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MechAssault Review |
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MechAssault
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MechAssault was and still is one of the premier titles for Xbox Live, and for good reason. Very good single player element, great graphics, excellent online play, and the promise of future downloadable content, all add up to a great reason to own an Xbox.
Battling for the universe in a massive metal mech has been a staple of gaming since it began. Most of the best mech games have been pretty much exclusively on the PC. On the PC, most of them have been somewhat slow, technical affairs, and were “love it or hate it” games. Microsoft and the now in-house Fasa Studios set out to bring a fast-paced, high energy, mech experience to the console world and enable online play as well.
The single player campaign is a very good way to start in on MechAssault, as you’ll learn the basics and get your feet wet before you get entirely schooled online. The controls are easy, with the X, Y, and B buttons all mapped to a different weapon, the left trigger to cycle thru all available weapons, the right to fire each weapon, and a quick click on the right thumbstick to enable your evasive action if your mech is so equipped. Controlling the mech is as easy as it gets. If you’ve played Halo, the control scheme comes as second nature, with the left thumbstick being used to control the direction of movement and the right being used for controlling where you, or the top half of the mech is pointing.
The game is entirely mission based, and you’ll find out your mission directives thru videos and speech before each mission. Most of the missions consist of blowing things up. That’s about all there is to it, of course there are variations on that basic element, but in the end it all comes down to seeing how many rockets you can fire off without taking too many hits yourself. The missions are sometimes short, sometimes long, but there are a few missions that could have used a checkpoint or two to make certain missions a little less frustrating.
There are four difficulty levels in MechAssault, although the normal setting should be challenge enough for most gamers. You can choose from Green, Regular, Veteran, or Elite, but most gamers in a rush to get to the online play and unlock the bigger mechs will play thru on Green, therefore making the single player missions too easy, and become overlooked by many.
Weapons vary from mech to mech, and so once multiple mechs become available, you’ll have your choice of 9 weapons, some with lock-on features, others with features you’ll have to charge up each time to get their full effect, and yet others that function like a standard rapid fire weapon. MS and Fasa have balanced the weapons well, in that no one weapon is good in all situations. Therefore knowing how to switch up weapons in the heat of battle to suit the situation becomes a key element in successful gameplay.
Also strategic and elemental to successfully obliterating opponents and enemies, powerups are found throughout the game. Each weapon can be powered up a maximum of three times, making each punch much more meaningful and deadly. Different colors denote how powerful your rocket or laser is, but you can also see the same detail in the HUD. Life powerups are also available throughout the game, as even an expert marksman will need them to finish some of the more difficult levels.
The online component is perhaps the most fleshed out and fun part of MechAssault. Several modes of play, including a deathmatch style “Destruction” which can be played in teams or solo, a “Last Man Standing” option, where you try to be the last one left on the battle field, or “Not it!” where one poor soul is It, and everyone tries to kill that person. The catch is, if you kill the mech that’s It, you become the hunted. Online play is smooth, and very rarely laggy at all even with 8 players. There are minor flaws in the Lobby and Staging areas for MechAssault, where people are often dropped from a game leaving teams uneven, or where after a game, everyone is booted all the way back out so staging rematches is next to impossible. Given those minor flaws, MechAssault still shines brightly as a big and well polished Xbox Live title.
Having the MechWarrior series under your belt doesn’t hurt when it comes to having MS and Fasa design a great mech game. The models are excellent, and the environments are detailed, with environmental effects, fire, buildings and trees all looking gorgeous. What’s even better, is that nearly every structure, bridge, building and tree is destructible. That’s right, in your big battle mech, whatever you choose to destroy can be destroyed in a big blast of fire and flames. It’s common to cause avalanches, collapse bridges, and dismantle entire cities, all in the name of goodness and the desire to kick some ass. Your mech will take heavy damage as well, and in addition to seeing the damage in your HUD, you’ll see your mech (as well as others) limp and smoke heavily before becoming a massive fireball. When a mech dies, it’s an graphically incredible sight, with lighting effects, fire effects, and particle effects all going off at once, as you get blown to pieces. Particle effects as well as rain and snow are also done to the extreme, and although they don’t effect the Gameplay in any way, they are a nice touch to an already great looking game.
Many games tend to slouch on sound, but MechAssault is not one of them. Some of the most impressive and detailed sounds are present, and are especially evident when playing in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The weapon effects are awesome, with rockets, lasers, bullets all having a distinct and powerful sound to them. Perhaps the most impressive special effect in the game is the sounds when a mech or building explodes or collapses. Crank up the sound on this one, and you’ll know what I am talking about. There is music in the background as well, but it’s only evident in the between mission briefings, so there’s not much to it. Overall, a great job on the sound effects.
Although the promise of downloadable content has not been realized just yet, Microsoft has already revealed that in the very near future downloadable maps, mechs, and gameplay modes will be available to download for no additional charge via Xbox Live. This only adds to what is already a full experience, consisting of a very good and lengthy single player (given you don’t play it on Green), a great and varied multiplayer, and a very sweet, very tight online component. The ability to create maps would be a welcome addition in the future, although that’s entirely speculation and wishful thinking on my part.
Being so hyped with all the buzz surrounding Unreal Championship, I almost overlooked MechAssault when it was first announced, but as of now, it is still my very favorite Xbox Live game. I love the battles, I love the sound effects, I love the visuals, overall it’s just a great game. Especially if you have Xbox Live. If you don’t own Xbox live, you may be better off renting it first before you buy, but if you do have XBL, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of MA and begin your rampage online if you haven’t already.
Review By: JakeT
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