Hey, just digging up this old game. I noticed it didn't have a thread of its own, but I believe its the kind of game you guys will enjoy. It was originally freeware, went commercial, then was officially abandoned (guess people didn't find permadeath strategy/RPG games appealing).
http://www.titansofsteel.de/Then get the 1.2.2 patch at:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2053107Titans of Steel is a Mech game, a strategy game with a lot of detail. For all its detail, it's quite easy to pick up, about as user-friendly as the X-Com games and the tutorial campaign makes it easier. Designing mechs in ToS is a lot of fun, and watching them get torn apart. There are three components to the game - HQ, Factory, Battle.
The HQ part lets you choose a squad of pilots to control your mechs. You can build multiple teams and buy/sell pilots to other teams. You'd get to train up their skills as they gain more experience and assign them to mechs.
Factory mode lets you build and design mechs. There's a bunch of things to consider, like life support, heating and power system, speed, size, and the kinds of weapons that goes on it. There's various different balances you can try to achieve, like make ultra ranged sniper mechs, general cannon/missile based damage mechs, or strong close combat ones that damage internal components. Or even combos of all those, with different armor/heat/power balances.
Battle mode lets you launch up campaigns to play, or just do some arena-style battles for money. Damage you take in the game stays in the game (so you might have to save scum). You can repair mechs later, but your pilots can take permanent injuries in battles, even death.
Anyway, it's a very detailed game, and available for free, so some of you guys might want to try it out.