BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is a 1988 turn-based adventure/role-playing game by Westwood Associates, published by Infocom. It appeared on Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS, and is based on the BattleTech universe. The game lets players explore familiar BattleTech worlds, institutions, political figures, and weapons, including giant BattleMechs.

The story follows Jason Youngblood, a young cadet MechWarrior on Pacifica (Chara III) in the Lyran Commonwealth. At the Citadel, Jason trains to pilot a BattleMech and to fight with small arms while trying to live up to his hero father, Jeremiah. When the Citadel is attacked by the Draconis Combine, Jeremiah is killed, and Jason escapes with Rex Pearce, a Crescent Hawk and Jeremiah’s ally. Together they must join up with other Crescent Hawks and the Kell Hounds mercenary unit.

The game is split into three parts with different gameplay but a similar feel. Part 1 takes place at the Citadel and introduces the engine and interface through increasingly difficult Mech training missions. You also take small-arms lessons and earn C-bills, the game’s money, while the story begins during this training.

Part 2 is a classic RPG phase: you recruit a party, find better weapons and items, and search Pacifica for an old Star League cache of BattleMechs Jeremiah hid. The map has towns and random enemy encounters. You can fight battles by aiming manually (turn-based combat) or let the computer handle it. In a wall-edged star port you must park Mechs in a Garage, adding strategic challenge. Resources matter, especially if you’re using ammo-heavy weapons or when Mechs need repairs.

Part 3 is a puzzle-filled finale in a cave, needing a mix of luck and logic to progress. The game uses a lot of era-specific weapon data, but only a small number of Mechs appear on screen.

Reception noted the game diverged from standard Infocom adventures and is best for beginners to low-intermediate players. Reviewers praised its Mech action and 1980s-style graphics, with some calling the experience thrilling for BattleTech fans. A special early release included a mail-in form to receive a limited-edition Phoenix Hawk LAM miniature, a sought-after collectible.

The Crescent Hawk's Inception was followed by The Crescent Hawk's Revenge, which shifted to real-time tactics rather than turn-based adventure/role-playing.