MechWarrior Online Preview

GamerZines has kicked up issue #36 of their MMOZine magazine, and it includes a quick preview of Piranha Games' MechWarrior Online. It's not much to take in, but it's worth chewing on for the time being, I suppose:
Mechwarrior Online will be, as the name suggests, entirely multiplayer-centric with players able to build, customise and fight inside their bipedal tanks.The simulation style of the original PC-only games will be preserved, with players fighting inside intricately detailed 3D cockpits and having to manage heat and power levels to maintain combat proficiency. There won't be a traditional persistent world to occupy, however elements of the map will be able to be fought over, either by clans or guilds encouraging a great sense of community play. It sounds a lot like the system employed in another mech-sim, Chromehounds, but with (as yet) unrevealed enhancements.

Unfortunately no player count for matches has been mentioned but there will be different classes of mech available, including Scout, Attacker, Defender and a Commander who is able to observe and orchestrate battles from a zoomed out birds-eye view to order his fellow units around effectively.
In the event that you're still on the fence about Star Wars: The Old Republic, there's also a review of BioWare's latest endeavor inside.