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Crysis is known for a lot of things: its graphics, benchmarking worth, free-form gameplay, rampant piracy at launch, and brutal hardware requirements. One thing that is not particularly prevalent with Crysis is a vibrant mod community. Sure, the game launched with quite a few developer resources—specifically with the CryEngine 2 Sandbox Editor, but despite these incredible tools, full conversion mods for the game are few and far between. Perhaps the steep system requirements are to blame, or perhaps it is the lack of a good distribution platform. Undeterred by this obstacle, there is one mod, however, that has emerged as a very ambitious full conversion—and it has perked up ears worldwide. That mod is Mechwarrior: Living Legends, and as if to laugh in the face of the naysayers, a copious amount of media has been released recently.
DO WANT
Mechwarrior: Living Legends is a mod that combines the concepts from the original Mechwarrior series with the tried and true gameplay of the Battlefield games. It will feature first-person piloting of 28 mechs from Battletech canon—clan and inner-sphere alike—as well as infantry combat on foot and other combat vehicles. Huge open environments, large-scale multiplayer battles, 30+ hand-held weapons, loadout customization and enhancements, and many other things round out the impressive list of content. Without a doubt, the mod is ambitious, and if the developers achieve what they set out to do, this mod could be, dare I say it, epic.
Mechwarrior: Living Legends was originally planned as a mod for Quake Wars, but the developers switched to CryEngine 2 soon after the release of Crysis. Despite gaining legal clearance from Microsoft to create the mod back in late 2007, many still questioned if the mod would ever see the light of day. As the release date was pushed back, it seemed that Living Legend’s fate was sealed. The mod team knows otherwise, and recently they have been posting regular updates on the mod’s website featuring screenshots of in-game testing footage to show progress. Though the mod doesn’t look complete yet, some of the mechs look astounding, and to see the game in its current form only serves to instill excitement in the minds of eagerly waiting fans.
Happiness is an LRM swarm
Jump on over to the site and take a look at some of the media released thus far—and bookmark it—as they seem intent on showing off their progress. The potential of a mod like this is enormous. Sure, we have the new Mechwarrior game to help us to eventually get our PC Battletech fix, but Mechwarrior: Living Legends could work some magic in the multiplayer department in ways that the official Mechwarrior game may miss. Any way you slice it, there is no such thing as too much Mechwarrior. We’ll all be eagerly awaiting this release.
Ryan "Bandrik" Wilsey is an avid gamer and newshound for Icrontic Gaming. Besides being a deft hand at journalism, he also has a penchant for stylish hats.
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