Mechwarrior fans its finally here, the long awaited MW4 Black Night expansion. This piece is a nice addition to the Mechwarrior saga and will have fans white knuckled and gasping for air in no time. The new expansion has brought us some new features that true mech jocks will absolutely love.

For starters, there are 5 new chassis to choose from. The 75-ton Black Knight, the 55-ton Ryoken, the 30-ton Uller, the 35-ton Wolfhound, and the 90-ton Sunder. Each new mech can have a devastating impact against its enemies using its weapons in concert with a good strategy. These new mechs along with some of our favorites from MW4 Vengeance can be custom designed in the mech lab.

In addition to the mech lab, a great new feature is the black market. Yes, you can still salvage weapons and chassis’ to further you along in the upcoming campaigns, but now you are not restricted to choosing from what you find to equip your walking tank. Now you can take your chances in the black market to trade some stuff you don’t want for the goodies that you do. So if you can’t find it, buy it!

Lets throw in 6 new vehicle types to the mix. While these new bad guys aren't as powerful as Mechs, they can still throw a lot of damage your way if you’re not careful. From the air, we have the Nightwind helicopter and the Stiletto bomber. The new Nightwind can deliver a LRM 10 to any near by threat. The Stiletto will attack swiftly from the air and drop a payload of bombs on your position. Both are plagued by low armor thus can easily be destroyed with the right lead. Kind of like trap or skeet shootin if you ask me. When they appear in numbers you better take care of them or you will find yourself in an eject pod. On the ground we have the heavily armored Mobile Orbiter Defense Laser (MODL), which can reap havoc in basically all directions. The Demolisher II, which is a more heavily armored tank, can take a small beating. The Quad Panzer and Myrmidon tanks are a bit more easily destroyed but again when there are 5 or more zipping around they can put some damage on your mech.

Five new multiplayer games. Stronghold, which two teams have bases that they must defend while trying to destroy the other teams base. Siege Assault, which one team defends their base while the opposing force tries to destroy it. The longer the defenders hold out, the more points they get. Absolute Attrition, which is basically a fragfest. Goliaths is a game of heavy mechs vs. light mechs. Last but not least is Clan vs. Inner Sphere. Here we have a game that more follows the Mechwarrior storyline.

And of course we have the new 20 something campaigns that follow a dynamic storyline. Go ahead and take on some additional objectives that allow you to stay and save someone’s butt, they may later comeback to help you in a time of need.

The game is a must have for any true MW fan. The new options make gameplay enjoyable. The black market is a great concept and this reviewer hopes to see it in later additions to the MW saga.

Graphics: 9
Nicely done

Sound: 8
Great sound effects complete with a howling wind in the mountains

Concept: 8
Many new editions including my favorite the Black Market

Multiplayer: 8
Five new multi-player games

Overall: 9
Many new additions will make this a must have for any MW fan