Symphony of Destruction

If there’s 2 things I particularly enjoy when playing games, it’s instant action and wanton destruction. I think that’s part of the reason why you’ll hear me rave over and over about Burnout 3. As much as I love sinking deep into a game like KOTOR or Splinter Cell, lately I’ve discovered less and less time to sit down and commit 3-4 hours to a session. Faced with a choice of playing an involved game for only a half-hour or doing some other activity entirely, I invariably pass on the game. Sometimes you only have time for a quick fix but you still want something that delivers the goods.
Enter Mechassault.
Ok, ok, I’m behind the curve. The game’s been out for nearly 3 years, being the flagship title with which Microsoft launched their Live service, and a sequel has already been delivered months ago. Hell, I’ve had it sitting untouched in my library for nearly a year. In any case, I was frustrated with the scant amount of time I had for gaming so I decided to blow the crap out of things. LOTS of things. Big things, little things, I wanted to raze whole cities to the ground and stomp on soldiers like ants.
Again…Enter Mechassault.

Mechassault takes the well-known Mechwarrior sim franchise from the PC and streamlines it for the console experience. While this could have failed spectacularly, just as most sims and strategy games don’t survive the transition, FASA and Microsoft were able to pare it down to the essentials of what makes the series so much fun. You will be piloting one of a variety of giant walking arsenals, each with it’s own distinct combination of weapons, defenses, and movement capabilities. There are several different classes of mechs, ranging from light mechs for quick recon and scouting to Assault class behemoths that are slow as molasses but can take on anything that crosses its path, as well as every kind of variation in between. Heat management of your mech has made the transition as well, although in a more background “something to keep an eye on” role than before. Your weapons, jumpjets, and various environmental factors generate heat buildup which can leave your mech temporarily vulnerable if it builds up too high. For the most part, it can be safely ignored, but with certain weapons on certain mechs, you may only get in 2 or 3 volleys before having to switch to a cooler-firing weapon to avoid a lockup. One thing that did not survive to the console is the 1st person perspective that really gives you the feel of being the pilot, as opposed to the mech itself. Action takes place in a 3rd-person view in which you can’t help but feel that the mech is your character, thus losing a bit of the appeal.

Enough complaining…the meat of the game is destruction! Take that chicken-walker and blast everything in sight to kingdom come. There’s a ton of stuff in each level that can be taken out, including any and all buildings, the trees, bridges, natural bridges, rock formations, tunnels, and on, and on. It’s not just to satisfy that screaming id of yours, either. There’s some strategy in there, too. Falling pieces of the environment can cause tremendous damage to those unlucky enough to be close when they fall. If you have an enemy mech on your tail that outclasses you by several factors, a few well-placed shots to the bridge he’s standing on or under will quickly send him to the scrap heap. This is all accomplished with the weapons available from three different classes…Energy, Ballistic, and Missile.

One of the things I found particularly impressive is the balance inherent in nearly every mech in the game. All are fairly evenly matched when handled by someone who knows what they’re doing. Although you might be able to dish out some serious firepower with a loaded heavy MadCat, the slower firing weapons and lack of jumpjets means that you could still be outmaneuvered by a light Hackman that can peck away at your health bit by bit. In this manner, when you’re going at it with another mech, Mechassault feels less like a rampaging shoot-’em-up and more like a slow, methodical naval battle. You will be trading shots, each taking damage, while maneuvering around in a ballet of carnage. It is not simply the one with the bigger guns who will win, but the one who employs subtle tactics more efficiently. Still, whereas the beginning of the single-player campaign will have you barely scraping by with a victory against a single enemy mech, by the time you get to the halfway point, you will be able to combat multiple mechs of varying strengths and speeds simultaneously, in some cases utilizing them against one another. You see, when one of these bad boys eats a bomb, you better be somewhere else. A mech core going critical can and will level anything unlucky enough to still be in the immediate vicinty in a beautiful display of shock and awe. By holding off on the final shot until his buddies are in range, you can cause a deadly chain reaction that is nothing short of immensely satisfying.

Warp Core Breach

Although nearly 3 years old, the graphics still stand tall with stunning explosions, shockwave, and particle effects everywhere you turn. Don’t get me wrong, this is not going to pull your eyes away from Halo2 or Ninja Gaiden, and once you check out Mechassault 2:Lone Wolf (review forthcoming) it’s hard to even look at the first game again, but at the time this came out it had some of the best eye candy to be had on the Xbox. Aurally, the situation is the same. Every weapon sounds unique and believable, from the electric crackle of fully charged PPC cannons to the whooshes of a volley of sidewinder missiles fired at your targets. To accompany the aforementioned core explosion there is a really cool warping effect added to the sound as the shockwave ripples away. The controls are responsive based on what you’re controlling, and that’s a good thing. When it feels like you’re turning slower than you’d prefer, it’s because you’re trying to move several tons of metal, not because you’re fighting the Xbox controls.

While the singleplayer campaign is not all that long once you get the hang of how you have to play, it’s really just a training ground for the Live component. Additionally, the story is a throwaway that will not interest you. All you’ll need to know is, what’s my objective, and how many things do I get to knock down on the way? As far as the multiplayer goes, there are several variants of the usual fare which I have not yet tried out. I think I played a Deathmatch back in the day before I’d really gotten anywhere in the campaign and I got my ass handed to me. This is not like handling the Master Chief, so it shouldn’t be treated as such. I have confidence that if I logged on today, I’d be able to show those 12-year olds a thing or two. I might actually do it, too, if I can clear some of these other games out of the way.

The final verdict is that this is a great game to keep on hand for those times when you can only squeeze in short bouts of play time. While there are a few minor complaints to be had, there’s a lot to love about blowing stuff up. I give it a well-deserved 17.