Description of MechWarrior
Probably the very first giant robot game that can proudly claim to be a simulation than a straightforward action shooter, Mechwarrior is a great game set in FASA's famous BattleTech world of giant robots. It was, and still is, one of the best BattleTech games ever made.
In this game, you play a young man whose reputation has been soiled by an evil usurper. You have five years to build a force of giant robots and great pilots strong enough to attack your foe. Take on mercenary missions for any one of the 5 houses from the first generation world of FASA's BattleTech (Kurita, Davion, Steiner, Marik, Laio). The missions themselves take place from first-person perspective, in 3D-rendered worlds, where you pilot your robot, fighting other robots of the same ilk.
Gameplay, based on Dynamix's excellent physics model used in its early flight sims, is top-notch. Robots move convincingly, and the 3D polygonal graphics are exciting for its time. Add some slight roleplaying, team building, planetary intrigue, and goofy EGA pictures of non-player-characters and you've got a great classic that goes a long way toward immersing you in its world. The role playing was primarily textual - reading paragraphs, choosing between fight or run, and then being killed or moving on accordingly. The game's main focus, robot fighting, is very exciting. Combat usually lasts under 10-20 minutes because the maps are small, the opponents are few, just with less dense graphics and more abbreviated gameplay.
Overall, Mechwarrior is a must-have for anyone even with a slight interest in giant robot games. It sets the standard for other games in the giant robots genre, and its role-playing elements are sorely missing from today's mech games where the focus has shifted to strategy and 3D graphics than plot and atmosphere. Two thumbs up!
Review By HOTUD
External links
How to play MechWarrior
The game is complete and easy to launch, thanks to the Mechwarrior subreddit.
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
Danio 2024-04-02 0 point DOS version
my screen stays blank and doesn't go to end mission screen after first mission. Anyone know how to avert it?
Nope 2023-09-09 0 point
It seems to me that the version here is broken, probably from the patch that removed the protection. 3D battles don't start properly most of the time.
Getting a different version with the protection still intact has fixed that problem for me.
Mycroft1325 2023-08-27 -1 point DOS version
A Buddy of mine bought this when it first came out. Even by then we were Grizzled Veterans of Both the Battletech Board Game & Mechwarrior RPG. (Actually, we often integrated them AND the sadly-neglected Aerotech Space Combat Boardgame.) A standard mission with our Merc Company was to Jump In-System, use the Aerotech Game for any combat that would arise, then land & use Battletech if there was any Mech Fighting to be done. Great Stuff. This Game was THE closest to those experiences when it came out.
Absolutely Fascinating News though- In the Youtube Video " Lostech: The BattleTech Center: 30 Years of Heavy Metal Mayhem " The Creators of Battletech say that the Battletech Center Simulation Pods (That were first opened around 1990 in Chicago) were the ORIGINAL GOAL they wanted to achieve!
Meaning the Board Game & RPG, which have long, long since overshaded the Sim Pods were only a MEANS TO AN END! They were hoping to start an entire franchise of Battletech Centers (Sort of like a Chuck E. Cheese for Adults) & the Pen & Paper game was just a sideline to help fund it!
AND they thought this could be achieved with the technology of 1980, when they first conceived of the plan. To me, as a Veteran Gamer since that time, this was completely shocking. Our group & nearly everyone else who knew about them, thought it was the other way around.
Lastly, for all of its flaws, 'Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries' remains the best inheritor of this classic game's legacy.
Moleander 2022-11-10 0 point DOS version
I remember when this came out, my brothers and I played it a ton. It is still fun today. If you play with the AC 5 just right you can hit the enemy mech from really far away and get them with a headshot. Another thing you can do for quick money is to go to Steiner near Kurita, somewhere near outback, can't remember, buy mechs in Steiner and sell in Kurita just across the border. In a few trips you will have a Battle Master without any fights. Another fun trick is to get all BM's and then pull in a locust and run up behind the enemy while your guys head from the front. You can take them out real fast. Don't do it too much though because the computer will start putting out one light with three heavy/assault mechs.
DonCas 2022-04-19 0 point DOS version
Not that it is critical to the game playability but any idea why the rectangle target isn't available and the right bottom screen doesn't display a picture of the current target selected?
Also doesn't look like the E command [-- Damage readings for Targeted Mech (Friend or Foe) ] works?
Can see a sample of what the current target rectangle & the display of the bottom right screen in one of the snapshots at
https://www.moddb.com/games/mechwarrior/images/image-2#imagebox
Ernie 2021-05-31 4 points DOS version
Great game. It is interesting that even with all the capabilities of modern computer they still struggle to provide anything close to the gameplay of this game. What has happened to modern games, why can't they be more like this?
Scarecrow107 2019-08-25 1 point
Hello. I have the game working and changed the config file, but the game runs at lighting speeds. How do I get the game to play at it's normal speed? During combat, everthing moves as if in fast forward, my mech and the enemy mech. I can't complete even one mission. Thanks. I hope someone is still looking at these posts.
MekBanditR 2019-04-25 2 points
here is download link to preconfigured preinstall of first mechwarrior game for dos and yes i give myabandonware.com permission to make use of this file for their site: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/292885066789683200/548447111566458895/MechWarrior.rar
MekbanditR 2019-04-06 1 point
At the Battletech Retro Gaming league discord chat server we have in our download channel a preinstalled dos copy of this game. if you wish to access it here is invite link to our discord chat server: https://discord.gg/rxrddpA
BWyuh 2018-07-06 1 point
I bought this game when it first came out. Stayed up late nights playing it. Won it. played it again. This game still rocks!
GUY FAWKES 2017-07-07 0 point
I found a fix for the codes here: http://www.mobygames.com/game/mechwarrior/hints/hintId,6/
not sure if it works.
Guy Fawkes 2017-07-06 2 points
Also does anyone have a crack to disable the annoying input codes?
Guy Fawkes 2017-07-06 2 points
Does anyone else think it odd that it gives you "Tandy MT-32" and "Roland"? Shouldn't it be "Tandy" and "Roland MT-32"?
Alex243 2016-01-13 1 point
Thanks for the help, but do u play it on D-Fend because I did the step but it play's on a small screen and I cant full screen it play, also its no on my D-Fend
Crypto137 2015-12-15 1 point
Fix for hang up without using a frontend. (Thanks BOOPY for this final solution)
*try midi setting "mpu401=uart" in conf.*
For Windows 7 and maybe others:
-Go to where your DOSBox is installed
-Open "DOSBox 0.74 Options"; Select All; Copy
-Open Notepad; Paste
-Go to the midi setting and change "mpu401=intelligent" to "mpu401=uart"
-Save as "gamename.txt" inside your Mechwarrior folder
-Copy a new shortcut for the DOSBox App
-Right-click, go to Properties, and set Target with file locations similar to this:
"DOSBox.exe location" -conf "new notepad txt location"
Example of my target:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox-0.74\DOSBox.exe" -conf "C:\Games\Mechwarrior\mechwar\MW_1.txt"
-Rename your new shortcut to "MW-DOSBox" or something of the sort
-Now drag your "MW.exe" application into your new MW-DOSBox shortcut and the game shouldn't hang up anymore.
I hope this helps and is not too confusing :)
Boopy 2015-01-18 4 points DOS version
i found a solution of hang after mission.
try midi setting "mpu401=uart" in conf. (using frontend like D.O.G is easiest way to change conf settings.)
it works fine on DosBox 0.74
Frank 2014-07-07 -1 point DOS version
I had the same problem playing the game, but I read elsewhere it works better with DOSBox 0.61. Sure enough, using this version of DOS Box solves the problem of it hanging with a blinking cursor after missions. Now I'm mech-ing it up left and right!
Krioni 2014-02-28 0 point DOS version
I'm having the same issue as Colonel. Screen goes black with a blinking cursor in the top left.
Anyone know the solution?
OM 2013-02-03 1 point DOS version
...Jeez, kids these days. Try speaking a *real* language, ya thugs.
yung buck 2013-01-19 0 point DOS version
DOPE GAME YO!! CHECK IT OUT MANG!
peace homies.
yung buck put em up, riding high
Colonel 2012-11-16 0 point DOS version
Having problems after killing my first mech, the game seems to hang up.
After killing the first mech, the screen goes black with a blinking cursor (like it's going to go to another screen) but it just sits at the blinking cursor..
any ideas?
Vryus 2012-07-10 0 point DOS version
I loved this game as a kid. My friend and I used to play the board game (BattleTech, not the MechWarrior RPG). I used to sit in front of the screen manning the guns on the keyboard. My friend would sit next to me with the old Tandy joystick. We would run as many missions as we could that way. So much fun!
The only funny quirk- You can take out almost anything in a Locust by running up to it (even the leg of a BattleMaster) and then just pounding like heck on the machine guns until you blow the leg out.
So much fun!
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DOS Version
727 KBSharp X68000 Version
- Year: 1992
- Publisher: Cross Media Soft
- Developer: Dynamix, Inc.
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