Mech Assault 2 First Impressions

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Sanjuro was kind enough to send us some early impressions of Day 1's just released Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf for the Xbox. He gives us a look at both the single and multiplayer modes which will hopefully help you make a purchase decision. Man, my intros really go down hill when I'm in the midsts of a developing flu.

Read on for the full review and big thanks to Sanjuro for taking the time and writing in!
Someone at Microsoft's publishing wing doesn't like MechAssault 2. I don't pretend to know why, but this much is clear: releasing an XBox game in the middle of Halo 2's afterglow and during the part of the year when everyone is most likely to be flat broke is not exactly an encouraging pat on the hindquarters. MechAssault 2 is doubly-damned it seems, as it is not only released with the post-Halo 2, post-Christmas flotsam, but it even arguably fills the same niche as Halo 2, that of the sci-fi shooter.

 

Perhaps this soul at Microsoft foresaw this year's gift card-buying orgy and gambled that the game-playing public would return to the ravished shopping malls in search of this game. Perhaps that faith was well founded; there was no shortage of previews for the game in industry mags and websites and the series' first incarnation was fairly well received.

One of Day 1 SoftwareÂ's goals with this game was to enhance the sense of scale in the game by letting the player leave his mech and move about on foot. If nothing else, that effort pays off nicely. The process of getting into and out of the enormous mechs and the requisite visual scaling is quick and seamless. Walking around mech-less on a battlefield gives one a very convincing impression of being Gary Coleman at the Yao family reunion. Aside from that, Day 1 does a few other things right to help immerse you in a universe of giant war machines. The destructible environment is an aid to the immersion factor: walls crumble and storage tanks immolate in satisfying visual and sound effects. Convincing level design that ranges from urban centers to jungle also does the trick, always providing a storage shed or an unfortunate stand of trees for your mech to crush underfoot.

MechAssault 2Â's other big win is the mechs themselves. The types of robots in the game vary widely, and they all handle quite differently. Some mechs are awkward to drive around and all of them have a very definite sense of inertia to them. They donÂ't stop on a dime, nor do they turn as quickly as the average FPS player may be accustomed to. This is nowhere near as frustrating as it may read, and the result is a refreshing variety to the different mechs. Some of the wide array of weapons takes this into account, allowing you to topple over an opposing mech with a timely, well-placed shot. Between the movement and the wide array of very different weapons, the gameplay is a bit more methodical and strategic than one would expect, and thus stands apart from other console shooters.

 

Despite all of these fine things, the game does show some warts. The AI in single-player is abominable; difficult moments in the campaign stem from being overwhelmed by a superior number of dumb AI mechs, not from being outmaneuvered by a cagey AI opponent. The story and dialogue are also a bit impenetrable, if only because MechAssault 2Â's writers are decidedly in love with the jargon of the BattleTech universe, leaving the uninitiated out in the cold. To Â"˜helpÂ' you immerse yourself in the role of the Mechwarrior, the player character is awkwardly mute, conveying even less emotion than the Grand Theft Auto III protagonist. Still, given the community theater-quality lines regurgitated by the rest of the cast, the main characterÂ's silence may be a blessing. My other gripe with the single player component was going to be the screeching guitar soundtrack, but itÂ's not as if Gillian Welch would be a suitable replacement, given the subject matter.

In multiplayer, the game offers a wide menagerie of different weapons, mechs, tanks, aircraft and foot soldiers. After a few hours, the game seems well balanced. Tanks, predictably, are fodder for the mechs, but have the ability to cloak themselves which keeps them from being entirely useless. In Battle Armor, an infantryman is quite versatile, having the ability to hijack an opponentÂ's mech, use a laser gun to great effect against other foot soldiers and a powerful mortar against hard targets. The mortar in particular is a fun weapon to employ, as it takes some practice to get good with it. Harrier-esque VTOLs round out the list of vehicles, and can be used to ferry supplies and Battle Armored troops around the map. As I mentioned before, this wide variety of implements feels balanced thus far, and all are fun to play.

The single biggest problem with MechAssault 2 in my first impressions was the multiplayer set-up and lobby interface. As it stands right now, the Xbox Live component of the game (ostensibly the top selling point) feels half done. This may also be a result of the fact that MechAssault 2 is essentially a pre-Halo 2 game in a post-Halo 2 world. Day 1 would have done well to borrow some ideas from Microsoft stablemate Bungie.

The best new idea in MechAssaultÂ's Live experience is the persistent universe mode called Conquest, a mode that allows players to fight for the faction of their choice in multiplayer games that allow the sides to gain or lose ground in real time. This idea, backed up by a robust stat-tracking website is a great one, but getting to the battle is a battle all of its own. There are poor design choices everywhere in the multiplayer menus. The developers are so enamored of their out-of-the-mech player models that the game lobbies feature a representation of all of the players in the game. These avatars can do nothing more than jog in circles, waiting for the host to penetrate the arcane mysteries of the lobby menu and start the game.

The lobby design calls to mind that of the Half-life mod Natural Selection, but in NS there was a point to the avatars, showing the player a graphical representation of which class she was playing, and moving the avatar to different doors allowed one to switch teams and classes. Moving around in the MechAssault 2 lobby only allows one to chew up bandwidth. Finding oneÂ's FriendÂ's List and even just joining a game are just a couple of rudimentary tasks made more difficult by MechAssault 2Â's weak interface.

The multiplayer setup in general simply lacks the elegence of Halo 2. There were many rumblings of discontent concerning HaloÂ's ironfisted matchmaking, but MechAssault 2 makes it clear that Bungie was right to automate much of the decision-making. Given the historical aversion to significant patching over Xbox Live, itÂ's unlikely that MechAssault 2 will get much better in this department.

Despite the flaws, MechAssault 2 is fun so far, and certainly above average in most respects. Only more time with the multiplayer game will tell if the unique gameplay will win out over the poor UI choices.

- Sanjuro

Comments

Great article Sanjuro, thanks for not holding back on the weak points. I'm going to take a chance and drop the coin for this to give me some non-H2 variety.

I had two problems with the first game: scale and gameplay. First, the scale. In the game, I didn't feel like I was driving a giant robot. It felt like I was just a 3rd person shooter-guy with a suit on. Second, the game was little more than strafe, strafe, shoot, strafe. Do that until you or your opponent blows up. My god was that boring. So, if it looks like those two things are fixed in this game (as the excellent review above suggests) then I'll have to give this one a rental. Is it literally impossible in this universe for Gamefly to have a new release in stock, ever?

Nice impressions, Sanjuro!

Sorry you're getting sick, Certis. 'Tis the season for feeling crappy!

So THIS is why you haven't been on WoW. For shame Sanjuro....

WoW this, WoW that. WoW everywhere. MEH!

Very nice impressions San! I'm still undecided about this one though. Stranger and RE4 comming out on the 11th and I have tons of games unfinished, besides, I should be playing Halo 2 more.

Is this game a buy in terms of single player only? My internet is still down at home for the past year.... arh! So i'm pretty much have sp only choice...

I'm in it for the multiplayer. I'll still run through the singleplayer, but it won't be anything close to the focus I'll end up putting on playing the game on Live.

Thanks for the kinds words guys.

I'm definitely having fun with the singleplayer, but the focus of effort on this game does seem to be the multiplayer. You most certainly shouldn't pay $50 for the singleplayer component of this game, Nei.

I'm really looking forward to what our clan,The Order of Stancan do with the multiplayer on this one.

Cool, I guess i'll just rent it over the weekend. Thx, Sanjuro!

Certis: hope you're feeling better.. I had my nasty run in with several flus and colds in October, I think my body is now resistant to almost every bug out this year.

Mr.Green. I hear you. I must buy RE4 on Jan.11 as I've been waiting for that forever, I'm picking up MA2 today, I need to find Links for cheap so I can play Golf with everyone, and my buddy at work is pestering me to pickup GR2.

Looks like Halo 2 is just going to be casual for a while

Nice article Sanjuro. Very helpful first impressions! Looks pretty too. May have to sell that kidney after all.

Of course, this means that you'll never show up for H2 Team Skate, doesn't it?