At WWDC in San Francisco this afternoon, we caught our first actual in-game glimpse of MechWarrior: Tactical Command. In a nutshell, Tactical Command is a real-time tactical game that has you controlling up to four mechs in scripted 3D missions. It’ll launch with 21 missions total later this summer, with multiplayer and additional single-player content coming down the line.
Perhaps the coolest component we saw during the brief demonstration were the old-school MechWarrior trimmings in motion. When a mech’s leg is damaged, for example, it limps. If you fire energy weapons too much and too fast, mechs will overheat. Commands like charge and “alpha strike" were also detailed, proving that creator Personae Studios is looking to perfectly blend traditional real-time strategy to these basic MechWarrior elements.
The mission we saw this afternoon was late in the first chapter. Taking place in a large field, you were tasked to protect one mech against several waves of enemy mechs and various mobs. At the beginning, the mech you need to protect stomps to the middle of the field, you surround him with your four mechs strategically, and then you struggle keep him alive, as you pluck through move, attack, run, and stop commands via a snappy radial menu.
Personae says Tactical Command is set to hit iPad at some point later this summer. What we say today looked fantastic — and pretty faithful to the franchise — so we’ll definitely be following up a little later with a hands-on preview.
