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January 9, 2005 | 6:38 PM PST
by: Ken Nelson
Back when Microsoft's fledgling Xbox Live online service launched, there was a sparse amount of titles available for play. But one of those titles stood tall in the smattering of games: Day 1 Studios giant robot shooter, MechAssault. The game was extremely easy to pick up, was good fun online, and kept people coming back for more. Some might argue that MechAssault single handedly kept the Xbox Live service afloat during it's earliest days. However, today it is a much different story. The service is booming, with over one million members and many great games available for online play. In an arena featuring the likes of Crimson Skies, the critically acclaimed Tom Clancy titles, two new online fighters and of course Halo 2, will MechAssault 2 be able to hold it's own in this strange new world where it's brother once stood tall?
Story
In MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, you play a character known simply as MechWarrior, a member of the Wolf Dragoons, a faction of freedom fighters. If you've played Crimson Skies, the Wolf Dragoons and Fortune Huneter are kind of one in the same. Your entire faction has been decimated, leaving only you, your commander Major Natalia, and the trusty mechanic Lieutenant Foster, both of whom return from the original title.
MechAssault 2 basically picks up where the original left off, though you dont need to know anything about the original's storyline to understand the sequel's. Essentially, you discover a mysertious artifact called a Data Core, which Foster shapes into a new weapon. True to the BattleTech universe, any peace you may have once been enjoying is soon interrupted by an invasion from an unknown foe, who eventually reveal themselves as the infamous Word of Blake. It becomes evident as you play that there are more than just one of these data cores, and they all possess different attributes, and the Word of Blake will stop at nothing to control them. And thus begins your journey, where you will attempt to secure these cores before the Word of Blake does.
Gameplay
If you were thinking MechAssault 2 would be the same boring, shallow romp the original was, erase the thought from your head right now. MechAssault 2 offers a somewhat deeper, more enjoyable gameplay experience did than the original. And it accomplishes this through the use of being able to actually get out of your Mech.
That's right, you'll be fully able to get out of your Mech and pilot many different vehicles, though you'll want to act quickly. Take your time while on foot, and you'll surely be stomped or blown up by your online foes. "Pilot Killers" may become the next spawn killers or campers of Lone Wolf. First on the list, and probably the most unique ride out there, is the BattleArmor. If you've played the original MechAssault, the first thing that will run screaming through your mind upon first glance of the BattleArmor is "That's the Elemental!". And you wouldn't be wrong for assuming that. But the BattleArmor is far from as useless as the Elemental was. It is very small, barely larger than the MechWarrior himself, and as such, can't take a serious beating from the larger Mechs. It comes equipped with a small laser weapon (good for taking out very small foes), and a mortar (good for taking out damn near anything else). However, it's jump jets are far superior to those of the big boys. Where jump jets are only sufficient to get a regular Mech over tough terrain, the BattleArmor's jump jets will send it careening across the level, allowing it to get upon sky scrapers, tall hills, the whole nine yards. Also on the list of neat stuff is the BattleArmor's claw. With this claw you can latch onto things, like the side of a building you want to scale, the underside of a VTOL, and coolest of all onto friendly and opposing Mechs. While latching onto the back of a friendly Mech, you'll simply hitch a ride (think kangaroos..... kinda). But when you hop onto an enemy Mech, oh does the fun begin. By jumping onto an enemy, it brings up the Neurohack sequence, where you'll have to click buttons as fast and precise as you can. Should you succeed, the pilot will be rocketed out of the Mech, and it will be yours for the taking! Fail and you'll simply be rocketed off the Mech and disabled for a temporary amount of time. The Mech jack is available in multiplayer and single player, though skilled pilots will likely be able to deter you with ease in the online arena.
Also available is the Tank. What was once an annoying insect waiting to be crushed by your Mech's mighty foot in the original, the Tank is yours for the riding. The Tank does come equipped with a regular big machine gun, but the Tank's secondary fire is a tad more special than its primary fire. It fires the main cannon, complete with sniper scope for long range attacks and keeping your Tank alive for a tad longer. In fact, if you hit one of the large Mechs in the knee with the sniper cannon, you'll drop them to the ground for a small amount of time, allowing you or your teammates a couple cheapshots. The Tank also comes with stealth camouflage, which goes hand-in-hand with the sniping if that thought hadn't run through your mind. And it can get lifted by the VTOL to spots normally unreachable. It's a shame they are extremely underused in online matches.
Then there's the Vertial Take Off and Landing vehicle, or the VTOL. This is the one vehicle that single handedly adds so much depth to the MechAssault 2 experience. First off, this is NOT an assault vehicle. Try and take on one of the Mechs in this thing, and you'll be dead faster than you can say "CRAP!". No, no, the VTOL plays a support role exclusively. As mentioned above, it can transport both BattleArmor and Tanks to different locations with ease. Again, you may be asking yourself, "Why is this stupid thing so special?". The VTOL makes all the difference in the world once you start playing team based games, as the flying wonder is able to drop off salvage for it's teammates. Just when your Atlas is seconds away from being destroyed, the faithful man in the VTOL drops you off a bounty of power-ups, allowing you to keep the battle raging and score points for your team. A VTOL can take a BattleArmor suit to the enemy's flag and lift it back in mere seconds. Basically put, if your playing a team game in MechAssault 2, if you haven't got a skilled VTOL pilot and the other team, consider the game over..... unless of course your opponents suck.
Story
In MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, you play a character known simply as MechWarrior, a member of the Wolf Dragoons, a faction of freedom fighters. If you've played Crimson Skies, the Wolf Dragoons and Fortune Huneter are kind of one in the same. Your entire faction has been decimated, leaving only you, your commander Major Natalia, and the trusty mechanic Lieutenant Foster, both of whom return from the original title.
MechAssault 2 basically picks up where the original left off, though you dont need to know anything about the original's storyline to understand the sequel's. Essentially, you discover a mysertious artifact called a Data Core, which Foster shapes into a new weapon. True to the BattleTech universe, any peace you may have once been enjoying is soon interrupted by an invasion from an unknown foe, who eventually reveal themselves as the infamous Word of Blake. It becomes evident as you play that there are more than just one of these data cores, and they all possess different attributes, and the Word of Blake will stop at nothing to control them. And thus begins your journey, where you will attempt to secure these cores before the Word of Blake does.
Gameplay
If you were thinking MechAssault 2 would be the same boring, shallow romp the original was, erase the thought from your head right now. MechAssault 2 offers a somewhat deeper, more enjoyable gameplay experience did than the original. And it accomplishes this through the use of being able to actually get out of your Mech.
That's right, you'll be fully able to get out of your Mech and pilot many different vehicles, though you'll want to act quickly. Take your time while on foot, and you'll surely be stomped or blown up by your online foes. "Pilot Killers" may become the next spawn killers or campers of Lone Wolf. First on the list, and probably the most unique ride out there, is the BattleArmor. If you've played the original MechAssault, the first thing that will run screaming through your mind upon first glance of the BattleArmor is "That's the Elemental!". And you wouldn't be wrong for assuming that. But the BattleArmor is far from as useless as the Elemental was. It is very small, barely larger than the MechWarrior himself, and as such, can't take a serious beating from the larger Mechs. It comes equipped with a small laser weapon (good for taking out very small foes), and a mortar (good for taking out damn near anything else). However, it's jump jets are far superior to those of the big boys. Where jump jets are only sufficient to get a regular Mech over tough terrain, the BattleArmor's jump jets will send it careening across the level, allowing it to get upon sky scrapers, tall hills, the whole nine yards. Also on the list of neat stuff is the BattleArmor's claw. With this claw you can latch onto things, like the side of a building you want to scale, the underside of a VTOL, and coolest of all onto friendly and opposing Mechs. While latching onto the back of a friendly Mech, you'll simply hitch a ride (think kangaroos..... kinda). But when you hop onto an enemy Mech, oh does the fun begin. By jumping onto an enemy, it brings up the Neurohack sequence, where you'll have to click buttons as fast and precise as you can. Should you succeed, the pilot will be rocketed out of the Mech, and it will be yours for the taking! Fail and you'll simply be rocketed off the Mech and disabled for a temporary amount of time. The Mech jack is available in multiplayer and single player, though skilled pilots will likely be able to deter you with ease in the online arena.
Also available is the Tank. What was once an annoying insect waiting to be crushed by your Mech's mighty foot in the original, the Tank is yours for the riding. The Tank does come equipped with a regular big machine gun, but the Tank's secondary fire is a tad more special than its primary fire. It fires the main cannon, complete with sniper scope for long range attacks and keeping your Tank alive for a tad longer. In fact, if you hit one of the large Mechs in the knee with the sniper cannon, you'll drop them to the ground for a small amount of time, allowing you or your teammates a couple cheapshots. The Tank also comes with stealth camouflage, which goes hand-in-hand with the sniping if that thought hadn't run through your mind. And it can get lifted by the VTOL to spots normally unreachable. It's a shame they are extremely underused in online matches.
Then there's the Vertial Take Off and Landing vehicle, or the VTOL. This is the one vehicle that single handedly adds so much depth to the MechAssault 2 experience. First off, this is NOT an assault vehicle. Try and take on one of the Mechs in this thing, and you'll be dead faster than you can say "CRAP!". No, no, the VTOL plays a support role exclusively. As mentioned above, it can transport both BattleArmor and Tanks to different locations with ease. Again, you may be asking yourself, "Why is this stupid thing so special?". The VTOL makes all the difference in the world once you start playing team based games, as the flying wonder is able to drop off salvage for it's teammates. Just when your Atlas is seconds away from being destroyed, the faithful man in the VTOL drops you off a bounty of power-ups, allowing you to keep the battle raging and score points for your team. A VTOL can take a BattleArmor suit to the enemy's flag and lift it back in mere seconds. Basically put, if your playing a team game in MechAssault 2, if you haven't got a skilled VTOL pilot and the other team, consider the game over..... unless of course your opponents suck.
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February 8, 2010
