Brigador

Brigador is a game that has been on my list for a long time. It came out in October 2015. There was a brief update in 2016 and the expansion Brigador: Up-Armored Edition came out just this last month June 2017. When I was playing Mechwarrior Online, word came out of a game much like MechCommander or the SNES version Mechwarrior 3050 (not to be confused with the first-person perspective game that also came out on the SNES). To me it looked like a really cheap version of the high-paced game MechAssault. For roughly $20, or more recently $12 in Humble Bundle or Steam sales, the game didn't really appeal to me. Boy was I wrong.

My first impressions of the game was rather weak.. The first 16 missions are all part of the tutorial. 4 Missions exploring how the 3 types of vehicles work and another 4 (added in the expansion) using one of the 3 in the storyline. 22 regular missions challenge your skill in using one of four pre-select vehicles. These missions really make you think. Running headlong will get killed. The developer was really smart in making each scenario feel unique. There isn't much of a story. There's barely any narration other than the very lengthy novel material in the lore section.

It wasn't until later that the game really opens up. You start getting a feel for how each of these vehicles are supposed to work. The Fork is a mech that caters to hiding behind tall walls while launching carefully placed artillery shells from across the map. The Troubadour acts more like a sniper with enough ammo to hit the target and run. It wasn't until I tried out each class that I realized the potential in strategic placement. In Freelance mode, vehicles that can only hold small weapons give you bonus "vehicle multipliers" that increase your net pay. Get through the map using just a tiny elemental suit? Good job, more pay. Personally handicapping myself is less fun than increasing the difficulty of the AI. Give me pilots that are ready for an onslaught. That's what gets me going.

I did experience a few technical glitches with the controls, sound, and a couple of crashes. Compared to the other games I played, I was happy to have a game run smoothly as it did. I did manage to play a few rounds with my xbox controller but I couldn't make the adjustments from long to short range quick enough than I did with a mouse. I don't think I played for more than 15 hours. I say it was worth it.

 

7-6-2017