BATTLETECH COMPUTER GAMES

BATTLETECH: THE CRESCENT HAWKS' INCEPTION. From InfoCom. It's a be a behind-the-lines guerilla campaign against the the Kuritan occupation forces. You control a mixed squad of infantry and 'mechs using a turn based strategy engine. 
BATTLETECH II: THE CRESECNT HAWKS' REVENGE. The sequel to the first game. It is also a hybrid adventure/strategy game. However the startegy game aspect has been vastly improved. You now control a variety of units ranging from infantry to vehicles and, of course, 'mechs. You can also call in artillery bombardment and aerospace fighter strafing runs. 
MECHWARRIOR. The MECHWARRIOR product from FASA is a role playing game (RPG). This computer game, though having some elements of an RPG (more like adventure, actually), is essentially a simulator. You play Gideon Vandenburg, a mercenary on a personal mission of vengeance against a mercenary unit called the Dark Wing (I'm not kidding). It seems the Dark Wing killed your father and framed you. Of course before you can get to the obliterating them, you will need bigger mechs and therefore money to buy them. Also, you still need to know where they are. So off you go snooping around (the adventure part) and fighting in missions (the simulation part) to earn money. In these missions you strap yourself onto a mech armed with a variety of weapons then stomp and blast your way to victory. After you destroy the Dark Wing, you can keep on playing but it gets pretty boring.
MECHWARRIOR 2. This sequel to MECHWARRIOR took almost 5 years to arrive. But it sure is awesome. It features a revolutionary 3D engine: Everything is 3D (even the cockpit)and most objects are texture mapped. Set during the Refusal War between the Wolf and Jade Falcon clans, you can play as a mechwarrior of either clan fighting your way through several missions. From Activision. 

Resources: cheat codes, manual, patch (1.0 to 1.1).
MECHWARRIOR 2: GHOST BEAR'S LEGACY. Also using the MW2 engine, this "add-on" to MECHWARRIOR 2 feature more mechs and weapons. The out-of-mission graphics however is awful. A sure sign that the product was rushed out the door to capitalize on MECHWARRIOR 2's success. In this game, you play a mechwarrior of Clan Ghost Bear on a mission to retrieve genetic material which have been stolen by some noughty people. In the course of your quest, you fight inner sphere and clan mechs in land, space, and even underwater.  From Activision. 

Resources: cheat codes, manual.
NETMECH. This is just the network play module of MECHWARRIOR 2 which came out pretty late. You download it for free or get it on CD for a price. Of course the CD has it's own come-ons like the complete red book audio from MECHWARRIOR 2, MECHWARRIOR 2: MERCENARIES preview video, and other stuff.  From Activision.
MECHWARRIOR 2: MERCENARIES. Using an enhanced MW2 engine, this standalone game is a blast! Everything is fully texture mapped, missiles and explosion debris leave smoke trails, and multiple light sourcing is awesome, especially during night combat. It also features lot's of clan mechs (from MECHWARRIOR 2 and GHOST BEAR'S LEGACY) and all-new inner sphere mechs (with inferior weapons), and even aerospace fighters to provide air support. As the title suggests, you play as a mercenary during the time just before the arrival of the clans. Your goal is very much like MECHWARRIOR except for the fact that this time, you're only doing it for the money. Very much like the first MECHWARRIOR. You start off fighting other mercenary and Successor State units then proceed to fighting the clans. After you complete the single player game (or even before that if you want) you can fight head-to-head against other mercenaries in MercNet, which offers modem, null modem, IPX, and TCP/IP multiplayer mayhem. As an added bonus, tools for making scenarios is included. Making use of them is another problem entirely, though. From Activision. 

Resources: cheat codes. 
MECH COMMANDER. Coming soon from FASA Interactive and MicroProse.
MECHWARRIOR 3. Coming soon from FASA Interactive. It's supposed to be a behind-the-lines guerilla campaign against the clans. Let's all hope it's even better than the previous games.