Players of the PC games may feel alienated in the gameplay, but for players new to the universe, the game satisfies.
Gameplay: 9
The gameplay for MechAssault is definatly much more action oriented than the Mech Warrior series of games. The game is seen in a 3rd person view and much of the features from Mech Warrior are gone to simplize the game from a simulation to an action shooter. The Mech Warrior games were superb simulations involving making tactical desicions to save yourself. For instance, in both games firing weapons builds up heat, though in Mech Warrior 4 you would take damage as tour internal systems melt. In MechAssault you merely lose the ability to fire until heat is cooled down. Everything from Mech Warrior 4 which made it a simulation is gone. No more heat sinks, no more loss of limbs on your mech, and no more mech customization. These have been taken away to reveal a very simple but very fun shooter. The lack of simulation is a nice change, though one thing I do miss is the ability to customize mechs. It would have been nice to have the ability to buy new mechs with money earned from playing campaign mode to buy a standard mech, and then being able to turn it into a variant. But when you get down to it, it's really not missed in game as each of the mechs is quite capable of destroying any other with a skilled pilot. The fun of stomping on infantry while shooting lasers at enemy Mad Cats is one of the game's saving graces. It's FUN.
Graphics: 8
For the time when the game came out, the graphics are quite good. Damage can be seen on everything. Buildings, the ground, enemy tanks, even the mechs! As they get damaged you can see them start to spark and smoke until eventually they explode. Did i mention the explosions in this game? They are the best I've ever seen! Not only do they look impressive but a mech's explosion has the power to level a nearby sky scraper. Oh, and the building destruction animations look great too. Another cool feature is impact. If you are running full tilt and you hit a building you'll dig a huge crater into it and shards of glass will rain onto the streets. Several small fires will start too. Everything in an environment seems destroyable. From lone trees (forests arn't affected by your mech, who passes through them) to street posts to fleeing towns people. If your mech stumples into them they'll be, yep you guessed it, toast.
Sound: 8
Though I think the in game sounds all sound excellent, they tend to get a little repetative after a while. The lack of variety in the sound of a machine gun firing seems un realistic. While the splat sounds of a crushed infantry man are a little satisfying, they too just get repetative and many of them sound un-realistic. The music score is fairly good for when your just pounding around in a mech but when the action music kicks in you know theres an enemy mech around the corner. The sounds of the footfalls of mechs are one of the best done sounds and help me believe that i'm watching this engine of destruction tear through a city.
Value: 10
MechAssault can be found now for $10, which if you consider other games, is really cheap for how good it actually is.
Tilt: 9
Though I tried to write this review fairly, I must say that the pure fun of the game helped me to write a fairly good review for a good action shooter. If your looking for a different action game for the X-Box and your on a tight budget, MechAssault is a really good choice. I give MechAssault a 8.9/10.