Category: Free to Play

In 1988 Westwood Studios released a game called BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk’s Inception for DOS, Amiga, and C64. It would be the first in a long line of Mechwarrior video games. The game series has always had a soft spot for PC gamers, though as the only games not available for PC have been MechAssault and MechAssault2 for Xbox.

On Halloween, Infinite Game Publishing Inc. and Piranha Games Inc officially announced MechWarrior Online, the first officially licensed free-to-play title in the series. Set to launch in the second half of 2012, the game will feature hardcore simulation controls and team-based play, and vows to stick to the MechWarrior universe story/canon like glue.

“Set in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war, MechWarrior Online puts you in command of the most powerful war machine to ever walk the field of battle, the mighty BattleMech.” The Press Release hints at loads of customization as far as armor, weapons, and appearance goes. How much of that will be included in the F2P and how much will require a credit card haven’t been disclosed.

The game world appears to be somewhat of a dynamic one as well. “You will play a key role in a dynamic and ever-changing universe where player exploits impact the world around you and daily story updates and frequent content additions create epic changes to the Inner Sphere universe and its many inhabitants.”

For more info on the game and to follow their progress, swing by their site: http://mwomercs.com/

Here’s a little teaser video they put out earlier last month

If you are familiar with Magic the Gathering, or the WoW TCG, or just about any other TCG, then you’ll catch on quickly to Shadow Era. What caught my attention is that its absolutely free to play. You can earn cards just by playing. But if you are impatient there is of course an option to spend real money to buy cards, but its not necessary at all.

When you first start the game you get to choose 1 hero and its associated starter deck; a total of 31 cards.

You can play vs the AI to earn experience and gold. Each game you win earns you experience and gold. Experience helps you level up. Gold is the currency used to purchase individual cards. Each time you level up you earn 25 shadow crystals. Shadow crystals is the currency used to buy “booster packs” or preformed “starter decks”. You can spend money and buy shadow crystals. You can also sell cards you don’t want for gold.

Another cool feature I really like is that you can play it via web browser, an app for your iPhone, an app for your iPad, or an app for your Android phone – and they are all synced. As long as you have an internet connection via wi-fi or 3G and you can communicate with their server, all of your cards and decks are saved and can be used across all the platforms. The one minor issue I’ve noticed so far is that iTunes lags behind a little bit on updates. So for example, if an update was just released the version you play via your web browser might be a version ahead of whats on your iPhone/iPad.

There is of course online mulitplayer head-to-head battles. You also earn xp and gold when you participate in the match making system. It uses a ranking system modeled after the “True Skill” system used on Xbox. So it matches you vs people of similar rank/skill. You can also watch other people play with a simple click of a button! A very cool feature indeed.

There is an “offline mode” but its pretty limited in its current form. There are plans to increase the offline play options in the future

Might be a fun game for some of you TCG fans who are looking for a free option to waste some time.

Check out ShadowEra.com. Thanks to Carrier in the forums for the heads up!