MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
Developer(s)	Piranha Games
Publisher(s)	Piranha Games
Designer(s)	David Forsey Paul Inouye
Programmer(s)	Brian Windover
Artist(s)	Dennis de Koning
Composer(s)	Sean Kolton
Series	MechWarrior
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5
Release	Microsoft Windows December 10, 2019 Xbox One, Series X/S May 27, 2021 PlayStation 4, PS5 September 23, 2021
Genre(s)	Vehicle simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a BattleTech mecha game developed by Piranha Games and released on December 10, 2019 on Microsoft Windows.^[1] It is the first single player MechWarrior game since 2002. It was initially available as an Epic Games Store exclusive title, which, like other games with Epic Games Store exclusivity deals, has been met with criticism.^[2] On May 7, 2020 it was made available through Xbox Game Pass for PC.^[3] On May 27, 2021 it was made available on additional platforms including Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Steam and GOG, in addition to the DLC pack Heroes of the Inner Sphere.^[4] It features ray tracing powered by Nvidia RTX as well as DLSS.^[5]

Synopsis[]

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is set in the BattleTech universe. The game starts in 3015 during the final decade of the Third Succession War, casting the player as a rookie mercenary MechWarrior rising from the ashes of a demolished mercenary unit.^[6] They are able to accept contracts from the various factions available in this time period. The campaign goes all the way up to 3049, just before the Clan Invasion.

Plot[]

The player takes the role of "Commander Mason", the only son of Nikolai Mason, commanding officer of Nik's Cavaliers, a small mercenary outfit whose home base is on the Federated Suns world of De Berry circa 3015. Having come of age and taking a rebuilt 'Centurion' model BattleMech through its paces with his father, this training mission is interrupted by a surprise attack by a mysterious mercenary unit demanding information from Nikolai. Refusing to divulge the coordinates they seek, Nikolai orders his son to return to base and flee aboard the unit's Leopard-class DropShip, sacrificing his life to ensure their escape.

Reduced to just two BattleMechs, Mason and the survivors of the Cavaliers (Ryana Campbell, the operations officer of Nik's Cavaliers whom Mason considers family, and Fahad Arazad, the chief technician) reach out to Sebastian Spears, a high level agent of the company Interstellar Expeditions and a long-term friend of his father who provides assistance in escaping the system. Armed with a reused mercenary registration number to mask their origins, Commander Mason must rebuild his command to locate and defeat his enemies and avenge his father, as well as uncover the secret his father took to his grave.

As Mason completes missions over time, Nik's Cavaliers' reputation grows and they build up a lance of progressively stronger 'Mechs with veteran pilots. After leaving Federated Suns space for the Free World's League in search of leads, they finally learn the name of the mercenary outfit who attacked them: Black Inferno. Through a series of skirmishes against Black Inferno taking place from the Free World's League to Steiner-controlled space, including one which almost turned disastrous when Black Inferno ambushed them, Mason finds out that there are in fact two persons responsible for his father's death: Andreas Kane, leader of Black Inferno who piloted the 'King Crab' 'Mech that killed Nikolai, and Kenzo Yamata, who gave the order. Yamata is a representative of the immensely powerful company ComStar: controllers of virtually all interstellar communication, and Black Inferno's benefactor.

At Spear's recommendation, Nik's Cavaliers raids Black Inferno's repair and salvage base for stronger 'Mechs in preparation for an attack on Black Inferno's stronghold. Zavarov, an elite officer of Black Inferno who participated in the attack on De Berry, pilots Nikolai's 'Victor' 'Mech as a form of psychological warfare against Mason. Nonetheless, Mason kills her and retrieves his father's 'Mech. With enough firepower at last, Nik's Cavaliers launch an all-out attack on Black Inferno's final base. There, Mason faces off against Kane in his 'King Crab'. Though Mason prevails and even destroys the entire Black Inferno base, Yamata had escaped using Kane as a distraction.

With Spear's help, Ryana manages to decipher a series of coordinates from Nikolai's 'Victor', leading them into uncharted space on the periphery of Draconis Combine space. They discover that the planets there are strewn with ancient lost technology (known as LosTech) that ComStar wishes to exploit. With their target now switching from Black Inferno to ComStar, Mason captures and destroys ComStar outposts on several planets. Finally, Yamata himself arrives in his LosTech 'Annihilator' 'Mech to deal with Mason once and for all. After a hard-fought battle, Mason defeats Yamata. Immediately afterwards, Fahad reveals that Nikolai's 'Victor' is sending a signal to a secret 'Mech bay nearby. There, they uncover a LosTech 'Mech called a 'Nightstar'.

Through an audio log in the 'Nightstar', the crew of Nik's Cavaliers realize that the immensely powerful 'Mech belonged to Nikolai. He hid it decades ago to avoid rousing suspicion on his origins, as that 'Mech model had not been seen in the Inner Sphere for over two centuries. Moreover, 'Nikolai Mason' was an identity he adopted for a spy mission in the Inner Sphere. Reaching the final set of coordinates that Nikolai left behind, Nik's Cavaliers and Interstellar Expeditions arrive at a massive underground base with a treasure-trove of LosTech. It is conspicuously marked with a red star emblem that resembles a modified version of the crest of the Star League Defense Force (an ancient military force that protected the Inner Sphere and who disappeared hundreds of years ago). ComStar begins sending waves of BattleMechs to destroy them and secure the LosTech for themselves. With nowhere left to run, Nik's Cavaliers make their last stand. Thankfully, Ryana manages to retrieve all the data and they barely escape in time on their DropShip.

Mason finally understands that his father originated from an unknown region of space beyond the Inner Sphere. However, his arrival was detected by ComStar. Knowing that he had access to LosTech, ComStar tracked him for years before finally sending Black Inferno to attack him at the beginning of the game. Nik's Cavaliers hand over the data to Spears, who promises that Interstellar Expeditions would use it for the betterment of the Inner Sphere. Having avenged his father's death and solving the mystery of the coordinates at last, Mason is finally at peace.

Ryana and Fahad speculate that Nikolai's people would arrive in the Inner Sphere in the future. Unbeknownst to them, their prediction would come true in 3049 with the invasion of the Clans, the warrior-like descendants of the Star League Defense Force (whose emblem was the red star found at the LosTech base).

Reception[]

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[11]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• PCGamer interview with Russ Bullock, president of PGI