For our latest MatchUp we’re checking out Mechwarrior Online and Hawken, two futuristic themed shooters where players pilot huge hulking mechanical armored suits in all-out war, with Mechwarrior having a strong name, expanded lore and franchise behind it and the newcomer Hawken we’re interested to see how these two square up against each other.
Whilst the Mech theme is obvious with both games each of them come at gameplay from a completely different angle; Mechwarrior Online (MWO) focuses on a more strategic and methodical team focused type of combat, slowing ambling their way across huge open maps seeking out other packs of enemy mechs. In contrast Hawken’s mechs are smaller, faster and considerably more agile than their MWO kin; where in MWO players have to plan ahead with their course, positioning and strategy, there is a much more fast paced shooter style combat in Hawken. Getting caught on your own in MWO will usually result in death as players typically have to pack together and the machines move so slowly that getting out of trouble is difficult, combined with the fact that once destroyed a player is out of the match it is a lot more unforgiving. Meanwhile Hawken not only offers up respawns but also a constant availability of repairing your machine to keep players constantly fighting, combat whilst being equally brutal offers more twitch based combat where mechs can actively dodge out of the way of oncoming missiles using thrusters to dash, strafe and temporarily fly.
The mechs themselves are also completely different; Hawken comes at the game with their mechs being like a typical shooter or MMORPG almost, each of the sixteen mechs having a unique skill and role in battle, as well as the weapons that it has access to. Players unlock new weapons, gear and deployable items such as mines and turrets as they level up a combination of their individual mech level and their own player/pilot level.
In comparison MWO offers a much more complex level of choice and customization, not only with the original mechs available but in how players can equip them. Starting out the mechs are broken down into different classes; Assault, Light, Medium or Heavy, and within this classification are different models of mech; 48 in total with their own unique name and appearance. The base stats, size, tonnage, classifications and more are unique to the mech, however each mech has a handful of variations (from three to six variations typically), as well as there being “Hero” mechs that are iconic battlemechs from the universes lore of mechs that were used by key figures and legendary characters. In total there are 256 different variations of mech, with more constantly added, the different variations essentially rearranges “hardpoints” available to the mech; hardpoints are the locations that equipment and, more commonly, weapons can be attached to all over the mech. Hardpoints come in different types owing to the types of weapons that can be affixed to them; lasers, ballistics or missiles. The result is a steeper learning curve and theory crafting potential, but it also makes for an expensive game trying to acquire all different types of weapons and upgrading them.
With expense both games probably offer a similar in game currency progression level, slow and steady seems to be the mantra, where it’ll take players quite some time to get enough in game currency to acquire all the mechs and components that they want. There is, of course, a premium currency available for both games, but MWO really seems to be the one capitalizing on the franchise and business model to get as much cash from their players as possible. You only need to look at the cost of the mechs to see how this pans out, with Hawken each mech is the same price, roughly around $6 (converting from GBP so it can differ slightly) using their premium currency option. In comparison MWO has a much wider spectrum when it comes to cost, almost confusing when you look at it for the first time with the variation of Inner Sphere mechs, Clan mechs, Resistance mechs… the pricing ranges from $9 up to $100 for a single mech, with some mechs restricted to only being available with premium paid for currency that can be earned in game.
There’s a balance when it comes to the F2P model but ultimately they’re a business and so when we see high prices then whilst it might be quite insulting the fact is that if players are willing to pay them then they’re priced correctly; if anything Hawken in comparison seems massively under-priced (which might owe to why Meteor Entertainment suffered layoffs and ended up dropping the title earlier this year to then be picked up by Reloaded Games). The biggest eye opener is the Gold Khan mechs that players can purchase for $500, they are nothing more than unique gold coloured versions of other mechs, which whilst looking pretty they offer no mechanical value other than giving a constant in game currency buff and looking pretty; it is a feature designed for “whales” (a handful of players who spend a lot) at the expense of stuff the rest of the community could use.
The game modes are very similar, each sporting 4 different game modes including a Base defend/attack, Point capture and Team Deathmatch mode that both titles have, Hawken with its gameplay also offers a single Deathmatch mode, but in all honesty this wouldn’t really work in MWO so we’re not surprised it wasn’t added. What MWO has in place is a Community Warfare system that offers an “Invasion” game mode, here players fight against each other in Clan wars fighting for territory on six unique maps, adding to the other 14 maps available in the game that can have the other three modes played on it. In comparison Hawken only has 8 maps with Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch available on them all and Siege (base attack) and Missile Assault (point capture) only being available on specific maps. The maps in both games do their jobs well, we like the different levels and buildings that players can get into with Hawken, again being more shooter-like, whereas the open areas in MWO have that sprawling “we’re riding around in HUGE machines” feel, and with weather and night/day maps there’s a nice realism to the game (that is unfortunately ruined as you pass through trees without destroying them). The problem MWO has is that it doesn’t really matter what game mode you play, ultimately everything comes down to players amassing in the middle of the battlefield as they head to one of the objectives and duking it out in a big team deathmatch brawl as players only have one life most of the time everyone dies, or a team has faced so much unit attrition to be able to mount an attack/defense, before either team comes close to completing objectives.
Fundamentally the games really are completely different, Mechwarrior Online is slow, steady and extremely strategic; it is a thinking player’s game where planning and tactics will make or break a fight and the level of individual mech customization is near endless. Whereas Hawken is pretty much true to an arcade style shooter, it’s fast and fun and players can pick up and play without much though, it requires a different set of skills to be good, and getting killed in battle is a lot less brutal (which can be pretty offputting in MWO). Depending on your preferred taste of shooter, either could be your favourite, but both are at least worth trying out.
Hawken
MechWarrior Online
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