I played Mechwarrior 2 back when it was released and loved it. Never really played any other "sim" type mech games though, except a little bit of Starsiege. I then got into Armored Core which is very much an arcade experience.
Anyway, I'm interested to know which Mechwarrior games are still worth playing. I hope the format ages quite well in terms of gameplay, but could do with some help figuring out which titles I should aim to get and (more importantly) how I can get them working on a modern machine.
There are a huge number of Mechwarrior games, expansions and spin offs. My list, in release order, is below. I'll start by replaying MW2, but would appreciate feedback on which titles I should skip and which are essential. I wanted to try Mechcommander too since it seems pretty cool. Also, other mech game recommendations from 1995 - 2005 are welcome.
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries
MechCommander
MechWarrior 3
MechWarrior 3: Pirate's Moon
MechWarrior 4: Vengeance
MechWarrior 4: Black Knight
MechCommander 2
MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries