tangible impact on the game world.
All in all, I’m quite pleased with how much the devs have done with MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries. Heroes of the Inner Sphere only enhances a rock solid foundation. Granted, it’s certainly not a perfect experience, but I can now confidently recommend MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries to any mech enthusiasts. Just make sure to get it with the DLC
The biggest issue with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is that it hits you with all of its shortcomings at once. Keep playing, though, and the game establishes itself as a fun title that's worthy of the MechWarrior moniker. Play it with friends, and it becomes even more entertaining. Dated aspects of its presentation aside, the combat remains fun mission after mission, and it continues to test you as you become more powerful. Start blowing apart enemy mechs with a small array of PPC cannons and make a few big pay days, and you'll appreciate the game for what it is.
There's fun to be had with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, but it's probably not for everyone. If the management aspect of the game appeals to you almost as much as using a giant mech to launch a salvo of missiles at a large skyscraper-sized enemy, then you'll likely enjoy MechWarrior 5. There's lots of repetition in the gameplay, but it's tempered a little by the changes it goes through as a result of your growing mercenary outfit. It's rewarding if you put the time in, but it's a shame there's no matchmaking to help alleviate the repetition.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries tries to be inclusive, but unfortunately makes the mainstream issues with the genre all the more apparent without doing anything truly new or exciting to really draw the player in.
Mercenaries 5 needed six more months of testing and refinement before seeing the light of day. The game's mech combat is great for enthusiasts of the genre, but the lack of polish may leave newcomers cold. I recommend it for hardcore fans, but casual players may want to wait for the bugs to be ironed out.
Our MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries review is in, and it's a game that flirts with greatness before settling into a more middling experience.
Like your Grandpa's rusty old Blackjack, Mechwarrior 5 is a great machine that could use a lot of polish.
Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries delivers pulse-pounding mech action. It just lacks the patches to make it truly shine.
It may not offer the twitchest of gameplay, but getting past some antiquated aspects will yield an enjoyable time.
Patient gamers waiting for a new installment of MechWarrior will be pleased to find a graphically modern version of a classic franchise, but also a game that struggles to compete with the story, pacing and characters of recent action games that have learned to balance complexity and momentum with a little more panache.
A thoroughly decent-to-good mech game with some weird design choices and a not-always-good retro feel.