Review double feature!
Battletech
Yes it's finally here, the Battletech beta. Boasting five maps with a healthy but incomplete roster of mechs and pilots for players to experiment with in 4v4 skirmishes. In terms of actual content there's really nothing new here, same mechs everyone knows and loves, the real interesting bit has been the mechanics. Battletech has decided to diverge heavily from...itself I guess, completely reinventing the wheel of tried and true mechanics. Replacing the initiative system is a new initiative system that works the exact opposite way, with faster mechs moving earlier in the turn but having the option to postpone that move. This allows them to move and engage targets before they can retreat, but allows the enemy to move and fire reactively, or allows them to hold off on moving and make more defensive plays. However in the same way that XCOM implicitly encourages you to crawl across the map in constant overwatch Battletech implicitly encourages you to "reserve" your lights for most of the turn, when anything over 50 tons is able to move, and thus fire, before your light can withdraw, the light dies. So you want to hold them back until the end of the turn, move, then at the start of the next turn run away. I'm slightly concerned that multiplayer matches will consist of both players moving all 4 mechs in the assault phase of the turn so as to deny each other to opportunity be reactionary.
The actual combat is predictable, you select a target, mix and match which weapons you wish to fire depending on range, heat, and pilot skills, and then watch the fireworks as little numbers pop up to show you how much damage you've done. There is the interesting curveball of all damage values being multiplied by 5 to allow small damage values to be divided for damage reduction purposes. In an effort to make terrain more important there are now 4 types of terrain, forest decreases all incoming damage by half unless it hits your rear arc, rough terrain increases stability damage taken, marsh reduces stability damage taken, and water flat doubles heat dissipation. This makes water incredibly strong, with the reworked heat scaling only slightly mitigating that, and ultimately either water or forests are mandatory if you want to not die. There are tools to counter mechs parked in forest at least, certain pilot skills allow you to ignore the "cover" modifier under certain conditions, melee always ignores cover, and the new "morale" mechanic allows you to "inspire" a mech every few turns, maxing out its to-hit chances and allowing all shots to ignore cover. The stability system is another all-new feature, as a mech takes damage, depending on the source, it also takes stability damage, for a single firing phase it maxes at 50% stability damage, and at that threshold the target becomes "unsteady" until it forfeits a firing phase, if it takes another 50% stability damage it falls over and you can take a called shot at it. Missiles deal the most stability damage by far, which has actually made LRM and SRM boats such as the Catapult and Kintaro into terrifying powerhouses, while lasers deal next to none, making laser vomit mechs thoroughly underwhelming.
Of course I could sit here and blab about new and changed mechanics all day, so I'll cut to the point. In its current player vs AI state the game feels fun but very tactically limited, with consistent maneuvers and behaviors being made mandatory by the game mechanics, which is disappointing for a game being built on a stable of customizable war machines and persistent pilots with diverse skill options. A lot of these issues are going to become particularly egregious in the multiplayer phase of the beta, but hopefully this helps them be resolved before proper launch later this year.
Domina
Domina is a retro styled management game, and I mean retro in that it looks and feels like something we could have been playing on Newgrounds back in 2004. Deceptively simple but gratifying both mechanically and visually, Domina challenges you to collect, train, upgrade, and maintain a stable of gladiators in ancient Rome. The game is as hands-off as you want it to be, with the option to automate training, fighting, healing, and equipment repair, but you can also micromanage your estate to your heart's content. Your gladiators all have various pieces of equipment that are upgraded individually, and 5 stats for you to train, with each of the 3 classes having different "end points" for each line of equipment progression. Meanwhile you also can hire employees such as doctors, blacksmiths, and teachers to improve various facets of your gladiator boot camp.
The ultimate goal of the game is to defeat the champion gladiator in Rome, a big ugly bastard who gets 7 elite body guards because BOSS FIGHT. To that end you take part in regular matches throughout the one year that the game lasts to gain firsthand experience for your gladiators and money to upgrade their gear, and you must also defeat at least 3 mini-bosses. The flaw in this system is that losing your prize gladiator can set you back months of training and thousands of gold, and the final boss fight is balanced around you having 15 capable and well equipped gladiators. Needless to say that's a tall order, any green slaves you pick up off the street and equip with a sword and shield will be cut down in literal seconds in the championship, and your chosen champion will quickly find himself in a 1v8.
I digress though, the lead up to the championship is quite enjoyable, there's a lot of different stats and variables to weigh your decisions against but the game never completely takes your control of the situation away, if you feel that an upcoming match is suicide you can refuse to take part, though this has consequences for your relations with the local officials. Which brings me to said officials, there are two of them, a perverted, drunk magistrate, and a stuck-up, entitled legate, both will make demands of you on occasion, and random events will sometimes allow you to make demands of them. For the most part the Magistrate sells slaves, the Legate sells trained and equipped gladiators, and both can be convinced to "patron" one of your gladiators, covering all related expenses until the gladiator dies, but beyond that there seems to be little depth to your interactions with either. As is the way of old flash games there are a few features that are either poorly realized or just poorly thought out, such as the local officials, and the "upkeep" system, rather than incur a cost in gold your estate incurs costs in food and water to continue functioning, both resources will be primarily acquired by gold, and the fourth resource, wine, has no actual application between bribes to gladiators and officials.
Flaws aside the game does manage to be quick and visceral, with breakneck pace melee fights between pixelated warriors, and engaging management/planning options in between said fights. The eventual downfall of the fun this formula offers seems to be that the game scales its challenge with little regard to what you can actually offer, once you have a high level gladiator who can slaughter 5 or so men by himself without breaking a sweat, the game will only generate opponents to challenge him specifically, even after he dies. It does eventually catch on that you can no longer keep up, and will scale itself back, but you'll work your way back up, trying to maintain a more balanced roster, until you realize your one really good gladiator has to go into the arena with 4 okayish gladiators, against 5 elite enemies. It took about 3 hours for the game's magic to start to lose its grip on me, but it was a very engrossing 3 hours, I recommend picking Domina up on sale if you have any fond memories of the golden days of flash gaming.