Better graphics than the original cannot sustain a ho-hum story and garbled online experience.
User Rating: 6.7 | MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf (Limited Edition) XBOX
If the developers decided to have you be a nameless, voiceless, motionless main character, why did they even bother to have him on screen? During cinematics, the "Mech Warrior" character sits there motionless while other characters talk, move and emote. Why not have it be a first person experience? Look at me...talk at me. That seems strange. Like an afterthought, but they didn't have time to animate him. -- Thus is like my experience playing through the campaign mode. Shoot everything. Collect power-ups and repeat. The story mode would be more interesting...if it wasn't so stiff. The game goes from being way too easy, to suddenly VERY HARD with no transition. The turret gameplay (which I usually enjoy) was frustrating and very hard. Nice of them to drop you in and not explain what weapons you have nor what you defensive capabilites are. I didn't even know I had a shield until I just started hitting buttons. Blow up a bridge I can't see? Oh...guided missles. Thanks for explaining. -- Now the graphics are really nice. Top notch. Explosions and sounds and destructive environments are a big improvement...but what good is all this dazzle if it's not fun to be a part of? I basically cruised through the campaign just to finish and move on to the online mode. Who's idea was it to have characters in a small room running around? People spend so much time talking and not enough time shooting. Last night I looked for basic Destruction...and there were four rooms. Not a lot to choose from. It seems so hard to just get into a game...and when you do, it's a jack-fest. Maybe some people really love the whole Battle Armor Mech Jacking thing...but quite frankly, I find it annoying. You wind up spending all your time defending yourself from Battle Armor and not enough shooting other mechs. -- It would be great if there was a mode of NO JACKING to play in. Most of the people just wait around for someone foolish enough to get into a mech, then crowd and jack him. I even had one guy in a room keep shouting "No mechs, no mechs" in free-style Destruction and had Battle Armors ganging up on mechs. Weak campaign. Weak online. Real disappointment. I'm going back to the original Mech Assault. And Halo 2. 
