Mechwarrior 4: Vengence

Herald rating: *****

Microsoft, PC

Review: Peter Eley

Your family has been murdered, your rule usurped, and your former kingdom is in the grip of civil war.
It could be the plot of a Shakespearean tragedy, but the huge, stomping hunks of hi-tech metal are a dead giveaway.

This is Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, the latest episode in the one of the most popular computer game franchises ever.

Although it's flagged as only number four, there have been other copies and clones as the rights have bounced around between developers.

Mechwarrior 4 is by far the best of the heavy games to date, if only for its mind-blowing graphics.
As with most of today's games, you'll need a fast processor and good graphics card to get the best out of it.

But those with lesser systems will still be able to play the game, thanks to a configuration utility that lets you adjust various settings to match your PC's abilities.

If you can live with the higher settings, you will enjoy a pumping frame rate and highly detailed landscapes — a big leap forward from the bleakness of Mechwarrior 3.

And objects such as buildings and trees lend a sense of scale and perspective that help you to realise just how big these battle mechs are.

The fun in Mechwarrior and similar games is that you get to pilot these highly efficient battle machines with their vast array of futuristic weapons.

The particle and lighting effects are tremendous, and the sound effects of explosions and the like are first-class, adding to the reality of the experience.

Similar games can degenerate into an out-and-out shooting war, but the plot and storyline of Mechwarrior 4 is intelligent and allows a considerable element of strategy and planning.

You play Ian Dresari, sole heir of the house of Davion, rulers of Kentares, who have been wiped out in a bloody civil war.

You start from your hiding place on one of Kentares' moons, and progress through 30 excellent levels featuring landscapes as diverse as icy mountains, swamps and deserts, before finally cornering your foes in a series of urban battles.

The missions are quite different, some requiring all-out attack, with others needing subtle defensive skills.

Your level of mech-tech increases as you go along, mainly by the tried and tested method of salvage.
And much of the appeal of these games is being able to design and pilot your own war machine.

Mechwarrior 4's building system is more sophisticated than in previous games and knowing how to create an effective killing machine is the real key to the game, especially in the excellent multiplayer mode.