Your mech doesn’t look particularly big or impressive in this mode, but once you’ve issued your commands the game switches into a more close-up view where you see your mech stomping – or dramatically jumping – towards your target and then firing your weapons. Like most strategy games, BattleTech gives you an overhead view of the terrain – depicted in detailed 3D graphics – and allows you to select your location or target with a simple click of the mouse. The game starts with a straightforward tutorial, that introduces the basic movement and combat controls for your personal mech.

And, as the game progresses, you rise through the ranks until you can lead the Arano forces into full-scale battle with your crack team of stompy mech-warriors. However, Lady Arano also has to deal with political in-fighting at home, so your job is to protect her against enemies on all sides.

Mankind doesn’t seem to have progressed much in the future, so daily life is a constant battle between rival noble Houses spread around the galaxy. Set in the year 3025, you start the game as bodyguard to Lady Arano, heir to the House Of Arano, which rules over a region of space known as the Aurigan Reach. Instead, BattleTech offers a more tactical, turn-based approach to combat – a bit like the excellent X-Com, but with more giant robots. There haven’t been many ‘mech’ games released for the Mac, so we were pleased to see the giant-robot action of BattleTech arriving on the Mac alongside the PC version of the game.īattleTech isn’t a fast-paced shooter, like the PC-only Titanfall, so you don’t get to go stomping around inside your giant ‘mech robot suit, crushing scenery and enemies galore. System requirements: Mac with OS X v10.13.3, 3GHz Intel Core i5 processor, discrete graphics card with 2GB VRAM Company: Harebrained Schemes Where to buy: Green Man Gaming (£11.90/$13.60),

Age of empires mac free and easy