Outstanding foray into the BattleTech universe! – MechWarrior: Tactical Command Review

As a fan of BattleTech/Mechwarrior games since the 1980's "BattleTech:Crescent Hawks Inception" (a very good game) and the original 1990 "Mechwarrior" (one of my all time favorites), it has been a LONG time since anyone has done anything great with the BattleTech universe. That day has finally come. I played all the way through the game on an iPad 2. Yes, there are lagging issues that will teleport one of your mechs into an unplayable location that cause you to have to restart the mission. Yes, the game occasionally crashes. However, these do not detract from the fact that this is the best iOS game I have ever played. The game itself is brilliant. Here's why: STORY The story in Mechwarrior: Tactical Command doesn't quite reach the level of tear-jerking drama of "Crescent Hawk's Inception", but it comes close. As you play you realize that even when you win a battle you are still losing the war, and you will do everything you can to preserve your home and way of life. MECH LAB Mechwarrior: Tactical Command wisely adapted the buy/sell/upgrade facilities from the "Mechwarrior" computer game series. Although it doesn't allow the unlimited freedom of jumping from star system to star system to trade mechs for money like the original Mechwarrior, it does allow you to substantially modify your mechs' weapons load out to account for different tactics. On more than one occasion I found that I could only win a battle by reconfiguring my mechs. INTERFACE Ever since the iPad came out, I have wondered how someone would do a proper mech interface for the iPad. Mechwarrior games typically need a combination of twist-control joystick and lots of buttons to deal with multiple weapons combinations. Mechwarrior: Tactical Command's solution, a top-down interface, is very intuitive. My only gripe is that I wish I had the ability to see what was going on with a particular mech, a la the BattleTech games, but this would probably require a turn-based strategy game instead. Perhaps a pause menu? In any case, this isn't a huge deal as the fundamentals are great. In all this a GREAT game. To the developers, please consider making more missions, or even a random scenario generator like in the original Mechwarrior game. I would gladly pay $20 for this. The world doesn't need more "twitch"-style first person shooters. It needs Mechs. Big ones. With lots of autocannons and PPCs that can lose their left arm and blast back with the right. For now, I am basking in the glow of running a victorious mech lance through 21 missions. I can't wait for more.
Review by High School Physics Teacher on MechWarrior: Tactical Command.