It was a good expansion, but at the time my PC couldn't justify keeping it installed for long. By the time we upgraded MW2: Mercs was out and I really like the currency based mercenary company management gameplay.
@KeiNova It is a fun one. The MW2 series let's you go crazy with customization which kind of invalidates the point of omni mechs and different chassis so later versions restrict it to be more accurate to the game universe but in mw2 you can go crazy. Arms don't really have any benefit I. These early games either like they do in the original.
@KeiNova Your dismissal of our excellent Clan Machine Guns is dezgra, you Freebirth. Machine Guns do not generate heat in the game. Once armor is breached and structure exposed, Machine guns increase the number of potential critical hits exponentially. Try stripping a Timber Wolf down to the bones, load up the side torsos with up to 8 Machine Guns, the ARMS with ammo, give it CASE and a Small Pulse Laser in the head, decrease the engine size, equip as many as four jump jets and put as much armor on it as you have space remaining. Then use the LATERAL jumpjet controls to accelerate your new Murder Machine right up into melee range and then circle-strafe while you hose them down with bullets. Your reticle becomes a LIMB DELETE indicator. Kinda Cheesy but massively fun. Was often called a cheat by opponents on Kali back in the day. DEAD OPPONENTS.
I feel like someone was really trying to figure machine guns out when this came to be. It's legendary and fun, and so I'm now going to try it. Machine guns on their own though, I swear by their suckage. 😂
ah the obligatory 8 MG comment. :D @@KeiNova, we even got this in MWO as a paid mech, you know? I just had a run with this 8 MG Fafnir a couple days ago lol.
Great video once again, I'm enjoying seeing your knowledge and understanding progress as you go along. There's a cool detail in GBL that I appreciate, which is the game limiting mech choice between missions to create the feeling of an extended campaign. You'll notice that when you're given the opportunity to choose a mech, there are points in the game where you're stuck with that mech for a couple of missions in a row. This is the developers bringing storytelling and immersion into the gameplay itself, which is a recurring theme you'll see throughout the series.
How have I not found your content before, Thanks algorithms showing me all that content I want. I'm really enjoying your channel thanks for content on MW 😊
PROTIP: Load up on (4) Streak SRM2(?) missile launchers - the ones that cause the enemy mech to heat up - and volley them all at once in a weapon group after you've locked on to target. Enemy mech will overheat, shutdown and you can pick off the legs with lasers / PPC.
Played through this and the other two Mech2 games last year.... they really succeeded in the world-building and ambiance... but they're oh so buggy. *Also a tip: Use weapon groups!* Some of the weapons need time to lock on to enemies (SSRMs, LRMs, and Arrow-IVs) and if you chain-fire all weapons like in the video, those weapons will seem *much* worse than they actually are.
Weapon groups in MW2 and the first expansion are really hard to manage, and the game doesn't even tell you about them. BUT, I'm doing MW2 Mercenaries on Saturday and I grouped, it really is a great concept. I love it, and I am glad so many like you have told me so I can take advantage as I go along in the series.
Don't be too hasty to write off Machine Guns. Since the MW2 games pretty closely adhere to the Battletech rules regarding damage and armor, they're an exceedingly heat-efficient and mass-efficient way to chew through criticals once armor is stripped. They're also pretty mean when multiples are linked and fired at the same time.
I love to see people get into the battletech franchise! Mechwarrior 3 is an all time favorite game Im excited to see you get to it. If you ever have the time or desire to learn a bit about the lore of the universe Tex of the Black Pants Legion has some great videos to get a grasp on what the hell is going on.
I've seen both of them and learned a little. But, I was overwhelmed by the Succession Wars video because there is so much political lore. I need to rewatch and take it one step at a time.
I have the Kodiak miniature. It comes in the "Clan Ad Hoc Star" force pack. Fearsome with these decorative claws, because clans do not use physical attacks.
I only experienced GBL and MW2 Mercs _long_ after the original. And they're still fantastic. I need to get them running on my new computer and let my son experience the classics. He loves MW5, and I'd love to see him figure out the classic control scheme like I had to.
As someone who has no longer the time in his life to play such great games for himself and I myself missed out on ghost bears legacy, I would really not mind a spoiler section about the whole plot!
Sadly, that is the whole plot. It wasn't the best in comparison to the massive spanning war of the main game. I'm taking steps to make the story of the mercenaries review much more detailed! Thanks for the feedback, you are right though. I need to do more on storyline.
I know, I do group weapons but it was something I had to learn as the games went on and it has to be done at the start of every mission manually in MW2. I'll do more of it in Mercenaries.
After having a ton of issues getting Mechwarrior 2 to run properly on Windows in those early days of DirectX, I made sure to buy the DOS version of Ghost Bear's Legacy.
I don't blame you, there were a load of issues with it. I didn't really remember how bad it was until I started getting all of these going through PCEm and 86Box.
9:40 - Man, that controller. I've almost bought it a few times myself. The only reason I haven't is I realize I could probably do better for PC games with modern PC hardware. I'm actually playing MW5 with a pair of VKB Gladiator NXT EVO's with the left one being in the Omni-throttle configuration. It was a pain to setup due to PGI's terrible joystick support but well worth it. You could even make the right joystick act just like the steel battalion one by removing the springs. (I like the springs, though.) Oh speaking of you probably could get one of these style joysticks working with the old MW2 games if you wanted to. It took me a while but I manage to get the EVO's working with Wing Commaner 1 and 2's The Kilrathi Saga windows edition. As long as you can get it to recognize the X and Y axis then all the buttons can managed with the joystick software where it makes the buttons output keyboard commands.
My issue with setting up Joysticks right now, and what's preventing me from getting one, is that I can't understand how I'd set up throttle on these older games since they use the number keys. I want to buy a Thrustmaster and use it to make this videos more interesting, but I have no idea how.
@KeiNova I would have to get the game myself and tinker with it to give you an exact answer. I suspect there are multiple ways to do it depending on how complex you want to get. One of the simpler solutions I can think of is most joystick software, including the software back in the day when MW2 was new, can set the throttle to send keyboard keys when within a particular range on the axis. So since MW2 has throttle on the number keys, you would set it so when the throttle is in the first 10% of the axis it presses the 1 key, 20% 2, etc. Alternatively you could bind it to send the + and - buttons.
When you say you were going to get a Thrustmaster what did you mean, btw? Did you mean one of their modern offerings, or did you mean an older one for authenticity? I would definitely recommend VKB's Gladiator NXT EVO over Thrustmaster's current offerings. Thrustmaster is a good company, but they have not quite kept up with the competition in this segment. Personally, I like the two joysticks over the traditional throttle, though. Steel battalion really did have the right idea for how to control a mech. Btw that steel battalion controller can be connected to a PC, too. Another option is CH products, those would be authentic as they have not changed since the 90s and they can be had for cheap but the software is not as up to date as one would like and they do not support their civilian sales like they used to.
It really was enjoyable, I haven't heard much about it though. And, I don't think there are many reviews either on YT. I bet you could get Linux to run it, somehow. There are all kinds of wild fixes out there.
4:53 - "Taking 8 hours to fight 10 minute battles for 30 years" HA HA, OMG that is so true! XD Though if that does bother you there's Alpha Strike which uses the Battleforce stats meant for larger scale engagements to instead do smaller scale battles. I quite like it a lot but it does lose a bit of the charm that Battletech's extra crunchy systems have. It does make it very easy to do battles involving say, two or three lances without wanting to tear your hair out, or to get most of the Battletech experience in a faster format so it's all pros and cons. There's some interesting ideas out there for other alternatives like Death From Above Wargaming's Battletech: Override which adapts some of the rules from the latest RPG to make a faster playing Battletech game.
I want to get both and learn. I just don't have people to play with currently. Though the deep elements of the base game really sound appealing to me, I don't mind things that make piloting seem way more hardcore and real. But, might be good to try Alpha Strike just if I want to play with my kids or something too. 😂
@@KeiNova Yes, since Mechwarrior 5 was about a mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere, the upcoming Clans game will be about the Smoke Jaguars invading the Inner Sphere.
Hmmm to me personally, yes games may be graphically "better" to some, sometimes playing games from the past is really good. Honestly yes i may not like mech games personally, i do love watching your videos
Game has its problems, but overall, it was pretty nice aside from a few missions and how weird some of the levels work. Game is pretty difficult though, and speedrunning is usually done on easy due to how crazy some of the missions are on normal and above. Also the underwater mission is easily the worst mission of the game with the jaguar carrier being the second worst with how long you have to wait around.
I found the water mission to only be bad because you didn't have your own 'Mech to play with. It made the game more ridged. But, it was really original in my opinion. I get the Jaguar Dropshop, I thought the game stopped on me when the mission happened. Weird.
Did you play Ghost Bear's Legacy? What did you think of the expansion?
My friend had this when growing up. I was obsessed.
It was a good expansion, but at the time my PC couldn't justify keeping it installed for long. By the time we upgraded MW2: Mercs was out and I really like the currency based mercenary company management gameplay.
@@Furluge I am really excited to tackle that one. I'll be installing it tonight 😃
I don't know why, but I remember Ghost Bears Legacy being really difficult. Might have just been difficult for a kid.
@KeiNova It is a fun one. The MW2 series let's you go crazy with customization which kind of invalidates the point of omni mechs and different chassis so later versions restrict it to be more accurate to the game universe but in mw2 you can go crazy. Arms don't really have any benefit I. These early games either like they do in the original.
@KeiNova Your dismissal of our excellent Clan Machine Guns is dezgra, you Freebirth. Machine Guns do not generate heat in the game. Once armor is breached and structure exposed, Machine guns increase the number of potential critical hits exponentially. Try stripping a Timber Wolf down to the bones, load up the side torsos with up to 8 Machine Guns, the ARMS with ammo, give it CASE and a Small Pulse Laser in the head, decrease the engine size, equip as many as four jump jets and put as much armor on it as you have space remaining. Then use the LATERAL jumpjet controls to accelerate your new Murder Machine right up into melee range and then circle-strafe while you hose them down with bullets. Your reticle becomes a LIMB DELETE indicator. Kinda Cheesy but massively fun. Was often called a cheat by opponents on Kali back in the day. DEAD OPPONENTS.
I feel like someone was really trying to figure machine guns out when this came to be. It's legendary and fun, and so I'm now going to try it. Machine guns on their own though, I swear by their suckage. 😂
Accurate. Also, of mechs from the lore not seen in MW2, I fell in love with Clan Diamond Shark's Piranha mech with its 12 machine gun load out. 😂
Bonus honor for not using filthy contractions.
🤣🤣🤣🤣@@mungaloidender
ah the obligatory 8 MG comment. :D
@@KeiNova, we even got this in MWO as a paid mech, you know? I just had a run with this 8 MG Fafnir a couple days ago lol.
Great video once again, I'm enjoying seeing your knowledge and understanding progress as you go along.
There's a cool detail in GBL that I appreciate, which is the game limiting mech choice between missions to create the feeling of an extended campaign.
You'll notice that when you're given the opportunity to choose a mech, there are points in the game where you're stuck with that mech for a couple of missions in a row. This is the developers bringing storytelling and immersion into the gameplay itself, which is a recurring theme you'll see throughout the series.
Thank you! That is a great detail I never noticed, I'm going to have to take that into consideration with my next video on Saturday of Mercs!
How have I not found your content before, Thanks algorithms showing me all that content I want. I'm really enjoying your channel thanks for content on MW 😊
RUclips has certainly been an interesting place lately! I'm glad it brought you to my content :)
PROTIP: Load up on (4) Streak SRM2(?) missile launchers - the ones that cause the enemy mech to heat up - and volley them all at once in a weapon group after you've locked on to target. Enemy mech will overheat, shutdown and you can pick off the legs with lasers / PPC.
It's inferno SRMs that increase the heat of the mechs they hit.
Playing through Mercs now, so I'll take your advice!
Ive watched nearly all your videos, and its clear youve only gotten better. Keep it up chief
Thank you so much for the compliment :) I've been trying and, wow thanks for watching so much of my content
Played through this and the other two Mech2 games last year.... they really succeeded in the world-building and ambiance... but they're oh so buggy.
*Also a tip: Use weapon groups!*
Some of the weapons need time to lock on to enemies (SSRMs, LRMs, and Arrow-IVs) and if you chain-fire all weapons like in the video, those weapons will seem *much* worse than they actually are.
Weapon groups in MW2 and the first expansion are really hard to manage, and the game doesn't even tell you about them. BUT, I'm doing MW2 Mercenaries on Saturday and I grouped, it really is a great concept. I love it, and I am glad so many like you have told me so I can take advantage as I go along in the series.
Don't be too hasty to write off Machine Guns. Since the MW2 games pretty closely adhere to the Battletech rules regarding damage and armor, they're an exceedingly heat-efficient and mass-efficient way to chew through criticals once armor is stripped. They're also pretty mean when multiples are linked and fired at the same time.
Oh I got some tips that I'm going to try out now that I've got so many suggestions like this. I got Mercenaries to play, so I'll be trying there!
I love to see people get into the battletech franchise! Mechwarrior 3 is an all time favorite game Im excited to see you get to it. If you ever have the time or desire to learn a bit about the lore of the universe Tex of the Black Pants Legion has some great videos to get a grasp on what the hell is going on.
I've seen both of them and learned a little. But, I was overwhelmed by the Succession Wars video because there is so much political lore. I need to rewatch and take it one step at a time.
Oh christ that intro is sick
It really is cool, I loved it
The best thing about the expansion: Stone Rhino. The second best: Kodiak.
Both are pretty great 😃
I loved the expansion back in its day, loved that intro Kodiak movie
Me too. Disappointed it didn't roar in the game too 😂
I have the Kodiak miniature. It comes in the "Clan Ad Hoc Star" force pack. Fearsome with these decorative claws, because clans do not use physical attacks.
I only experienced GBL and MW2 Mercs _long_ after the original. And they're still fantastic. I need to get them running on my new computer and let my son experience the classics. He loves MW5, and I'd love to see him figure out the classic control scheme like I had to.
Nice work as always Nova! Keep it up.
Thank you so much ACL! Your support is appreciated as always.
As someone who has no longer the time in his life to play such great games for himself and I myself missed out on ghost bears legacy, I would really not mind a spoiler section about the whole plot!
Sadly, that is the whole plot. It wasn't the best in comparison to the massive spanning war of the main game. I'm taking steps to make the story of the mercenaries review much more detailed! Thanks for the feedback, you are right though. I need to do more on storyline.
minor correction the kodiak is an Assault mech... the timberwolf is a heavy
Thank you :) Still learning the terminology.
Missions are very difficult. But the NAGA with Arrow IV is a great choice for newbies or people not wanting to deal with the impossible.
That's the most positively I've ever heard anyone speak about GBL. Granted, it's refreshing, but there are some notable flaws from what I've seen.
The only flaws I found were the shorter missions and less fleshed out story. Gameplay and all was just as good as the original, in my opinion.
Awesome vid bro
"Ghost Bear zodiac"
I'm not even mad, that's literally what the Kodiak is
Did I say that? Might be my speech impediment.
@@KeiNova I think it was just a slip of the tongue!
@@jadegecko you got me then! I totally flubbed it up.
been loving these mechwarrior videos, but I find your lack of weapon groups disturbing.
I know, I do group weapons but it was something I had to learn as the games went on and it has to be done at the start of every mission manually in MW2. I'll do more of it in Mercenaries.
I am digging this. Is there a MechCommader retrospective in the future?
Yes, I was going to do it the Saturday after this next one but I'm thinking sooner because I... I just want to play the game. So, yes! 😂
After having a ton of issues getting Mechwarrior 2 to run properly on Windows in those early days of DirectX, I made sure to buy the DOS version of Ghost Bear's Legacy.
I don't blame you, there were a load of issues with it. I didn't really remember how bad it was until I started getting all of these going through PCEm and 86Box.
9:40 - Man, that controller. I've almost bought it a few times myself. The only reason I haven't is I realize I could probably do better for PC games with modern PC hardware. I'm actually playing MW5 with a pair of VKB Gladiator NXT EVO's with the left one being in the Omni-throttle configuration. It was a pain to setup due to PGI's terrible joystick support but well worth it. You could even make the right joystick act just like the steel battalion one by removing the springs. (I like the springs, though.)
Oh speaking of you probably could get one of these style joysticks working with the old MW2 games if you wanted to. It took me a while but I manage to get the EVO's working with Wing Commaner 1 and 2's The Kilrathi Saga windows edition. As long as you can get it to recognize the X and Y axis then all the buttons can managed with the joystick software where it makes the buttons output keyboard commands.
My issue with setting up Joysticks right now, and what's preventing me from getting one, is that I can't understand how I'd set up throttle on these older games since they use the number keys. I want to buy a Thrustmaster and use it to make this videos more interesting, but I have no idea how.
@KeiNova I would have to get the game myself and tinker with it to give you an exact answer. I suspect there are multiple ways to do it depending on how complex you want to get.
One of the simpler solutions I can think of is most joystick software, including the software back in the day when MW2 was new, can set the throttle to send keyboard keys when within a particular range on the axis. So since MW2 has throttle on the number keys, you would set it so when the throttle is in the first 10% of the axis it presses the 1 key, 20% 2, etc. Alternatively you could bind it to send the + and - buttons.
When you say you were going to get a Thrustmaster what did you mean, btw? Did you mean one of their modern offerings, or did you mean an older one for authenticity? I would definitely recommend VKB's Gladiator NXT EVO over Thrustmaster's current offerings. Thrustmaster is a good company, but they have not quite kept up with the competition in this segment. Personally, I like the two joysticks over the traditional throttle, though. Steel battalion really did have the right idea for how to control a mech.
Btw that steel battalion controller can be connected to a PC, too.
Another option is CH products, those would be authentic as they have not changed since the 90s and they can be had for cheap but the software is not as up to date as one would like and they do not support their civilian sales like they used to.
Ghost Bear was best-of-breed in my experience. Really needs a remaster and a Linux port.
It really was enjoyable, I haven't heard much about it though. And, I don't think there are many reviews either on YT. I bet you could get Linux to run it, somehow. There are all kinds of wild fixes out there.
god i love these games.
Oh they were so good at this point
Awesome videos! Are you planning to cover Steel Battalion at some point as well?
I mentioned what I'm doing with that at the very end of the video :)
I've been looking for the physical box of Ghost Bear's Legacy for ages. So tough to find.
I hope you find it, I really do.
Ghost Hamster
Phantom Hamtaro
It makes me sad to think that it being an expansion in my head makes me old
I know, I'm 35 and don't feel old. Yet, I have distinct memories of PC games and expansions dominating the shelves.
4:53 - "Taking 8 hours to fight 10 minute battles for 30 years" HA HA, OMG that is so true! XD Though if that does bother you there's Alpha Strike which uses the Battleforce stats meant for larger scale engagements to instead do smaller scale battles. I quite like it a lot but it does lose a bit of the charm that Battletech's extra crunchy systems have. It does make it very easy to do battles involving say, two or three lances without wanting to tear your hair out, or to get most of the Battletech experience in a faster format so it's all pros and cons. There's some interesting ideas out there for other alternatives like Death From Above Wargaming's Battletech: Override which adapts some of the rules from the latest RPG to make a faster playing Battletech game.
I want to get both and learn. I just don't have people to play with currently. Though the deep elements of the base game really sound appealing to me, I don't mind things that make piloting seem way more hardcore and real. But, might be good to try Alpha Strike just if I want to play with my kids or something too. 😂
No shame in playing it solo. That's how you test configurations anyway. Amazing tabletop game, definitely well worth getting into.
@@Ninja6485 so it's viable to play alone?
He can also use megamek if he wants to play solo on his computer
I actually have it now. I have no idea what I'm doing though! @@countphil1
So the upcoming Mechwarrior 5 Clans game will be a Smoke Jaguar campaign. I guess that idea finally left the back burner….
That would be cool. With Clans, right?
@@KeiNova Yes, since Mechwarrior 5 was about a mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere, the upcoming Clans game will be about the Smoke Jaguars invading the Inner Sphere.
@@shuboy05 I'm definitely onboard for that
@@KeiNova As am I. It's been years since we've played as the Clans.
Hmmm to me personally, yes games may be graphically "better" to some, sometimes playing games from the past is really good. Honestly yes i may not like mech games personally, i do love watching your videos
Thank you so much ;) it's people like you that keep me going.
I beat that entire game in a Nova with inferno Srm 2's and flamers. I am pretty sure I am up for war crimes in the Ghost Bear clan.
Thats awesome. Truly, there needs to be more people coming back to this and showing off their insane mechlab builds.
Assault brother. assault mechs. anything over 75 tons is assault
Thank you, that is good to know! 🙏
Game has its problems, but overall, it was pretty nice aside from a few missions and how weird some of the levels work. Game is pretty difficult though, and speedrunning is usually done on easy due to how crazy some of the missions are on normal and above. Also the underwater mission is easily the worst mission of the game with the jaguar carrier being the second worst with how long you have to wait around.
I found the water mission to only be bad because you didn't have your own 'Mech to play with. It made the game more ridged. But, it was really original in my opinion. I get the Jaguar Dropshop, I thought the game stopped on me when the mission happened. Weird.
@@KeiNova huh, I never ran into that lol
Don’t give up before playing mw3. It’s better than 4 but was a lot less marketed.
Oh, I'm not giving up. I'm just learning as I go along. I suppose I should group weapons more and stop hating Machine Guns LMAO