Platform: Xbox
Price: 49.99
I can remember when I first discovered Battletech back in the day, playing it online as one of the only good games on classic AOL 3.0 or whatever the hell version it was predating 4.0, the first version I can rember the appearance of.
Anyway, the longest running, succesful series of big robot games would have to be the Battletech Mechwarrior series and with 2002 we received the latest and greatest installments, Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries for PC; and Mechassault for the Xbox. Let me tell you this game has its good points and its bad points and like most games I�ve played lately, the pros do outweigh the cons.
Mechassault does not stray from the classic, recycled �Mech designs we so love, and as we do love them that would be the reason they never really evolve. I can�t picture a Mechwarrior game with different looking �Mechs, can you? The graphics are superb there�s something satisfying about slamming into a building, punching it full of holes, then watching as it crumbles before you in all its 128-bit glory.
One thing that this game is loaded with is senseless violence. I mean you can destroy just about anything and step on little infantry guys and watch their little blood clouds pop up and their polygons� I mean bodies� burst. Plus each �Mech, has its own fun weapons, my personal favorite being the lock-on charge beam thingy.
One thing that the game is not loaded with, however is music. Yes this grand score of the gods consists of� one song. Either there is no music while you destroy, or when the power armor and opposing �Mechs show up, the one song plays. Granted it is a great metal tune, you cannot recycle one song over and over and over and over for a whole game. Then again the game is not that long�. Which I suppose is why you can change the difficulty setting.
Graphics: This game merits great but not spectacular graphics. Depending on what blows up you get bigger, more badass explosions, but then again the explosions would probably the most detailed graphics in the game� sad but true.
9.0
Sound: Aforementioned, this game has only one real song to speak of, but the voice-acting is great and full of humor every now and then between missions. Weighing great voice-overs against the music score is never a fair fight so we have to drop some points on that, but then our SFX make up for it. The in-game noises are used over and over but then again aren�t they in all games to some degree? For reused clinks and clanks they�re pretty fun to hear even if it is the sound of your own �Mech being scrapped.
8.0
Control: Wonderful control. You can alter the controller axis inversion at any time during gameplay, and the commands are fitted very simply and funcionally to the easiest buttons. I haven�t �Mech�ed-it-up for years but I got the hang of this in under a minute. The light mechs move quickly, and the mediums and heavies�understably�stall some. Realistic if not just a bit annoying.
9.5
Worth: Newbies, if you ever wanted to know what game you should get with your brand new Xbox Live! system, this game is it. Well, maybe Unreal Championship but that�s not what we�re reviewing now IS IT!? I can�t think of a game I�ve played in a long time that�s kept me glued to the screen non-stop for over 3 hours. My neck hurts but it�s worth it.
10.0