A new twist to an old game.
Mech Assault 2 is a jumbling package of improvements, headaches, disappointments, and a completely new twist to what fans of the original Mech Assault may either like or just as easily dislike. But despite the odd result, the game still stands solid in the Multiplayer scope, and that is the real meat and potatoes of a game of his caliber. Fans of the original Mech Assault are quite familiar with the online portion of that game. To sum it up, you'd pick a mech, choose a team, and literally kick tons of butt. Well, in Mech Assault 2, this is all-but gone. You no longer have to worry about one team racking down with Ragnaroks and stomping around the battleground talking like they are all too godly. Each map has predetermined mechs, with predetermined variants, and they never change. This is because the entire basis of the game has changed!
MA2 revolves are you as a pilot, not a Mechwarrior. In the Offline Campaign you will quickly realize the differences as you often hop out of your mech to climb in a new one, or run around on foot planting a number of explosives in the path of patrolling mechs. Online however, you will have to work with your team and master a number of various roles. There are four types of pilots in MA2: Mech Warriors, VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) Pilots, Tank Pilots, and Battle Armor Pilots (Toads). Of course, there isn't an official class for these, but when you play the game each has their own type of feel and learning curve.
--- Focusing on the Multiplayer X-Box Live Portion of the game ---
Connecting to X-Box Live is as simple as any other game, but in Mech Assault 2, you have two options. You can either go directly to Multiplayer or select Conquest on the Main Menu. Going through Multiplayer will toss you a couple of Local X-Box options, but sure enough X-Box Live is still there. Once online you'll see the typical options, such as Quick Match, Optimatch. But MA2 also has a few more Multiplayer/Friend option as well, like the inclusion of clans. Any player can create a clan right of the bat, it's simple, all you need to do is press Y in the Clan Screen then type in a name, choose an emblem. Afterwards you can toss in a Motto, a URL Address for your clan, as well keep track of it online.
Online mode now has a few new game types, such as Base War, Snatch it, and Check it. X-Box Live players of the original MA may be familiar with Snatch it, and Check it, but Base War is completely new. Each team will have a generator to defend, and they can certainly withstand a very harsh pounding. What makes matters worse is that players can use the VTOL to repair the Generators, so with well functioning teams, only the time limit will determine the victor. When you play X-Box Live and finally pick a game, you'll find yourself in a virtual waiting room. You will be displayed and represented by your Avatar, which can be a choice of one of four available models found in Edit Profile. Upon the completion of the Single Player campaign (which isn't that hard), you'll earn a fifth. However, in games which have teams, only your team can see your Avatar, for you are placed in two different rooms. (Though, all are still connected via voice communication).
Unlike MA, there are only two team colors, red versus blue. This is because all maps have set spawn points or "bases" for each team, which can have automatic defensive turrets; player controlled defensive turrets, VTOL, Supply Depot, two Power Suits, one Tank, and a collection of mechs different for each map. Each team will have the exact same units and mechs, so balance is no longer an issue in this game since teams are always perfectly balanced no matter what. When the game launches you will be on foot, and you must run towards the mech or unit of your choice. Well controlled teams will find little difficulty with this, but on random games you will often have an issue with people wanting to pilot the same thing. Sometimes you will have the rare spoil sport that will team kill when they don't get what they want, or even leave the game.
Players whom pilot the VTOL can quickly hover the Supply Depot and collect a power ups for their team mates and drop them in the base, making them fully armed before the battle even begins. VTOL pilots can also drop five automated large laser turrets anywhere around the map, even in the middle of combat. Or when they aren't picking up and running power ups, heals, and various other goodies to their team mates, they can tax Power Armor players to enemies air space and drop them close to enemy mechs, or pick up a friendly tank and drop him close to the heated action. VTOL however is not complete without an aggressive poster, when it's not doing is support duties; it is fully capable of defending itself with missiles. You can hit the supply depot and get yourself a payload of four massive bombs and run a quick bombing run over enemy mechs and units. Note that these bombs to massive damage, so if not used correctly, the explosion can kill the VTOL pilot dropping them!
Mech Warriors will find that mechs will move slightly slower, and come with an assortment of new defensive shields to activate during battle. You'll find Reflective Armor (Deflects laser attacks), Reactive (Deflects ballistic attacks), Anti-Jack (Deflects Power Armor jacks), Coolant Flood (Fire without worry of taking heat), and of course cloaking devices. This and new mechs await you, like the Nova Cat (Wendigo) and Blood Asp (Star Adder). But now you have to worry about more than just Mechs on the battlefield, the VTOLS, Tanks, and Power Suits each are an awesome force of their own. Most of all Power Suits will be your constant annoyance, for when an enemy suit latches to your backside; it will instantly try to kill you. You must instantly direct your attention away from battle to play a game of virtual "Simon Says" with your XBOX Controller. You are battling the enemy player in a game of button mashing - if you complete the code flawlessly, then the hack is denied, and the Power Suit is knocked off your back and knocked to the ground, making him an easy target for allies to destroy. However, if you slip and miss a key, you'll most likely loose your mech to the enemy jacker.
Power Suits too really put the world of Battletech into the player's prospective as you jump around the battlefield in the midst of towering giants. Your job is to jump onto enemy mechs and kill the pilots; this will not only earn your team a new mech to play with, but will also score your team a lot of points. Mech Jacking is a risky game, but the rewards pay off for the effort involved. If you want to take control of the mech you just jacked, you have to hop out of the Power Suit and jump in the mech. Which is even more risky if you do this in the middle of a major battle. Being on foot too as a simple pilot allows for you to set a single bomb at a time out onto the battlefield. You can either pull the trigger, or leave it for an enemy to cross paths with. The bomb with automatically self destruct if it is near an enemy. So running up being a mech and setting a bomb is not a good idea, that will most likely kill you as well as the bomb will self destruct.
Finally, the Tank has its purpose. It may not be the most popular unit, considering all the other fun toys to use, but this one has a beauty of its own. Tanks, when fully upgraded, can be an awesome force to deal with. VTOLs can carry these to strategic locations, such as high hills or on top of buildings. When the Tank is in position, the pilot can cloak the tank, and zoom in on enemy targets. A snipe blast to the legs can knock enemy mechs down in one single shot. This can be quite an advantage for your team in the heat of battle. Of course, there are a few other options for pilots too. Some player bases are armed with turrets that players can take control of. These turrets sport a large laser and a self-guided missile launcher. Players can control the missiles and direct them at enemy mechs with devastating results.
Combat runs a lot like Mech Assault despite all these differences. What's new should certainly stand out, including a voice announcer calling out various actions during the game. You'll hear each time a player Jacks a mech, be it friend or foe. Same for Team killing. This can be more confusing than it is helpful, because of the fact that it announces the actions of both teams. Once again Mech Assault doesn't have the Mech Warrior 4 beauty of terrain and use of the water. Water still doesn't relieve heat or cool off mechs, nor does it hinder your speed like it did in the classic PC game. Hills are still hard to climb like in Mech Assault, but ever now and again you'll found one you can mount with Jump Jets. Since it's still so complicated, XBOX live players consider it "Wall Climbing" - which is often to be a bug of sorts, but it isn't.
Teams have a few more options too. Of course, like most XBOX live games these days team voice communication will be automatically divided when the game begins. Each player will see a small blue circular icon in the top left hand corner of the screen to inform them that team communication is on. During the game players can press the Black button to turn it off to allow the enemy team to hear their communications. So be sure to make sure you know what you are doing when you press that button.
However, as interesting as all this is, this doesn't complete all that X-Box live has to offer to the casual gamer. MA2 has revived the old conquest mode from the 2001 failure Battletech 3025 Online. For any players who remember that, you can choose one of five Inner Sphere houses and battle for planets. Obviously, the mode has learned from its past mistakes and now it's a little harder to capture planets, but still it has a number of problems. First and foremost, waiting for players has been the primary problem on release of this game. For houses attacking a planet, there is always a lack of defending players and a rush of attacking house players flooding the room. Each game can not be launched until the teams are even. So it is thought to be simply strange that there wasn't a feature to block allied house members from joining a session already well supplied with attackers. Perhaps this will work itself out in the long run. Another problem is that the defending house doesn't have control of any game. Only attackers can host games, so players rushing in to defend a planet may find that A) The host leaves before the game begins, or B) The host begins before your team is ready and your are stuck with terrible players you didn't want or need.
Each game in conquest mode supplies points towards the planet and a house, the house which reaches the max number of points (100%) first, wins the planet and forces it to reset. Aside from this, the game still has a number of the annoying flaws which troubled the original Conquest Mode, but still it's quite solid enough to supply an excited experience in XBOX Live, making you feel that what you do has high and heavy stakes.
--- Game Features ---
Mech Assault fans and fans of any action game will certainly love the impressive eye candy this game offers. This game is rich with effects, not on the weapons that the units use, but also in their massive destruction you can cause. Like MA1 - you can destroy building, but this time building have much more impressive destruction to watch, and react realistically to the damage they take from mechs. You can literally shoot holes through buildings, crash chunks out of the side, and lots of other delicious things. When building crumble, large clouds of dust emerge with can hide mechs for a few moments. So in a way this can be used to your advantage. Possibly the most beautiful effect of all is when you destroy a mech. The explosion is massive, and the shock waves which roll along the air and ground make quite a wonderful sight. This is possibly one of the most effects rich XBOX game on the market right now, so it's a great action online game to kick in the New Year.
However, if you are looking for a deep, rich single player mode to keep your busy when you aren't Online - prepare to be very disappointed. The offline Single Player Campaign is short, and rather simple. Many players consider it a lengthy tutorial, and that's a fairly accurate assessment. It focuses on training you in the Power Armor, as well toying with all the new features the game offers. You'll find plenty of jumping in and out mechs, running around on foot to find empty mechs, jacking mechs, flying a VTOL, and yes, even running a few tanks. You'll even find yourself manning a turret at one point, but you'll quickly ditch it for its weak armor (despite it's shield ability) for the VTOL parked behind it for a better defensive poster. The final boss too is quite a wimp by boss standards, and you should pretty much wrap the game up in about two to three hours, depending on if you want to watch the rather lack luster story or not. The reward for beating the game is the Nemesis Avatar, which is the boss of the game. It should make you stand out for a little bit in the virtual lobbies online.
Graphics have gotten a major upgrade from the original Mech Assault, as the mechs are now more polished in their look, and their armor has a clean, slick shine to it that makes you think it came right out of the dealership. The sound though hasn't changed much; you'll find most of the sounds still recycled from MechWarrior 4. Animations and models from MechWarrior 4 have also been recycled in the new mechs, so for long time fans of Battletech games, there is really nothing new here mech wise. So to sum it up, Mech Assault 2 is a new twist to a few old games all slapped into one package. The game does indeed hold a lot of long term value for players wanting to sink their claws into a juicy online game for the XBOX. With the expansion of players to twelve in online games instead of MA's eight, you can have bigger games. It still doesn't compare to the size of Mech Warrior 4 games, but it's a happy trade off for the massive destruction and addition of new toys like the LONG awaited Power Suits and their ability to ride and jack mechs.
--- Controls ---
MA fans will find little difference in the controls, however, you can no longer use X, Y, A, and B to switch between weapons. You need these for lots of others things, including jumping in and out of mechs and units. Fans of the South Paw configuration however will be very disappointed to find that Mech Assault two only has ONE control setting, nothing else. You must learn its controls or suffer. So MA players who aren’t used to the stock controls will find a massive learning curve here. Aside from that, the Left Thumb stick controls your movement and activates your JumpJets upon pressing while the Right stick controls your torso. The right and left triggers control weapon switching and firing. The D-Pad is used mainly for the VTOL; you need it to rotate through cargo options. The controls are comforted when you get used to them, and if you are a MA fan you feel quite at home. For anyone new to the game you find that the controls may take come getting used to as each and every mech as a 360 degree torso arch.
--- Conclusion ---
All in all, I wouldn't say the game is worth running out buying an XBOX for, but if you are an XBOX owner, you have XBOX Live, and you love big robot action - this is the game for you. Mech Assault 2 is one of the most beautiful games for XBOX yet, and its multiplayer isn't bad either.