Microsoft: www.microsoft.com
The Mechwarrior franchise has always loomed large in PC gaming. From the very beginning with FASA's addictive Battletech games and Activision's first Mechwarrior PC game (which, looking at it today, is surprisingly ugly), to the sales and critical dominance of Mechwarrior 2 and Mercenaries, it's been one of the premiere sci-fi sims of all time. After a dormant time that saw Activision lose the license, Microprose finally released its Mechwarrior 3: a beautiful game saddled with questionable AI and a few other problems. Microsoft got the license next and they put original creators FASA Interactive on the job for Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance. Looks like they made the right decision, as this is one hell of a Battletech combat simulation.
Like before, the game lives and lumbers in FASA's melodramatic Battletech universe. In true Shakespearean fashion, a rival house, the Steiner Clan, conquers your character's home planet and puts his brothers, sisters and father to the sword. Your uncle recruits you to lead a renegade cadre of mechwarriors against the evil Steiner clan. Beginning with a sneak attack on the planetary moon.
The game is action packed, largely because of the new graphics engine. It really has to be seen to be believed. Mechwarrior 3 brought the series into the truly 3D accelerator optimized era and Mech4 ups the ante by using larger textures, more complex damage skins, higher polygon counts on everything, and liberal use of smoke, flame and electricity. Small vehicles don't just blow up real good; they sputter, flame and then short circuit. Mechs stumble to the ground like wounded giants, finally exploding in a starburst of radiance. With the graphics detail up and a very fast machine, the game is phenomenally exciting to watch. Microsoft included their handy graphics options screen, it lets you choose what your target framerate is and then adjusts the graphics to ensure it stays that way. The city and forest missions are doubly impressive in that no cheap tricks are used to model the trees and buildings. This is a sharp contrast to Mech3's sparse environments and Mech2's naked surfaces.
Audio is stunning as well. Wingmen and Lancemates shout orders back and forth, the Mechs footfalls thunder across the plains and they even captured the sound of snow crunching underfoot for the arctic missions.