Review by: Brian Clair

The Mechwarrior 2 expansion pack returns you to the popular FASA universe of big mechs and deadly combat. Ghost Bear’s Legacy again puts you in the role of a Clan mechwarrior but with a cool new twist. At the beginning of the game, you are given a Trial of Combat to determine your beginning rank — which could give you the rank of Star Captain to start off with. What makes the expansion pack different is that it’s not just more missions for the original Mechwarrior 2, it’s a whole new game. As a member of clan Ghost Bear, you have a special purpose in life with special customs. One of these customs is to choose your own battlemech, any one you want from the heavy Warhawk to the light Jenner. But, as the game warns you, choose carefully because this is the mech you will have throughout the game.

Ghost Bear’s Legacy is built upon the same 3D engine that Mechwarrior 2 used, but with several enhancements. First off is the addition of a more realistic gameplay screen. You’ll see the computer uplink, a special mission movie, a text file with more info, and have the opportunity to fully customize your mech and set your wingmen. Over 10 new mechs were added to Ghost Bear’s Legacy in addition to several new weapons systems ranging from the Flamer to the Anti-Missile System. Also added were new environments to fight on and weather effects. Now you can fight in space, in blizzards with falling snow, in forests, and under the oceans with torpedoes.

In addition to all of this, Activision has added new between mission movies that show you doing things like taking off from a planet and docking with an orbiting carrier to folding space. All of this looks very cool, although it would have been better if higher resolution graphics were used (wait till you see Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries). On a sidenote, you MUST have the original Mechwarrior 2 CD to play Ghost Bear’s Legacy (for verification).