Play Empire of Steel Online

Empire of Steel came out for the Sega Genesis in 1992, developed by Silicon Knights and published by Electronic Arts. It was part of that wave of early 90s action games that tried to blend different genres, in this case mixing mech combat with some light exploration. It didn't get a huge amount of attention at the time, sitting alongside a lot of other sci-fi titles on the system.

You control a transforming battle mech, switching between a slower, heavily armored ground mode and a faster, more vulnerable jet form. The main goal is to fight through enemy forces across various planets, destroying key installations to complete each mission. Signature mechanics include the strategic transformation during combat, using cover in tank mode to avoid fire, and taking to the air to gain a positional advantage or retreat. The pacing is deliberate, with a difficulty that demands careful management of your two forms rather than pure reflexes. It feels tactical, rewarding players who think about positioning and when to commit to an attack.