MechWarrior 5: Clans Review | Bytesized

KC Nwosu reviews MechWarrior 5: Clans, developed by Piranha Games Inc.

[jacoporegini]

Reactor - Online
Sensors - Online
Weapons - Online
All systems - Nominal

This is no longer a checklist. This is a prayer.

[SmoketySmke]

Weapon groups 3 and 4 are mouse buttons 3 and 4 by default, respectively. At least that has been my experience. They work just fine.

[jamesc.]

The Mechwarrior games can be difficult to wrangle if you aren't used to tank games. I adore the Mechwarrior franchise and have played alot of other tank sim games. My best friend, who played through every single Armored Core game with me, had the same problems Yahtzee did with the controls and speed of play while playing Mechwarrior 5.

Bottom line is: if you liked 'World of Tanks' gameplay but wished your tank had about 10 more guns on it, try Mechwarrior.

[ziyyigotipyigo]

0:58 The "forced" feel of the dialog may be a deliberate design choice. Clan veneration of the Star League extends to Star League Standard English, and Clan warriors (at least) choose words and phrasings that can sound overly formal to English-speaking Spheroids. Most famously, Clan warriors don't-- er, do not use use contractions.

[all-flat-engines]

The title of this should be, "If you like Armoured Core don't play this, if you like Mechwarrior play this!!!"

[TheGamerUnknown]

It's interesting to see an outsider's take. As a long-term veteran (MechWarrior 3+4, Mechcommander 1+2, Mechwarrior Living Legends, Mechwarrior Online, Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries) there's some similarities and differences.

Your opinion regarding no need for real strategy or tactics is true. It's mostly a slug-fest every mission - which was a bit disappointing.

Mission variety with some missions where you really need to use those lighter mechs you invested time into would have been nice - instead of the tonnage going ever upwards. You also pointed out correctly that the specialization system doesn't make any sense given the structure of the campaign.

I'm surprised you mentioned the audio as a positive - in my experience several of the lines should have been retaken and the quality and compression varies wildly - and 'scan mode' has a pop in the audio that drives me nuts. Also - performance is terrible on PC - but it varies a lot from player to player.

I disagree on the controls and slowness, that's actually what I like most - I'm not a fan of the faster moving AC type mech games. Of course that's personal preference.

[stormtempterf]

"I've never played a mechwarrior, so I'm going with new instead of classic controls, 3PV instead of Cockpit view and using a controller, to make sure the experience is as minimally MechWarrior as possible"

Bold choices there.

[Demios]

Playing mech sim with third person camera? Absolutely freebirth move.

[AkDragoon]

Want to get more into the BT Universe lore? Tex Talk BattleTech right here on YouTube, people. Be prepared for 30 IRL years of BT Lore to flood into your brain.

[MrMonkeywig]

3:02 lol 'convoluted number grid'. you're just assigning weapons to the corresponding mouse button. You can also use the number keys to operate each group.

[RomaraAhallow]

"weapon groups 3 and 4 do nothing"
So you didn't fiddle with the controls at all. Got it.
Not trying to hate, a solid review, but that sentence really stuck out.

[dmora]

Weapons 3-4 are not explained by the game properly. On game pad your right bumper acts like a "shift" button. So to fire groups 3-4 you hold right bumper, and either right trigger, or left trigger. Each combination will result in groups 3-4 firing. So:
Group1: right trigger
Group2: left trigger
Group3: right bumper + right trigger
Group4: right bumper + left trigger
Group5: left bumper
Group6: I just realized I have no idea how to fire group 6😅, maybe right bumper + left bumper?

[Roshee_MaLo]

I would anyone interested in this game strongly reccommend to buy the PC version if possible.
MW:5 has a very active modding community which added many things that now are build into MW:5-Clans.
It´s likely this game will get a few years of love from modders too.

[bubbasbigblast]

@3:05 Nothing on a controller, I assume, because with PC controls, all weapon groups worked. Your AI teammates will also use the weapon groups you assign for their mechs, so if you don't want them firing 60 missiles at a turret, you very much want to set these groups up.

Honestly though, that kind of esoteric game design is EXATLY the biggest problem for this game: even "Normal" difficulty was clearly designed for people who have been playing Mechwarrior 5 extensively, and thus, know how the AI, the weapons, and the mechs all work. Making a game for people who are already fans is fine, but an actual tutorial that at least taught the "good" weapon/armor configuration ideas was clearly needed if the devs want to sell the game to everyone else.

Also, @2:33, congratulations, you became a Lore Accurate Omnimech Designer!

[disky]

The hammy voice acting is a staple of these games; they've always been played really over the top. But if you know the Battletech universe, you understand that it's a very fitting tone.

I totally understand why an AC player might not be as interested in the mission pacing of Mechwarrior, but it's important to note that speed and agility are highly dependent on the mechs you use and how you build them. A light, fast mech with jumpjets can soar over the battlefield. I play both AC and Mechwarrior games but I've gotta say, the more deliberate, squad-focused gameplay is something I really enjoy and prefer to the solo style of AC.

[WayoftheFerret]

BattleTech isn't Armored Core and that's a good thing.

[UnNuclear]

It's funny that a lot of the negatives listed are actually positives for me.

[jacktraveller]

To use groups 3 & 4 on the controller you have to hold R1 like a shift key. The commands are R1+R2 for group 3 & R1+L1 for group 4 on the classic controller layout. I don't think it's explained in game, took me ages to get used to

[newskullj]

My relationship with these games started with tabletop Battletech in the 80's and I've played every single one of them. I had a special hat I wore when I played Mechwarrior II almost 30 years ago. I think this one is as good as any of them. I'm having a blast with it, but if I was expecting Armored Core when I jumped into it I bet I'd hate it.

[AlexDenton]

Hot take but I don't think its a good idea to put out a review unless youre willing to meet the game at its level. I'm a long time MechWarrior fan and literally none of the issues I've had with the game (from bad audio and cutscene compression, certain chassies being worse than they should be for various reasons, horrendous customization that is strictly worse than MechWarrior 5 and especially Online etc.). I feel like this review doesnt do much for outsiders looking in, or insiders looking for a perspective on the game.