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Descrizione
The version of CityTech here reviewed is the second edition, published in 1996, that is the one with ‘Mechs represented by plastic miniatures rather than cardboard pieces (also all the other editions of BattleTech have such cardboard miniatures!).
It is important to note that CityTech and BattleTech are two almost identical products. The main features characterizing CityTech are the following:
1) Introduction of infantry and armor
2) Introduction of buildings
3) Introduction of year 3050 and Clan technology
Practically, CityTech can be played either as a stand alone game, or as an expansion integrating BattleTech. Thus, since their mechanisms are the same, please read the BattleTech review if you want to learn more about that.
Regarding the above listed novelties, here they are:
1) Infantry and armor: infantry troops, tanks, hovercrafts, armored infantry, etc. Especially if used in combination with buildings (infantry can hide inside), they contribute in the creation of urban scenarios that can be potentially interesting. Unfortunately, you need to put into play a lot of these units in order to make them effective, and this can complicate and elongate the game too much. Moreover, these units have little chance to survive the firepower of a ‘Mech, so sometimes one wonders if it’s really worth putting them into play. However, sometimes a simple infantry unit well concealed into a hard building can be a big problem even for a heavy ‘Mech…
2) Buildings: houses, factories, bridges, bunkers, roads, etc. In a “passive” way, buildings and factories count more or less as hills, that is: they block the line of sight, you must spend additional movement point to climb them, etc. However, as I mentioned, they can conceal infantry troops, thus becoming “active” elements on the battlefield. Moreover, while they can be climbed by ‘Mechs, they also have differential toughness, depending on the building: for example, a house climbed by a ‘Mech would surely crumble down under its foot, whit predicable consequences for the people inside and for the falling ‘Mech! Obviously, all buildings can be attacked, damaged and destroyed.
3) Year 3050 and Clan technology: here it comes! The CityTech manual reports all the utilization rules and the characteristics of a lot of new weapons and equipments. These new things include implemented versions of the Inner Sphere (IS) weapons, which were already in BattleTech, such as Extended Range Lasers and PPC, etc., as well as completely new weapon systems, such as the Gauss Rifle, C3 Computer, LB-X Cannons, etc. Moreover, there is all the Clan stuff, that essentially are the same things as the IS, but they are lighter, they hit harder and they shoot farther. Besides weapons and equipments, for both IS and Clan technology there are new lighter chassis and armor, lighter and more powerful engines, the new fully customizable OmniMechs, etc. As usually, all that’s Clan is better than the equivalent IS, and who knows some “battletechish” literature knows what I mean!
Briefly, CityTech opens new horizons regarding the power and the choice of weapons, ‘Mechs and units to use for creating your own battles and scenarios. For those loving the genre, it’s a must. Moreover, it finally let you have some ‘Mech plastic miniatures to play with, which have disappeared from the last (fourth) edition of the basic BattleTech. These miniature represent the following ‘Mechs (2 of each): Centurion, Commando, Orion, Victor, Black Hawk, Daishi, Mad Cat, Uller.
The rulebook is long but clear, easy to read and showing many diagrams explaining several gaming conditions. |
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Difetti
The quality of miniatures is not outstanding, but they are ok.
The 2 maps provided are insufficient to play non-urban scenarios. In fact, they are both flat surfaces with no tree or hill cover, one with a series of parallel roads to build a city, the other with 2 big concrete surfaces to big industrial plants. Thus, you must buy at least a standard map set (with trees, hills, rivers, lakes, etc.) to enjoy CityTech in non-urban scenarios.
The infantry units, even if they’re a plus, can become difficult to handle if used in great numbers, thus at the end they’re quite seldom put into play. |
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