a COE Se Mach 5, 2003 Game Reviews Publisher: Bandai Developer: Cyber Connect Genre: RPG Number of Players: 1 ESRB Rating: T Cody Sawatsky Op Game Contributor First off, let me say one thing: If you have Xbox Live, and not Mechassault, it is equivalent to having butter and no toast. Sure, the butter is awesome and can be put on and used in many things, but the best, most popular usage is on toast. Mechassault is the most commonly played non-pack-in game on XBL. Check at to see for yourself, and register your gamertag at the same time. But back to the game. Mechassault is the current Heavyweight Undisputed Champion of Console Online Gaming. What's more, is the fact that the developers are adding to this, by releasing more mechs and maps to play on, monthly, for free! First off, here’s the gist of the game. You drive a giant, three storey-tall War- Machine known as a Mech. It is loosely based on the Mechwarrior series, which was at one time a popular TV cartoon, known as “BattleTech”, and a hugely pop- ular game series in the PC Market. Something that may turn off PC Mechwarrior fans is that this game is arcade-style play, all the way. The Mechwarrior series stresses Mech-man- agement, a thing in the console market that simply put, no one has time for. This game is a shooter from cradle to grave, and that is where the fun comes in. © page 12 PlayStation.e Culture http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca Nick Hogg The Original Op Game Guy Dot hack is a blend of anime and video games, which just goes to prove that chocolate and peanut butter weren't the only things made better by being put together. What we get is one game that mimics an MMORPG, and an OVA anime that ties into the game, not to mention the subtle tie into the hack TV series that is being released in March. Keep in mind this is only one quarter of the story here, there are still 3 more volumes that are due out this year to finish off the story of Kite. Now the concept is a little weird. You're playing a guy, who is playing an online game, who is searching for the reason his friend went into a coma in real life after being attacked by an online monster. If you can wrap your head around that you're on your way to being more confused by this complex twisting story. Now, all the other characters you encounter in .ack are meant to mimic real people, and they range from tolerable to annoying, like the guy who wont stop talking about his cats. If they added some people who speak 1337, and some kids who don’t use punctuation, I would have a hard time telling it from a real online game. The whole story is very intriguing even though it’s only the first quarter of an RPG story. The only problem is the game’s relative shortness. You can reach the final boss for volume one in a mere 15 hours, but keep in mind you are not in any shape to fight him at that level. The game play is relatively simple to pick up. It’s like most MMORPGs in that you just hack and slash at ene- the other press mies, and cast magic when necessary. But in ./ack you can- not choose what character class you want to be, so you are stuck being a Twin Blade, which is basically a rouge or thief-type character in normal RPG terms. The equipment the character dons ranges from attack skill to offensive magic and defensive magic, and dictates all of the charac- ter skills. One rather interesting aspect of the game is that you can trade with all the other characters in the game, just like in a real online game, except in this version they tend to be fair about their trades. Graphics are good, the game runs clean and smooth, and the effects in the corrupted fields are really great, especial- ly on how the code shows though the interface. The music is run-of-the-mill, it didn’t stand out too much, but it did- n't cause me to mute the TV either. This game also comes with the original Japanese voice tracks, and the newly added English voices, most anime game fans are hoping this is a sign of things to come. One last note to touch on is the OVA animation includ- ed with the game; it’s free anime so you really can't go wrong. It looks good and it’s interesting enough to hold your attention for the 45-minute length. So we get a game that plays great, looks great. and has an intriguing story and concept. Other than the anime DVD bubble, we get the original Japanese cover in all its glory. You can choose from an already over- whelming selection of Mechs to play with online, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. No two are alike. Some Mechs are variants of other Mechs, but are always different enough to change your gameplay completely. Each Mech has three weapons: Missile, Gun, and Energy. Each of these weapons can be upgraded by picking up power-ups dropped from enemies when they are blown up. These power-ups are called Salvage. Now, thinking about this, the issue of control crosses the mind. The control in Mechassault has been done brilliantly. The right thumbpad controls your aim, or where your Torso is pointed, and the left thumbpad controls your legs, and where you are moving. It is very intuitive, and you will be running with the best of them in mere seconds. Also, left trigger cycles your weapons, and right trigger fires. Pressing in on the left thumbpad activates your Jumpjets (Where available, as not all Mechs have them) and the right thumb- pad, when pressed is your defensive power. (Again, where available.) This all comes together to form one inspired con- trol scheme, as your fingers never have to leave their resting positions at all, saving valuable time in heated battles, and heat- ed they will get. You will notice significant Corner: Mechassault differences in all the Mechs, be it speed, reload time, or defensive/offensive abili- ties. The Multiplayer modes are fairly gener- ic, but this is not to say that they aren't good. Included is Deathmatch, known as “Destruction” in the game, and its team variant, “Team Destruction.” Also includ- ed is “Last Man Standing,” where all play- ers get one life, and then fight it out. This also comes in a Team flavour. One final mode is “Not It!” A large, yellow arrow points to the person that everyone goes after, and you will only get points for frag- ging that person. But, after you kill them, the arrow is now on you. No teams play this time. This mode is fun for a change of pace, but the most commonly played mode is, by far, Team Destruction. One of the biggest complaints gamers had when this game was released is that there is no Capture the Flag. However, not to fear. Capture the Flag will be released as a con- tent download. The first of these content downloads was released last Thursday, and included two new Mechs, and two new maps. Now, an interesting note here is that the Multiplayer component, was added at the last second Mechassault was originally designed to be a single-player-only game. This explains a well-planned and thought out single player component. It gives you story, but doesn't drown you in it with excessive cutscenes and annoying dia- logue. (Any gamer who has spent any time with the venerable Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance will be nodding their heads in agreement right now.) Also, a nice feature of the single player, is that it not only makes you a better Mech Fighter, because you will get your ass kicked online and off, it also unlocks more powerful Mechs to use online. It is very hard in parts, but again, you will need those skills online. The Bottom Line: + Graphics are stupendous. The attention to detail shows. + Single player is solid, and has a bearing on Multiplayer. I like that. + Multiplayer is very solid, and addictive like chocolate heroin. - No Capture the Flag Mode - Voice acting leaves a little to be desired - Only two players per Xbox? C’mon! Why do you become a little man when you die in Last Man Standing? And why does this little man explode? Next Week’s Review: Splinter Cell Cody_Sawatsky@hotmail.com Gamertag: Lotsakon