From that first, intoxicating whiff of freshly-minted plastic – as I opened the box of my BattleTech board game in 1995 – I was hooked. It's fair to say my wee brain didn't understand or comprehend all of the rules (of which there were a fair few), but the setting – with its warring Successor States, knight-like MechWarriors and their towering, lumbering engines of destruction – definitely hit its mark. Mind you, I had nobody to play with, so my actual experience of the game was limited, but – from the outset – BattleTech had itself another lifelong fan.

As I rooted around the game world through articles and what few sourcebooks I could get my trotters on (mainly MechWarrior, which "fleshed out" the insignificant specks 'mechs trod on into actual people – stats and all), the concept of an ideal BattleTech game began forming in my mind. It would never be made, I reckoned, but – surely – some studio would at some point get close...

My ideal BattleTech game had four simple criteria:

• 1) Contrast – without wee things to get underfoot, a 'mech has no sense of scale; to properly portray their size and awe-inspiring battlefield presence, the game would have to include infantry, ground vehicles, tanks, artillery and all the rest of it;

• 2) Scarcity – according to sourcebooks, battlemechs were rare, treasured posessions passed down through the ages: priceless remainders of a bygone golden age that could wreak a lot of havoc, yes, but which were also irreplaceable; to that end, fights between 'mechs would have to be rare and seldom carried on to the bitter end (a pilot in charge of his family inheritance would not go to any lengths to resolve a conflict – not if it cost them their most treasured posession);

• 3) Melee – the big (pun intended) advantage of a giant humanoid robot is that it has the same range of motion as a person; ergo, if all else fails, it should be able to punch and kick its way out of trouble;

• 4) Variety – every class of 'mech (Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault) is made for a different purpose, so mission variety should be reflective of the fact, giving each weight class a chance to shine; Lights could be used as scouts, saboteurs or assassins (flit behind enemy lines to take out a supply cache or stomp the tent of an unwary commander); Mediums — as force recon or harassment — to pester enemy ranks and then jump jet their way outta trouble; Heavies would do the lion's share of the fighting and Assaults would be reserved for sieges or attrition warfare, where sheer mass of firepower was needed to tilt the balance of an engagement;

And, yeah, being a dreamer, I also thought it'd be neat to have the game start on foot, like in Cyberpunk 2077, so you could claim your first 'mech and see how much sacrifice was needed to rise (preferrably on a magnetic grapple) through the ranks, but – even today, with games like X4: Foundations revolutionizing the sense of scale – that seems like a far-fetched scenario. But the other four seemed like things a determined studio could figure out somehow...

And yet – almost three decades later – I'm still waiting for a single BattleTech game that would meet a couple of my criteria – never mind all four. Let's go down the list, shall we?

MechWar (1992) by Klaus Breuer

Despite its rudimentary graphics and One Sound (just the trademark DOS "beep", if I recall correctly), this simple freeware replica of the classic board game offered more freedom than many of its successors. The game had several modules, which let you create pilots (with perks, stats and inventory, as per the MechWarrior rule book), 'mechs, vehicles, maps and scenarios.

The only problem was that Herr Breuer never put all of the pieces together, so while you could – for instance – create your own pilot, 'mech, map, and mission, the process involved running four separate executables and had no algorithm for the opponents (meaning you'd have to play as both sides of the mission). In its final form, MechWar was more "suite of classic BattleTech editors" than game.

Still, it remains the only BattleTech title that let you design vehicles (aircraft, helicopters, tanks, hovercraft, ships) and the only one to use MechWarrior rules to create player characters.

Got right:

• -pilot creation;
• -classic boardgame rules;

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -it wasn't really a game, in the strictest terms;

MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and Ghost Bear's Legacy (1995) by Activision

While this game (and its ursine expansion) was the first to propel the franchise into fully 3D-rendered stompiness, its list of achievements was short. Its physics and damage model were primitive (it acknowledged head shots and you could "trim" an opponent's arm or leg, but the former would leap upwards like a runaway parade float and the latter would topple a 'mech, rendering it useless), its setting was undercooked (you were supposedly a Clan trueborn pilot, but with none of the ceremony or lore) and its adherence to the source material was – shall we say – loose (I distinctly remember a mission with an impenetrable force-field).

It did offer the chance to play as a Clan pilot, but in name only and only against other Clanners, which effectively nullified their technological supremacy (to paraphrase Syndrome "when everyone's special – no one is"). And, on the whole, it was less of a tactical simulation and more of a "run-run, pew-pew!" with giant robots.

Got right:

• -Clan setting;
• -first true attempt at 3D game-play;
• -only MechWarrior game to date to let you pilot a Quad (a Tarantula, though you had to sorta cheat to get it);

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -no melee, no contrast, no scarcity and missions uniformly slug-fests;
• -not true to source material (force-fields? really?);
• -bad damage model;
• -linear, beginning to end;

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries (1996) by Activision

To me, this was the first BattleTech game to offer some freedom of choice. You played a merc commander in charge of your own company, could hire pilots (and – aerospace jocks!?), salvage or buy new 'mechs and equipment, customize your machines and choose your own campaigns or contracts.

The game offered a slight bump in mission variety (one mission had "infantry" – just a building that shot SRMs, really; another needed you to take out a specific floor of a bank; a third had you leg it from Clan captivity in a stolen hover tank) and a broader glimpse of the varied worlds of the Inner Sphere. It also spanned all the way until the Clan invasion and even let you take part in the battle of Tukayyid. In that it was fairly open-ended, it was a breath of fresh air.

In all other respects, however, it was still very much the same engine as MechWarrior 2 – with all the same shortcomings (including being able to empty an AC/20 into an opponent's head with no noticeable effects).

Got right:

• -non-linear game-play;
• -better mission variety;
• -running your own company, hiring personnel, customizing 'mechs;
• -aerospace support!
• -Elementals (sorta);

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -no melee, not enough contrast, no scarcity, missions mostly slug-fests;
• -horrible damage model;
• -aerospace... support? (you could hire 'em, sure, and deploy 'em, but – they didn't really do anything; I definitely saw one fly past, once, but — that's about it);

MechWarrior 3 (1999) by Zipper Interactive

MW3 was the first BattleTech game that got it mostly right. You played an Inner Sphere pilot during Operation: Bulldog (an IS plan to show Clanners what it felt like to be invaded), who tries to salvage his mission after things Do Not Go According To Plan in a spectacular fashion.

In an early mission, the game had infantry (or at least personnel) running about underfoot. Missions were linear, but beautifully varied, with a set of objectives you could tackle in a any way you saw fit. Environments were lovingly crafted and wildly different from one mission to the next. Weapons worked as advertised, the game had a great narrative and some talented voice actors and mission gains (or losses) had actual, tangible consequences (capture a supply cache and you had more stuff at the beginning of the next mission; lose a lance-mate and you were a 'mech short the next time around).

The game also had mobile repair vehicles which could set up in certain parts of a map and do on-the-spot repairs between engagements during a mission. It lent the game a more tactical feel that previous installments lacked.

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about MW3 and it remains one of my favorites to this day.

Got right:

• -a solid plot and narrative, with memorable characters and superb production values;
• -the stark difference between IS and Clan technology;
• -good mission variety and environmental interaction;
• -crouching! (no point to it, sure, but – name me another BattleTech game where you could crouch!);
• -some contrast and scarcity;

Got sorta wrong:

• still no melee;

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -Pirate's Moon – MW3's expansion took everything good about the game, examined it carefully and, from the outset, went "nah!"; I tried playing it on three separate occasions and could never get over the first-mission, right-off-the-bat, slug-fest;

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries (2002) by FASA Studios

The next Mercenaries installment was, again, mostly fine. Though the game had some slight issues lore sticklers like myself could not overlook (like rare, front-line Clan 'mechs showing up in fledgling 'merc outfits or – worse – in Successor House units!?), it was a great deal of fun with a vast and varied 'mech roster, quick, stompy game-play, solid writing and decent mission variety.

The game still suffered from the pervasive, slug-fest tendency that has plagued the franchise since its first computer adaptation and 'mechs were still treated as commonplace, throwaway and as plentiful as regular infantry, but – on the whole – it was a decent title, which only got better with the added variety of the MekTek 'mech packs (while they lasted).

If you can somehow get your hands on it, it's definitely worth a play. Try to download the MekTek upgrades as well: while not all of their additions were of a good quality, they did – on the whole – improve the game a lot.

Got right:

• -mission variety (remains the only game where you can duel a naval Destroyer, duke it out with a Union-class dropship, or get the jump on a Clan Trinary while they wait for your answer to their batchall);
• -big 'mech roster;
• -good narrative and solid writing;
• -fun;

Got kinda wrong:

• -still no melee? really?
• -pretty loose with 'mech allocations;

BattleTech (2018) by Harebrained Schemes

While my first impulse when discussing This Game is to rant, rave and grumble expletives (it's one of two games I ever backed, and the only one I backed at a fairly high level — all so Jordan Weisman could use it's commercial success to hawk HBS to Paradox), I will try to remain objective.

The promise of BattleTech seemed boundless: here was a BattleTech title proposed by Mr. BattleTech himself – the man who created the franchise – Jordan Weisman. And, to be fair, what was delivered broadly lived up to what was promised.

BattleTech goes back to the source, uniting MechWarrior's character creation and stats with BattleTech's grid-based, tactical game-play. You play a 'merc captain in charge of your own company, with a staff you can talk to, a dropship you can manage and procedurally generated plots you can undertake (including a main, scripted campaign and several mini-campaigns of a few missions each).

At its best, the game offers a solid plot, good voice acting and a strict adherence to the rules (including melee, Death-From-Above, reactor crits, overheating and pilot damage). Infantry and sense of scale are still overlooked, however, and – at its worst – the game is even more of a slug-fest than the worst offenders on this list. Seriously: most missions verge on the ridiculous, expecting you to conquer wave after wave after wave of Heavy and Assault 'mechs with your Single Lance. The mission odds are so stacked against you every time that no sane military commander would ever agree to undertake them — yet the game pitches them as perfectly reasonable and commonplace...

Another big detriment to the experience is its poor programming quality. While no serious bugs or crashes are likely, at this point, the game runs laboriously slow – with every new segment separated by long (upwards of a minute, even on a beefy rig) loading times.

Got right:

• -MechWarrior, RPG element, with characters, dialogue and small vignettes;
• -decent mission variety;
• -adherence to classic tabletop rules;
• -good plot with solid writing, talented VOs;
• -trying to make Light 'mechs useful in the late game;

Got sorta wrong:

• -small, mundane 'mech roster (with very few exceptions, it's mostly 'mechs you've seen a dozen times before);
• -poor enemy algorithms (usually, they just form a beeline towards the PC or the 'mech with the most damage);
• -failing to make Light 'mechs useful in the late game (in 3 or 4 star contracts, deploying a Light is code for "we don't want to pay their severance");

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -goofy, unrealistic mission difficulty;
• -shoddy programming;

Wasted opportunity:

• -this could have been the definitive, seminal BattleTech experience – the culmination of all of the source material, lore and decades of content, which could easily be expanded into next installments; instead, it turned out to be an okay, poorly-programmed game and shameless cash grab; remember kids: never meet your heroes;

Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries (2019) by Piranha Games

If you've paid attention up to this point, you already know what I'm going to write... The graphics have improved, melee is finally in (though still no DFA, sadly), the procedural game-play is decent and the experience is mostly enjoyable — everything you'd expect from The Next Installment. But although some improvements were made, nothing has really changed.

Game-play still bogs down into a "here comes the next wave" slog (this time with seemingly infinite reinforcements), Light and Medium 'mechs are untenable by the time you encounter your first Heavies (except as ways to get rid of a pilot you don't want to fire face to face); and while the core game is more refined than its predecessors, it doesn't really add anything new.

There is still no infantry or aerial support (except in the form of "calling in air strikes", which consists of aiming at something and watching it explode), mission variety exists, but only in the form of Having Different Ways of Achieving the Same Objective (all missions are essentially fights to the death against overwhelming odds); 'mechs are still treated as throwaway and commonplace and late game-play devolves into "stomp-stomp, pew-pew", with the biggest, pew-iest 'mech always winning the fight...

Got right:

• -decent 'mech roster, gorgeous graphics, great damage model;
• -the feel of being in a giant stomping machine;
• -melee (fists and weapons only — no kicking, no DFA);

Got kinda wrong:

• -no real mission variety;
• -scant 'mech customization;

Got oh-so very wrong:

• -random turrets dotting the landscape in every mission? really? why!? are random farmers in on the planetary defense scheme? does every backyard, storehouse and outhouse come stock with a high-powered, anti-'mech laser, straight from the realtor?
• -plain silly mission difficulty (your opponents are endless, while you are always limited to a Single Lance; I'm guessing the MW5 worlds have superb public transport, to be able to keep ferrying in reinforcements from all over at a moment's notice);

Summation

So there you have it: nearly three decades of development with slight improvements overall, but — no real progress. At this stage, what with Weisman washing his hands of the franchise and its ownership changing more frequently than a particularly hot potato, it doesn't look likely that we'll ever get a proper BatteTech game. As for the BattleTech game the wee me once envisioned, the only way that will get made at this point is if I make the darn thing myself...

If you like the franchise, try Mechwarrior 3 for the best experience overall or Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries for variety and fun. Mechwarrior 5 has its upsides, but is more of a shooter than a BattleTech game and BattleTech is best avoided altogether (unless you like looking at loading screens or save-scumming to overcome the ridiculous difficulty).

As for me, I'll put in a bit more time into MW5 (I just picked up Rise of Rasalhague, though more out of habit than excitement or anticipation) and then probably give the whole thing a rest.

Who knows? Maybe another good BattleTech game will get made before I croak. But, historically speaking, the odds are very much against it...

Pig Recommends:

• -Highlander Gambit, Impetus of War by Blaine Lee Pardoe – my two all-time favorite BattleTech novels, the stories revolve around a Capellan special-ops sort who goes undercover with the Northwind Highlanders only to discover he has more in common with them than the Successor State he called home; it's more workmanship than art, but Mr. Pardoe weaves a decent tale nonetheless and steers clear of the franchise's usual tropes;
• -Way of the Clans, Blood Name, Falcon Guard by Robert Thurston – a tidy little saga, the triolgy follows a Clan freeborn by the name of Aidan who has his eyes set way above his station; it's a good read and interesting insofar as the author lets you see characters develop and grow as battles are fought, decisions made and time passes; out of all BattleTech books I've read, it's also the most palatable portrayal of Clan culture;