~5 minute readBattleTech: Lots of Meching around
War is a way of life on 31st-centry Pacifica
He cursed himself for what felt like the 15th time in the last hour. The inside of his neuro-helmet was slick with sweat, making matters even worse now that there was poor contact with the helmet's electrodes. He remembered the message that his instructors drilled into his head again and again: "Controlling a 'Mech requires patience and above all strategic allocation of resources." Funny how it was never as easy when the trainer 'Mechs were firing back.
"I cannot let father down," Jason mumbled to himself as he aligned the Chameleon's twin medium lasers on the approaching Locust's torso. "Cannot let the computer keep fighting for me, especially after last time," Jason thought, ruefully remembering how he had caused a critical overheat by being careless.
Slowing his breathing, Jason scanned the status report of his 'Mech's condition. His concentration was broken by alarm bells sounding and the warning, "Critical shot to the head! Man eject!" blaring into his ears. Numb, Jason triggered the eject button, blasting the canopy off the top of the 'Mech and causing him to drop the 35 feet to the ground, safely cocooned within the seat's webbing.
Dejectedly, Jason detached himself from the now useless seat and trudged back to the Citadel's training grounds, realizing that he now had another failure he would have to try to live down with the mechanics. "They already hate me because of their station in life," said Jason, realizing that tomorrow's training session would be just as brutal as today's.
If Jason thought he had problems training to be a 'MechWarrior, he didn’t know what fate lay ahead when Kuritan forces attacked the planet. Now, eighteen years old and totally alone, he's adrift within a war-ravaged city, undertrained, and with only the money he had saved as a student. Add to this his being hunted and pursued by the occupational forces and you'll get the feeling of our new role-playing game, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception. While the above text is not from the game, it does give you a taste of how you might feel when you play it.
Based upon FASA's popular adventure board games of armored combat in the 31st century, you are cast as Jason Youngblood. Raised as a court favorite (due to father's friendship with the local duke), Jason is arrogant, egotistical and vain. But suddenly he's forced not only to survive on his own, but to try to piece together the fate of his father... and his father's loyal guard.
While this storyline may seem to be a reasonable premise for one of our interactive fiction stories, walking into BattleTech is a departure for the traditional Infocom player. This is not an interactive fiction story. This is a full-fledged computer role-playing game (RPG), complete with training and experience, armour, weapons and equipment acquisition, party building, impressive graphics, and lots of combat. And, as an Infocom first, this game is not text based! But this is not standard RPG experience.
This is a game with all the depth and richness you expect from Infocom, plus all the excitement of the BattleTech universe.
Developed by Westwood Associates, the wizards behind SSI's Phantasie III and Epyx's Summer Games and World Games, The Crescent Hawk's Inception is a unique, animated, and richly detailed game. The story in BattleTech is more intriguing and more in depth than that of any other computer role-playing game.
One of the features that makes this game unique is the addition of many animated "outtakes" that appear at various points throughout the game. They are designed in the style of "monga" or Japanese, comic books. Whether you see the expressive face of Jason or the explosive missile launch from a Locust, the "outtakes" will bring the story even more alive and enrich your playing experience.
But the animated "outtakes" and a rich storyline are only part of the excitement of the game. BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception features the largest playing area of any computer RPG. With over four million (that's right, four million!) locations which your party can visit, BattleTech offers the player a huge territory in which to explore and fight.
Combat, too, is of a scope befitting such an exhilarating game. Whether you are in your 'Mech (a 30-foot tall, 20-ton war-machine) or on foot, alone or in the party you've assembled, combat is a frequent test of your skills and nerves. Hand-to-hand combat weapons range from longbows and pistols to vibroblades and laser rifles. But seated in your 'Mech, you can fire off laser blasts, infernos, and missiles. War is a way of life in the 31st century, and armaments of destruction are a way to survive in this harsh world.
If lots of tactical maneuvering and strategic planning is not your thing, BattleTech has an auto-combat capability that lets your computer do the planning and fighting for you. The story, the discovery, the excitement, however, are all still there.
And playing BattleTech couldn't be easier on the fingers. Your numeric keypad or arrow keys move you around both your geography and your menu choices. Joystick support will be available on some versions.
There's an added bonus for winning the game: should you be skillful enough to discover the secretly hidden 'Mech that we've placed at the end of the game, you can send for an exclusive, custom crafted Ral Partha Battle-Tech lead miniature. Just answer the question on the card inside the package (and send it to us with shipping and handling costs) and we'll send you the figure that has been designed and created especially for us and The Crescent Hawk's Inception. Plus, in your BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception package you'll find a spectacular poster and official Lyran Commonwealth 'Mech and Weapons Recognition Guide. And if you're among the first to get your copy of BattleTech, you'll get another real prize: in a limited number of specially marked packages, you'll find an authentic Crescent Hawk insignia pin! Wear it proudly!
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception will be available in November for the IBM and 100% compatibles (supports CGA, EGA, VGA, MCGA, and Tandy Graphics; 384K RAM required), in February for the Commodore 64/128, and in the Spring for the Apple II series and Amiga. Suggested retail price is $39.95 for the Commodore 64/128 and $49.95 for all other systems.
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
