The first thing that impressed me about MechWarrior 4 was purely cosmetic. The graphics are highly polished and excellent, even on my fairly average computer using a Voodoo3. Rolling terrain stretches far and varies from swamp to tundra to the crater-marred surface of Kentares IV’s moon, and to the urban environments that will test your piloting skills to the limit. Compounds are full of structures that are a bit generic, but still help aid the feeling of a fortified base and are all deliciously destructible. And of course, the best part of all are the beautiful city-annihilating tank-stomping ‘Mechs themselves.

Composed of far more polygons than in the previous MW installment and animated as fluidly as a 100-ton mechanized beast can be, the ‘Mechs all have an appearance of truly fierce mobilized weapons. From any angle, the technological titans are flawless, appearing both agile and swift at once and representing the pinnacle in Western ‘Mech design. As in MechWarrior 3, the MW4 ‘Mechs visibly display damage, making a successful PPC blast in the torso all that much more satisfying. Smoke and flame erupt from damaged parts until that part is eventually destroyed beyond repair. Targets explode wonderfully, and char and damage spots graphically enhance the feeling of annihilation that the campaign conveys. Even the HUD responds to overheating and PPC blasts and the effect adds nicely to sense that you truly are piloting the bipedal colossi.

Sound effects are standard fare, and while the missile launching and explosion sounds could have perhaps been given a little more impact, the sound of the ‘Mechs stomping across the landscape brings back memories of the T-Rex emerging in Jurassic Park. The music is a blend of epic orchestral tones mixed with military marches and complimented with a liberal bit of electric guitar, which all in all makes for a perfect backdrop to the large-scale battles waged in the game. A voiced briefing precedes each campaign mission, and comm chatter is present throughout the battle itself. The voice acting is, for the most part, slightly above par, and while a few voices seem kind of dry and uninvolved, the majority of the actors and actresses do a fine job of conveying urgency and conflict.

The 30-mission campaign takes place in seven different phases of the struggle to win back Kentares IV from the armies of the current randomly generated evil despot, House Steiner. You play as Ian Dresari, the son of the late Duke Dresari, and the whole vengeance part in the title comes into play as you attempt to avenge the deaths of your family and the seizing of your family’s planet. I was constantly reminded of the plot of Dune, as the storyline is a fairly straightforward feud between two noble houses and is nothing that really hasn’t been done before. Still, the sheer size of the forces you are put up against allows the single-player campaign to keep an epic feel and a sense of desperation.

For an experienced MechWarrior pilot, the campaign won’t take all that long to beat, but the difficulty can be adjusted for added replay. Even though the mission objectives usually only hover between your standard "shoot the enemy" or "protect the extremely weak non-combatants against ridiculous odds" goals, there are the occasional exceptions or unpredictable twists that break the monotony. Secondary objectives, present in most of the earlier missions, allow multiple approaches to some of the battles and sometimes help determine what salvage you obtain. More strategy is injected into the game by the need to be careful about what you destroy and how you destroy it in order to achieve the maximum amount of salvage after the fight. And in the campaign mode, you are eventually teamed up with multiple lancemates whose skill increases with every kill they achieve. Assigning them to certain types of ‘Mechs and missions adds another consideration to each battle.

In addition to campaign play, there’s Instant Action, which provides an option for single-player fun long after the storyline is finished. The Training mode does well to teach someone new to MechWarrior all the basics, and the Wave mode allows you and optional lancemates to combat a set number of waves of enemies of your choosing. Master Trials randomly generates a mission for you and lets you choose only your ‘Mech, and the Mission Play option lets you play any particular mission over at a difficulty you select. The multiplayer feature adds infinite longevity to the title and is further streamlined over the previous game’s addictive online battling. Microsoft has already posted an additional multiplayer map to their site, though there’s no word yet on further additions. Still, with the sheer number of ‘Mech configurations, and with the five traditional multiplayer modes of pure Deathmatch, Attrition (which adds points for damage done), Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and Steal the Beacon, MechWarrior 4’s replay value is extremely high, provided you’ve got a decent connection.

And of course, none of the large variety of play options would matter more than the tiny polygonal trees your ‘Mech stomps over effortlessly if the gameplay wasn’t any good. Fortunately, that is MechWarrior 4’s strongest area. Having just played hours of the excellent PS2 game Armored Core 2, the whole torso-twisting aspect of MW4 was difficult to get into at first, but I soon became adjusted to it and found it fairly intuitive even with having to operate it manually on a keyboard. If you’re fortunate enough to have a high-end joystick, turning the joystick rotates the torso by default. Varying degrees of torso-twist allow for effective circle-strafing and pinpoint adjustments to movement and firing. Although in the beginning you can get away with merely circling and attacking your opponent, later missions produce smarter foes and urban environments that make you more likely than not to be stuck up against a skyscraper if you try to outflank your target.

The jump jets are back and allow the 100-ton 40-foot ‘Mechs to glide into the air, and with a little fancy maneuvering, land on an enemy ‘Mech ala Mario Bros. and stomp that bad boy into scrap. The ‘Mechs maintain a perfect balance of speed and realism, and the range of 21 playable ‘Mechs, all with different traits to learn and master, mixes things up nicely. Utilizing sensors in various ways even comes into play, as putting on passive radar permits you to sometimes avoid detection until you’re all ready to be seen, and nighttime missions also allow for more stealth.

MechWarrior 4’s controls have been simplified to allow a high level of tactics without memorizing a complex keyboard layout. Pressing the F1-F4 keys once to select the target lancemate and then pressing another corresponding F key to give them orders does controlling lancemates. Firing is handled by default with the insert, home, and page up keys, and of course everything can be reassigned to your own control scheme tastes. Overheating is a constant worry, especially on ‘Mechs with laser-type weaponry, and terrain also effects the overall heat level of your vehicle. Flushing coolant, like in MW3, gives you a quick cooldown in desperate moments that can often be the difference between going on to crush your enemies or panicking as you shut down automatically and helplessly watch barrage after barrage of SRMs detonate on your ‘Mech.

Customization in MechWarrior 4 is, for the most part, a ‘Mech lover’s wet dream. The latest installment of the Mechlab allows armor, weapon arrays, engine power, heat sinks and various countermeasures and sensor options to be fine-tuned. Individual ‘Mechs now vary even more due to the limitations on what types of weapons can be placed in what weapon slots. Some of the more extreme mech designs, for example, allow only lasers, and to compensate you’ll of course need 15 or so heat sinks in that one. Jump jets and ECMs are only available in certain ‘Mech designs, so for the player that likes to fight long range or spend time in aerial combat, not all of the 21 ‘Mechs are a good choice. Four classes of chassis and weight limitations, and a fairly good reason to use all of them but the lightest and weakest in combat, ensure that you’ll be choosing different ‘Mechs for different missions, since all have their own specialties. Customization is also extremely quick and so it’s perfectly reasonable to tweak your design before every single campaign battle.

With over 50 weapons in a MechWarrior’s arsenal, it’s easy to find a combat setup suitable to each person’s individual playing style. From the accurate and deadly Clan extended-range large lasers, to the long-range but low-ammunition LRMs, and to the powerful but extremely heavy Gauss rifles, MechWarrior 4 offers enough weapons to keep any destructive thirsts quenched for a long time. Strange new weapons like the Long Tom, which is essentially portable artillery, and the Bombast Laser, which is powerful and light but difficult to micromanage in the heat of combat, extend the options for your individual ‘Mech even further. There’s even a stupid little flare launcher, which is basically useless, but if you’re one of those people out there who has always desired to create a giant robot and stomp around cities firing flares at things, MW4 is more than glad to give you that chance.

If you’re already a fan of the MechWarrior series, there’s no reason not to buy this game. It may not introduce any earth-shattering changes, but chances are that’s something most MW veterans will be thankful for, given that the series is already of such high quality. While more could have been added, and likely will be in further expansions, MW4 provides many hours of play and is the best multiplayer ‘Mech experience out there. If you’re new to MechWarrior, Vengeance is a great time to start. With simplified control, agile ‘Mechs, and an action element that appeals to any gamer, MechWarrior 4 keeps realism while throwing out the more boring and complex elements of a BattleTech simulation. Though I still personally favor the more Eastern-style Mechas like those in Aegtec’s PS2 game Armored Core 2 and the upcoming Konami title Zone of Enders, MechWarrior 4: Vengeance has left me with no complaints. Thanks to the excellent multiplayer and the ridiculous number of ‘Mech configuring options, this is a game I’ll be playing long after the review.