Mech games

[Gespenst]

Anything with Front Mission (except for that dumb Evolved) in it (I've played all except Online and those two mobile games). Shame Square went too greedy and practically killed the franchise though (the only thing left is Front Mission: Dog Life & Dog Style manga)

And now, I'm trying Leynos 2 (aka that one escort level) and Valken 2 (pretty standard, but got some inspirations from FM2) plus trying to hook myself to Gungriffon series as well.

There's that one fanmade Valken remake as well, although sadly the development has been cancelled (the only thing left is the final stage and the final boss, most of them still have messy texture but the rest is pretty much playable). presumably due to the main crews went for Gunhound instead or something like that (http://as5e3.leynos.com/thx.html).

Forgot to mention, both Super Robot Wars Z2 chapters blasts.

[Mischief Maker]

Gigantic Army (PC)
Gunhounds (PC)
Dreadlock (PC)

Phantom Crash (Xbox)
S.L.A.I. (Phantom Crash 2) (PS2)

A.I.M 1&2 (PC)

Hovertanks instead of humanoid walkers, but something about A.I.M. 2 really reminds me of Mechwarrior.

[shmuppyLove]

For some inexplicable reason, I remembered Robot Alchemic Drive today.

http://youtu.be/5HXsIK5noBU

Oh god, the voice acting is horrifically bad. This and Castle Shikigami II should have a cage match to decide who is the worst.

http://youtu.be/vDORuIwmR-U

[Ghegs]

Gigantic Army (PC)
Gunhounds (PC)
Dreadlock (PC)

The first two are awesome, but I wouldn't count Dreadlock as a mech game. It's just an action-platformer (and kind of a dull one, in my opinion) that happens to have mech-like characters in it.

[ExitPlanetDust]

Bulk Slash - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwfdIzk9W4

Such a great 3rd person shooter.

+1 for Ghost in the Shell on the original Playstation. Probably the best anime licensed game ever made. I played through it again the other day and it never fails to entertain.

[BIL]

Gigantic Army is excellent. Arguably superior to obvious inspiration Assault Suits Valken in many regards. Has nowhere near ASV's atmosphere or style, but it's a leaner, tougher and more palpably violent (PILE.FUCKING.BUNKER) mecha sidescroller. The JAMMA-ized controls work a treat as long as you're not totally averse to double-tap dashing (don't get me wrong, it can be irritating in some games, but the input window is perfectly-judged; lax, but not to the point you can't make small adjustments without sliding all over the place). On balance I like it as much. Unobtrusive, logical and intense scoring system a bonus. Music sucks ass, sound effects rend ass asunder. I just mute the BGM level, set a joypad button to Foobar's "next track" key via joy2key and blast Shin Contra or G-Darius's OSTs.

I was *this* close to buying Dread Lock before the cumulative effect of its enormous player hitbox, lethargic bullets, lame enemies and weak boss attacks (only a threat due to first issue) plus contact damage from enemies turned me off. Cleared normal and was halfway through hard when I got sick of it. It plays more like a NES Mega Man than great mecha sidescrollers like the AS trilogy, Ex-Ranza, G.A. and Metal Storm. It does have an interesting boost jump maneuver which deserved a better game.

PS1 GITS is very, very cool. I wish the level designs had a bit more platforming and climbing (only really ramps up in the brilliant final stage), but even in the vanilla FPS corridor stages it's great fun tearing along the ceiling and walls to dodge incoming fire. The training stages are pretty addictive to get max rank in, even if you know exactly what you're doing it's frantic as hell. Isn't the Fuchikoma a tank, though? Eh, doesn't matter... great game, deserves a look from any fan of "blow things up while piloting anime war machine" gaming.

[null1024]

And now, I'm trying Leynos 2 (aka that one escort level)

So much hate for this bit.
Great game, but eh.

[ExitPlanetDust]

Haha, Leynos 2's escort mission literally made me quit playing the game. I put it away and forgot about it for about 2 years. I finally went back to it and got a high enough rank in the first couple of missions to acquire the firepower needed to protect the convoy. Seriously, you have to creep through the first two missions for an A rank or don't even bother playing stage 4.

[louisg]

Haha Leynos 2. That's a game I have a serious love-hate relationship with. It's awesome for the most part, but the difficulty level is all over the map! I think it took me a couple dozen tries or more to beat that first mission, and then I breezed through the next couple until hitting another wall. Jeez.

Anyone have a menu translation for that thing BTW?

[Gespenst]

Heck, I even kept dying in the 4th match (funnel-equipped/here's called S.Cobra AS thing) of stage 3

On the other note, I think penalties is related to friendlies (since I've tried the arena mission in the second playthrough only with laser gun and shotgun and got no penalty) other than ammo usage (wasted nearly every ammo in the final mission and got a lot of penalty). Oh, and I've encounter a strange boss (after defeating that pink laser spewing AS, I fought a strange guy with laser gun and flamethrower who claim himself as ACE-man or something like that) in the end of arena level as well.

It's rather unfortunate that you can't unlock things in the second playthrough though (I miss 3 AS, a lot of weapons, etc in the first playthrough)

Forgot to mention this: in Gunvalken (that one Valken remake), you can use several well-known mechs, from the standard Valken and Leynos, Gunhound, Front Mission's Zenith, and even the infamous Blodia!

[zinger]

I also had problems with the escort stage a few years back when I first played Leynos 2. I just got me a new copy to give the game a second try, and realized it's really not very hard at all as long as you equip the right gear. It took me three or four tries to beat that mission after having played around a bit with different weapons, and that was after getting what I assume is the worst rank (E) on all the previous missions. This is a pretty cool strategical aspect of the game: if I remember correctly there are something like 50 weapons, tons of special augmentations as well several different assault suit bodies to choose from, and it's fun trying them out. I really wish the missions themselves were a bit cooler though, because from what I have seen of both the action and the presentation, the game doesn't really allow for that many 'wow moments', and I can't say I'm inclined to try to get any further at the moment.

[xbl0x180]

Has anyone mentioned or remembered Veigues Tactical Gladiator



It is one of the crappiest game covers I had/have ever seen! The graphics looked good to me at the time I played it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPTK2Reobf0

[BIL]

I really wish the missions themselves were a bit cooler though, because from what I have seen of both the action and the presentation, the game doesn't really allow for that many 'wow moments', and I can't say I'm inclined to try to get any further at the moment.

Yeah, Leynos 2 is a step down from Valken and even Leynos 1 in the atmosphere department. I was honestly a little shocked when I finished the last mission, it would've worked as a midgame boss encounter in either of the preceding titles. The worth of Leynos 2 is in its game system, which blows away its two predecessors'. Awesome controls and modification options, and the amount of firepower the second loop throws at the player demands you use 'em.

It's an odd series in that its strengths vary radically between installments. Leynos 1 has brutally random AI that demands total attentiveness, with it being impossible to know what's lurking over the next mountain. Valken loses that aspect totally but jacks the cinematic awesomeness up to 11. Leynos 2 doesn't have either asset but introduces a quasi-simulation level of customisation and control, with an accompanying performance grading system demanding mastery of both. It's a shame Valken 2 wasn't the mecha sidescrolling magnum opus it should've been - a game incorporating the previous three's best features would've been a hell of a sendoff.

[ExitPlanetDust]

Heck, I even kept dying in the 4th match (funnel-equipped/here's called S.Cobra AS thing) of stage 3

On the other note, I think penalties is related to friendlies (since I've tried the arena mission in the second playthrough only with laser gun and shotgun and got no penalty) other than ammo usage (wasted nearly every ammo in the final mission and got a lot of penalty). Oh, and I've encounter a strange boss (after defeating that pink laser spewing AS, I fought a strange guy with laser gun and flamethrower who claim himself as ACE-man or something like that) in the end of arena level as well.

It's rather unfortunate that you can't unlock things in the second playthrough though (I miss 3 AS, a lot of weapons, etc in the first playthrough)

I went to work trying to figure out the ranking system a couple of years ago. It basically amounts to completing the missing as quickly as possible and taking as little damage as possible. I'm pretty sure ammunition used and accuracy affects the overall rank, too.

I was wrong in my previous post when I stated that A's were a requirement to advance. My best run was:

Rankings were B, B, A, C, A, B, A.

All suits unlocked. About 90% of the items unlocked.


I agree with zinger when it comes to mission variety and innovation. I never found a reason to use missiles, rockets or mines.

Still, the game is a blast when you unlock as much as I have. I was able to put together a giant battery of a mech with a mile long lightsaber of doom.

[Despatche]

veigues was a pretty cool game last i checked

see also wolf fang etc

[Gespenst]

That reminds me...nobody mentioned Airmech?

[iconoclast]

+1 for Gigantic Army. It's a little short, but it plays great and it's a lot of fun. One of my favorite doujin games.

[Gespenst]

Speaking of Gungriffon, I've just stumbled upon something that appears to be a simple remake of the first game's stages. Still WIP though.
http://page.freett.com/grape2004/index.htm

[beam]

Ps2 Votoms is badass mecha game, wether you like the votoms universe or not :

promo video
mecha damashii's review

[Vexorg]

I got a chance to play Hawken at PAX, and even though I'm no good at it, I was still rather impressed. Don't expect a hardcore Mechwarrior type game, but it's still quite enjoyable.

[Zeether]

I wish we could see a release of the older Mechwarrriors (2 and 3) on GOG or something but the rights are a mess.

[Gespenst]

Speaking about Leynos 2, anyone knows about its story/plot? I know Valken 2 is about a war against a group of cyborgs (once again) from Jupiter, and experimental AS that is Exzas series (there are three, Alpha version is the protagonist's, Beta and Gamma version were stolen by the big bad), but the villains in Leynos 2 doesn't looks like cyborgs (more like Valken's big bad IMHO).

[Damocles]

I couldn't find a better thread, so here goes...

I've had a hankering for some good mech games lately. Any recommendations outside of the Armored Core and Mechwarrior series? Right now I'm deep into the original Armored Core as well as Armored Core 3 on the PSP. No PS2 ACs as I really don't feel like dragging that system out. I tried out the AC4 demo on 360, but didn't really find it to my liking. In fact, the boosting/jump jet mechanism in Armored Core seems a little strange. I just don't like the fact that it's so easy to get airborn so quickly.

Metal Wolf Chaos (and Mechassault 2) also just arrived and it's been...interesting. I kept running low on ammo until I realized that (at least for now) the stomp destroys absolutely everything. Tons of fun after I figured that out.

[Bananamatic]

super robot wars

[Gespenst]

For those with retro PC should get Mechwarrior 2 & 3 as well as both Heavy Gear games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF-_s04rxNE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fyI1ilTjYk

[Damocles]

Gungriffon: Allied Strike is a mess. Scripted events are timed very poorly and can lose sync with the rest of the mission. Enemies rarely get close enough to make much of a difference. Enemies will warp around you if you happen to be at the wrong location during a scripted segment.

Despite all that, it's actually rather fun. Not mind-blowing, but it would have been a decent rental back in the day. It ain't deep, and holy shit it ain't pretty, but it's totally worth the $5 I spent.

[Edmond Dantes]

A couple of Genesis games that are pretty fun - Battletech and Final Zone.

Oh hell yes.

Last weekend I played Battletech at a friend's house. The Co-op mode does this thing where player one controls the upper half of the mech (he can point the guns in any direction and fire) and player two can control the lower half... so player two chooses where to walk while player one chooses where to aim shots.

The sheer feeling of teamwork was awesome.

I should mention (tho its prolly been mentioned already) that there were also a pair of Battletech games on the PC that weren't Mechwarrior: The Crescent Hawks Inception and the Crescent Hawks Revenge. Both by Infocom, the former is an RPG and I've heard the latter is a strategy game.