MechWarrior 5: Clans

I never bought MW5 Mercs because it was said to be terrible for HOTAS/Joystick support. MW5 Clans was supposed to be better, and it's terrible. For many of us that grew up playing MW since the days of MW2, using a joystick set up was the way to go. How the developers of this version could do such a poor job incorporating that, especially when so many other games make it easy, is inexcusable. It basically makes the game unplayable.

They removed the ability to move your arms left and right using the Modernized Control Layout with no way to unlock them There was ZERO reason for them to do this at ALL

I'm greatly enjoying the campaign, learning about the lore. But, the game crashes over and over. Its not my PC, its the game... Edit: I wish I could get a refund... What a stupid purchase... Edit: Tried returning for the DLC. Apparently there is a bug that makes the W (forward) button stick. So, when you swap mechs, you can't turn. LITERALLY BROKEN TRASH Edit: Tried again months later. Found a whole other new mission breaking bug... Dozens, hundreds of bugs.

MW5 Clans comes in as the linear story and crafted set piece experience in comparison to MW5 Mercenaries. I've pushed through to 100% this before writing the review, and considering what the DLC also offers. Having played all 3 parts to the game, it feels like three separate games considering they all play quite differently to each other. [Clan Smoke Jaguar: Base Game] The base game has you playing as a bunch of green mechwarriors, and introducing the clan story within the inner sphere. Playing as Smoke Jaguars was definitely an interesting choice lore wise, which despite how people feel about them, I felt helped set up some of bigger story moments due to how they are. The writing in quite a few locations especially in the first 3rd of the game is pretty poor, however it picks itself up later on. Gameplay wise, there's almost 40 missions here which can be replayed for pilot and mech experience. However due to how long some of the missions are, this can get quite tiring, especially when the objectives and game play patterns start to repeat themselves. There a handful of large set pieces, however they are quite far apart from each other, or are grouped towards the end of the game, so the beginning can feel quite drawn out. The number of missions and the rate of experience means you'll have been able to craft the clan "star" you want to play as. On the mech customisation front, it basically boils down to lasers of some sort. With the weather being the same across most missions, there's no reason to switch to weapons that handle heat better. The research system also makes picking a single weapon type far more advantageous than picking for the mission. [Clan Ghost Bear: Flash Storm] After completing the base game, when you jump into the first DLC it's a smack in the face with how fresh it feels. You are playing as the silveroot keshik, a personal unit of the Ghost Bear's khan. As such, you are already half way through the ranking, and you're already half way through weapon and mech research than you would have been in the base game. The other big thing that's thrown at you from the get go is you are given a unit of elementals to command which was a very fresh feeling having finished the base game. There are only 12 missions in this DLC, so it's fairly quick to play through. There are a few missions that are played on the exact same map as a previous one which I thought was pretty poor considering how long this DLC actually is. On the bright side, the set pieces and story beats are far strong and more refined in the DLC, and a massive step up in the quality of MW5 Clans. Some of the maps have you entering large bodies of water, which made for interesting views, as well as how it affects heat. [Clan Wolf: Wolves of Tukayyid] Considering the title of this DLC, it had a lot to live up to considering how big Tukayyid is in the story of Battletech. Right from the get go, there's yet another dramatic shift in how MW5 Clans plays. After a very cool intro cinematic, you are thrust on to the front lines, and unlike the previous DLC and the base game, it's not a narrow corridor. Your very first few missions are on sprawling farmland, so you have a lot of room to manoeuvre, which is very nice when you start mostly outfit with fast moving light and medium mechs. It does start to narrow down in freedom the further into the 20 missions of the DLC you get, but the set pieces are bigger and the missions are quite short in comparison. You can quite quickly tell that the maps you are playing on are all connected to each other due to the way it's been constructed. My biggest complaint about this DLC is the research system, you struggle for weapon parts, but swim in mech and equipment parts. After beating the game, and carrying it's progress forward and beating it again on NG+, I had no weapon parts left, but over 5000 of mech and equipment (most research items will consume 200-500 of a single type). It wasn't until this DLC that I actually noticed weather having a noticeable effect on weapons. There are a couple missions where the surrounding temperature makes it really difficult to dissipate heat, whereas on others it's the opposite. [Overall] I felt there were many good points, and many bad points, but on the whole it's something I'd recommend. The things I didn't like would disappear the moment I stepped into one of the other campaigns. The base game is definitely the poorest part of the game, however the quality of the DLCs is a massive step up. MW5 Mercenaries was in a worse state on release than clans, it wasn't until it received DLC that it improved. If you enjoy MW5 Mercenaries, I'd recommend playing Clans for a large change of pace.

The Mechwarrior games just continue to get better with each release. As a life long Battletech fan, and a clanner, I'm obviously a bit biased, but I enjoyed the game a lot. My only criticism is that they made the core characters a bunch of whiny teenagers. They might have tried to push the feelings a bit too hard when setting up the big choices, and for the most part I think it worked. However, I would've expected true clan warriors to be less emo, and have proper haircuts (high and tight)!

80% OF THE NORMAL MECHS ARE BEHIND A DLC PAYWALL

Wonky cut scenes faces can be ommited, no problem with that. But after killing 30+ Mechs dropping on mine medium lance Awesome, two dragons and two other mechs on normal difficulty is not fun.

I wouldn't recommend this game; it's not worth the money. The game is extremely linear and corridor-like. There’s no choice of campaigns and no freedom to move around the map. No tactics, no choices. The economy has been dumbed down to a primitive level, and there’s no real difference between weapons. The research system is idiotic. The graphics are improved, but I couldn't find any other upsides. The gameplay is as dreary as the characters in the barracks—they look so bad they make you want to get drunk. All the cutscenes and those pompous, unskippable dialogues are just infuriating. They feel forced and uninteresting. Combat range has been drastically reduced; long-range weapons are completely pointless now because the maps are tiny and mechs spawn right in your face, leaving no opportunity to actually use long-range weaponry. The sensors can't see a damn thing. In terms of gameplay, it’s a huge step backward. And then, of course, there are the microtransactions. The selection of mechs is severely limited, and the interesting ones are locked behind extra payments. Pay up, you Freeborn bastards. The graphics are improved, but I couldn't find any other upsides.