Gen Con 2001: MechWarrior 4: Black Knight update

Microsoft is showing off quite a few games at this year's Gen Con game convention, including Black Knight, the upcoming expansion pack for its excellent mech combat game MechWarrior 4. Even though Black Knight is scheduled for release later this year, it already looks extremely polished and seems extremely playable. The add-on will use the same graphics engine as MechWarrior 4, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, since MechWarrior 4 looked extremely good. Black Knight will feature a brand-new campaign game that'll consist of more than 20 different missions, which players can scan quickly by using a new feature: operational overviews that'll let players pick and choose which mission they want to do next and may even let players play through a certain mission repeatedly. Black Knight will also have a new "black market" feature that'll let players barter the items and weapons they scavenge from fallen opponents for items and weapons they want for their mechs. Black Knight will also feature new weapons, like the X-pulse laser and cluster bombs, five new mechs, and five new multiplayer modes that'll put more emphasis on player skill than choice of mech.

MechWarrior 4: Black Knight is currently scheduled for release this fall. For more information on the game, see our previous coverage .