Disclosure before I get into this review: I love strategy games. Give me a bunch of units to move around in real-time or turn-based and I am a happy gamer. That said, let me tell you about Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons. In Black Talons, you take control of a group of mercenaries that have been hired out to help a planet locked in a losing war.
Your dropship supplies infantry and “mechanized combat units” to the battle site, but this game also has a good deal of resource management. Since your troops are mercenaries, they must be paid, and, not only does money buy their loyalty, it also buys the upgrades needed to customize and upgrade their abilities. Each unit class has specialized roles and their own distinctive set of weapons, abilities and skill trees. The player can also customize and upgrade their base ship with weapons and infrastructure that will boost squad numbers, teleport soldiers or even bombard the battlefield from space.
Then, of course, there are the mechs! The mechs can be customized aboard the base ship with weapons, pilots and targeting systems. Each part having a different cost and weight amount that determines the effectiveness of the mech. These mechs can turn the tide of a battle in an instant once deployed from the dropship.
Besides the missions that the player can take for revenue earning potential, there is an extensive campaign mode where the actions of the player have a direct impact on the local system’s balance of power. Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons was released January 9th by Kasedo Games and is now available on Steam. If you are a fan of Mechwarrior or just clicking on units to send to their deaths, then I strongly recommend trying it out!
