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Madden NFL 2007
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Pub.: EA
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Dev.:
EA
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Score: 8.6 |
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Mechassault Review
by 007
You might think you’re safe. You might think you can easily overpower anyone who stands in your way. You might think that you run the show, and that’s the only way the show is run. Think again. Nothing can put the fear back into your system than a 50 ton machine designed to teach lessons…with brute force and futuristic weapons so advanced it’ll leave you hunting for more. It’s here, your enemies will be in fear, make sure you cheer, because Mechassault is just a taste of the pie.
Mech -- me•ch Pronunciation: (m -k) - A machine or mechanical appliance.
Assault -- as•sault Pronunciation: ( -sôlt ) - A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force.
I love the smell of burning machines in the morning. It really sets the mood for the day and gets me alive. It’s just like coffee, only stronger. Sounds strange enough doesn’t it? Well it does, unless you live in a futuristic world of fighting and destruction where the word ‘peace’ is just as dark and meaningless as black coffee on a dark suit. It sounds soothing and warm but is unnoticeable to the human eye. There is no peace in Mechassault, because a safe society has been disturbed by the ‘Word of Blake’. Someone must stop them before peace is erased from existence.
The launch of Xbox Live has passed us and already the positive numbers have been rolling in with Xbox Live kits literally selling out mostly everywhere. Gamers have surprisingly made a strong response to the online gaming world and Xbox Live is now running at a great pace.
Mechassault has been one of the titles that have hit Xbox Live gamers by storm early on online. Such a game was appropriate for release the week Xbox Live was released and Microsoft celebrated the first year anniversary of the Xbox. The key to making sure the second year would start with a big bang was to ensure the lineup of Xbox Live games would bring in the numbers they had hoped for. The question is, can they keep it up? Mechassault is just one of the answers…
The Campaign:
As an elite member of Wolf’s Dragoons, you’ve been contracted to land on planet Helios ahead of a Dragoon regimental strike force. The task is highly challenging, but it will be very rewarding.
Helios is under control of technological zealots known as the ‘Word of Blake’. What is needed of you is to create a confusion of some sort and disrupt their defense systems, in particular the orbital defense cannons. The WOLFNET comm interface will help with communication. Welcome, this is the beginning.
Features:
-Single player mode includes 20 missions
-Offline multiplayer and System Link
-A wide range and variety of Mechs
-Take on the world on Xbox Live
-Xbox Live features include downloadable content
-Endless game modes with up to 8 players will keep you very busy
-5.1 Surround Sound
Gameplay:
By now you might have gotten an idea of what the title is going to require you in doing. Your mode of transportation will be of the Mech. Created by human technology, Mechs are robotic ‘nightmares’ that will destroy anything that gets in the way of their path. Mechs come in different tonnage, which really gives you an idea of what each Mech will be skilled in. The lighter Mechs are great for fast attacks. They can move quick and usually have the ability ‘fly’ from danger. The heavier Mechs are hardcore when it comes down to power. There usually more slower paced but their weaponry can leave you in the dust. The following are just some of the Mechs available:
Light Mechs:
• Uller
• Owens
• Cougar
• Elemental
Medium Mechs:
• Uziel
• Vulture
• Catapult
• Thor
Assault Mechs:
• Mad Cat
• Atlas
• Ragnarok
Don’t have yourself a seizure, because I didn’t reveal to you the full list of Mechs available in Mechassault. Many you will have to unlock yourself by playing the single player missions. Remember, you must remember which division of Mech you’re using when you play. The advantages of each Mech are the keys for being successful in the game. Watch for you’re strong points, and avoid the weak ones.
Enemy Sighted, FIRE!
Massive destruction is the name of the game, and every sweet Mech is virtually ‘loaded’ with high-tech futuristic weaponry that can send a multi-story building shattering down to the ground in ashes in a matter of seconds. Yes, Mechs are highly powerful and downright dangerous, but so is the enemy.
Weaponry is divided into three areas which are energy, ballistic, and missile. Energy weapons require stored energy and must charge up before being able to fire. Heat is an issue with the weapon, since you’ll need to manage it or else your Mech will overheat and be defenseless for a short amount of time. The following are energy weapons available:
• Pulse Laser
• Laser
• PPC (Particle Projectile Cannon)
Ballistic weapons can be highly effective when used up at close range, since they are rapid and direct firing weapons. Firing at a longer distance because your aiming to be well off. The following are ballistic weapons available:
• Machine Gun
• Autocannon
• Gauss Rifle
The final area of weaponry is missiles. By locking in on your targets you can send mayhem in a missile. These weapons can range from short to long and in some cases be heat sinking. The following are missile weapons available:
• Crossbow
• Hammer
• Javelin
Adding to your offensive attack is the ever so useful ‘jump jets’. Jump jets allow specific Mechs to go airborne for a certain amount of time. Once your bar has gone empty, your Mech will fall back to gravity. After a few seconds, the bar will once again refill and your air assault ways of attacking may continue. This snazzy device is also great for defensive means also. When being heavily attacked by the enemy, it’s not such a terrible to hit the jump jets and head for higher and safer ground while shooting down at your enemy.
As you continue your rage against your enemy, ‘Salvage’ will be left around for you to pick up. Each area of weaponry has a different salvage you have to pick up if you want to restore ammunition or power. Salvage can be picked up by destroying buildings, enemies, or by defeating another Mech.
One thing you must be careful, is always to be aware of your surroundings. Make sure that you’re not fighting one Mech while there’s another right behind you getting in free shots. Your radar will give you the full details. Buildings can end up one of your worst enemies also. If you’re standing next to or on top of a build and it’s destroyed by enemy fire, you’re more than likely going down with the rubble and will usually end up dead or just near it. The final blow to watch out for it the death of your enemy Mech. The death of a Mech will send such an erupting explosion that can take you down with it leaving you helpless and well…dead.
Where The Battle Reigns:
While the game can evolve around gameplay on Xbox Live, the single player mode is actually more solid and well thought out than it would have been expected. A lot of hype was put into online gaming on Xbox Live, but single player mode kept me more busy attempting to complete missions so I could enable more Mechs for multiplayer.
The ‘Word of Blake’ is terrorizing the area and you are set out to put a stop to it. You’re accompanied by your Mech which is fully prepared for anything. Single player mode includes 20 wide spread, highly challenging missions that can really put your skills to a great test. The mode has superb cut scenes that usually gear you up for every mission.
For an Xbox Live junkie, I strongly recommend not to leave an absence in single player mode. It’s going to teach you a lot about the game in the first couple of missions. You’ll be able to get a full grasp of the game and even unlock some new Mechs for multiplayer. Now what’s so wrong about that?
Offline:
So you’ve seemed to be one of the less fortunate without the presence of Xbox Live in your home. In this case, it’s not really something to get over emotional about. Mechassault does feature System Link and split screen play with some of the same feature available on Xbox Live and even something that isn’t offered. The ‘Grinder’ mode is not featured on Xbox Live but what it does allow offline gamers to do is play a deathmatch against bots. You’re still given some luxury offline but for the ‘full experience’, Xbox Live is the way to go.
Online:
Mechassault on Xbox Live is simply a reason on why this title is one of the biggest Xbox Live titles out at the moment. It provides the qualities of fun, entertainment, skill, and action into one extremely great experience. This is absolutely an event not to miss if you’re Xbox Live enabled. Online multiplayer features the following five modes:
• Destruction
• Team Destruction
• Last Man Standing
• Team Last Man Standing
• Not It!
Destruction is the mode most used in multiplayer. This is what you would call your basic every man for themselves mode. With a vast selection of levels and options, you can invite your own friends or make the game public. Up to eight players (including you) can play. If you’re not into taking everyone on, try the team destruction where you can set up any amount of teams (eight players maximum) and take on each other.
Better known as survival of the fittest, last man standing is simple; the last Mech on the Battlefield is declared the winner of the match. You’re given only one life and it’s literally a fight to the finish. You can also have team last man standing where the final team with the most Mechs alive wins.
Not it! is perhaps the most clever and skillfully challenging modes yet on Xbox Live. One Mech will be declared ‘it’. The goal is to defeat as many other Mechs as possible while you’re it to score points. When you’re finally defeated, another player will be declared it.
It doesn’t seem that Day 1 Studios put much effort into multiplayer but the final nail in the coffin will be downloadable game modes for Mechassault in the near future. Nevertheless, the amount of game modes shouldn’t be a big problem. Xbox Live gamers are already creating their own game modes online such as an entire group of elementals against one atlas (Elementals are the smallest Mechs in the game while the Atlas is by far one of the largest). The creative mind of the gamer can really put the limits of Xbox Live.
I’ve pretty much played every Xbox Live enabled game on Xbox Live. I’ve now come to the conclusion that Mechassault is simply the best online experience yet online. This is one of the games where the best sportsmanship has been displayed and I haven’t been into any matches where fights have taken place between players (believe me, it’s happened before). What’s truly exciting is how intense and breathtaking some matches can get to because some end in a few point victories with everyone so relieved that the game is over. One of the biggest questions for gamers is ‘How’s the lag’? So far, there should be no real complaints about lag. Sometimes on the bigger levels with eight Mechs all in the same area the game can slow down a little but really, there should be no big complaints, Microsoft has done a fantastic job handling the gameplay online.
Controls:
Alright, so you find yourself just starting out a fresh mission and you find yourself in a 30 ton Mech. What’s next? Ah yes, time to see what the game is made of and start learning those controls. Let’s get one thing straight, you’ll find it easier to adapt to the controls of Mechassault then it would be in reality. Day 1 Studios (Developer) made designed a simple system which inside of it contains more than it shows. Nevertheless, it’s very comfortable and easygoing to get a full grip of the controls within minutes. Mastering the controls and improving your game can be done within hours if you find yourself going hard at the game.
Graphics:
There haven’t been many games that have left gamers stunned with the gameplay and visuals all in one package. It’s safe to say that Mechassault fills in that void that has been missing from some of us for some time. The only real problem is the slowdown which can pop its head in single player mode and occasionally in multiplayer. If it does happen, you’ll find it in the larger battles that go down.
When it comes down to the bad boys themselves, they are completely stellar. From close or long range, it doesn’t matter because they look great no matter what. You can clearly see the ridges, edges, and lush detail added onto the Mechs as it shows. While in animation, it all worked together smoothly. Mechs stay in proportion and don’t get that awkward look as they move. Movement is very important because you’re constantly moving. When Mechs land on the ground after using jump jets, it takes a few seconds for them to get full balance before they can start moving again. It’s all been taken into consideration to get lifelike detail and actions into the Mechs so don’t seem sluggish and dysfunctional.
The battlefield is just as spectacular as the Mechs themselves. There’s quite a few levels to choose from, but downloadable content will bring more of them soon enough. Levels have the full detail from raging blizzards to sand blowing. The AI of the levels can also affect your Mech. In a warm level, if your Mech is near a more ‘hot’ area of the level, it can overheat and cause your Mech to go out of function and not be able to attack or defend until it’s cooled down. On some of the snow levels, if going up a hill and you’re already quite about the ground, the weight of your Mech can break you right through the ice/ground and crashing to the ground below.
Sound:
While the game can have great sound effects, not having surround sound in your house can really take away from the potential the sounds effects in Mechassault have to offer. You’ll mostly hear explosions, crashes, and lots of gunfire while you play Mechassault, but it does give you the absolute feel of being under attack in the middle of a mission or battlefield. There’s also background music, but it’s limited so you can hear what’s going down online or in the mission.
Overall:
Don’t insult anyone’s intelligence and say this game has nothing to offer for anyone. If you’re thinking this, please go back to your shell. This is already pushing towards one of the most popular games for Xbox Live and if not one of the best Xbox games of the year. Mechassault is pure replay value. It’s already got a packed single player mode and a strong offline mode. Online Xbox Live is a whole new game awaiting gamers because downloadable content is what is going to push this game to the max.
It’s actually funny to say that Mechassault wasn’t one of the Xbox games I was looking forward to this fall. I had my mind set on some of the sports titles and Unreal Championship. Mechassault turned out to be the first wave of Xbox Live games I got. I wasn’t too excited about playing it because I thought it didn’t have what it took to be a game that gamers can relate to in the future saying ‘that game really set the launch for Xbox Live’. In my first impression before playing the game I figured it to be a game that in a few months would be on gamer’s shelves collecting dust. I know it’s harsh to say but I’ve never been a huge fan of ‘Mech’ games. Mechassault really set me straight as if it slapped me in the face and said ‘Hey, I’m actually something here, give me a chance’. It’s totally true, this is a game really worth a chance, and it’s absolutely fantastic by all means. Looking for something to go along with Xbox Live this Holiday Season? Mechassault is a title worth battling into your collection.
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| Rating |
| Gameplay: | 9 |
| Graphics: | 10 |
| Sound: | 8 |
| Value: | 9 |
| Tilt: | 9 |
| Overall: 9 |
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