MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf

Added January 9th, 2005 by Dakota Grabowski

Introduction:

When you look back upon what has been released in the action genre so far, you will notice that Mech-type games have run rampant on the Xbox. You can pick up some ill-fated titles such as Murakumo, Robotech: Battlecry or even its successor, Robotech: Invasion. If those aren’t up your alley, maybe some niche driven games such as GunGriffon: Allied Strike, Phantom Crash or maybe Steel Battalion would suffice. If you chose any of those titles, you would be passing up the chance to play the best mech series available on the Xbox -- the MechAssault series. The original Mech Assault received high acclaim for setting multiplayer standards for the Xbox Live service, but was ridiculed for its lack of single play experience. That was in 2002, though, and with two years of age, does Day 1 Studios improve the series in all categories with the freshly released sequel?

Reporting this isn’t really a surprise to anyone, the single player experience still suffers from any critical revitalization, while the multiplayer receives all the attention. Day 1 opted to add in new multiplayer elements that should excite any Xbox Live user that loves the full use of the Xbox Live 3.0 capabilities. Now available is the option to join clans, send messages back and forth, sleeker menus, and the use of online scoreboards and stats. There is much going for MechAssault 2, but most of it seems to be located within the multiplayer modes, rather than any single player mode. Single player is rough and only slightly better than the first. You still have the boring missions that feel as if you are accomplishing less than heroic feats and the simplified mission arcs that have you destroying anything and everything in your path to reach your destination point. Before I jump right into the review, I want to look back on what Day 1 Studios achieved with the original MechAssault.

Day 1 Studios’ first video game was MechAssault. So it was inevitable for them to follow with a bigger and even better sequel. What seems to be the problem is that MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf doesn’t seem to be an improvement over the first. MechAssault was among the first games available on the Xbox Live service and it was the best to be included at the service launch. MechAssault 2, on the other hand, has to compete with some of the top played Xbox Live games such as Halo 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Burnout 3, Star Wars: Battlefront, and Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow. MechAssault 2 does an extraordinary job when matching up against the others for multiplayer options, but this is where the single player experience steps in for debate over which is the best. Of the aforementioned games, MechAssault 2 only has the upside over Star Wars: Battlefront in both the single player and multiplayer options. Nonetheless, Day 1 Studios does have two quality titles that are going to be played by numerous online players and very few new developers have the bragging rights to say that.

Gameplay:

The story for MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf sets place after the demise of Wolf’s Dragons. With the Ragnarok mech destroyed, one of your teammates discovers a strange data core that is excellent for the new age of combat. When all seems safe, a mysterious visitor crashes nearby changing the whole landscape of what’s happening. Questions arise and they, of course, dwell upon what the viscous Word of Blake (a cult that is out for its own purposes) has up its sleeve. The plot of MechAssault 2 is a safe plot to go with in Day 1 Studio’s case, but it doesn’t give you the epic feel while playing. The scope of the story is minuscule and doesn’t have a lot of build up for any type of climax.

The length of the game is quite short, even though it may have surpassed the original. You will breeze through this game in no time, as the A.I. barely gives off the sensation that they are attempting to fight back. The opposition usually comes in the form of tanks, turrets, and enemy mechs which are all easily disposed of. The turrets are more of a distraction, while the tanks are roadblocks you can kill with one step on them if you get close enough. The enemy mechs are nowhere near being matched up to you as evenly as I would have thought. When it’s all said and done, the missions will quite simply bore you and the single player game is a huge disappointment.

MechAssault 2 is all about the multiplayer, so don’t fret about all the negativity. Introduced into the sequel is a mode called Conquest. Conquest is essentially the biggest addition to the game, as you will be battling online in a huge galactic war that spans many planets. There are five different groups you can associate yourself with when taking part of this mode. The banners you can join include Liao, Marik, Steiner, Kurita, and Davion. The House of Liao embraces old Chinese traditions while the Kurita group bases their customs on Japanese ways. The Davion banner has a lot of ups and downs with war and the economy, but their citizens enjoy much freedom. The Marik group is more of a collage of many cultures merged together and the Steiner rulers are based off the Lyran Alliance, which is known for its peacemaking. As you can see, there is a wide range of groups for you to choose from to align yourself with.

Returning from the original are modes such as destruction, team destruction, last man standing, team last man standing, capture the flag, not it, and so many more that you will be overwhelmed with a diverse amount of modes. My favorite returning online option is the ability to play two players online. Bringing a friend online makes the game all the better as I can share my love for destroying other mechs with more than just myself. System Link is still open with the capability of playing 12 players, just like over Xbox Live. What has changed, though, is that you no longer pick one mech before entering a match; but rather start out as a human on the ground. After that, you can navigate your human to climb into a mech, jump into a tank, get into a VTOL, hop into a turret or even regular battle armor. Some may laugh at the point of just using the battle armor, but they do have their uses. The most important part would be the NeuroHacking enemy mechs. NeuroHacking consists of pretty much hijacking enemy mechs and disabling them. This causes them to die and you are then able to continue to try and NeuroHack even more.

Graphics:

The first time you observe a huge building collapse, you will be amazed. Yes, the graphics are improved and the effects are what impress me the most. Going toe-to-toe with the opposition feels authentic, as missed bullets will blast into the buildings causing glass to shatter. Every different gun in the game has its own animation and effects when you use them. The mechs themselves are modeled beautifully, so no flaws so far, right? Well, the environments could have been blessed with more detail, but Day 1 Studios’ defense, they do deliver larger and more expansive levels to traverse. What you find the most surprising, is that the graphics look best while playing as a human. Standing next to a mech or even a tank, you can see the difference of size and feel like you are using mechs that are gigantic.

Audio:

Following in Halo 2’s footsteps, MechAssault 2 has a rock soundtrack. Included in the soundtrack are Papa Roach and Korn as the larger named groups that are available for you to listen to while you play. Microsoft seems to love the rock themed soundtracks as even Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders had a rock theme to it (even though it’s based on a more mythical story). With the voice acting though, they could have used some all star voices such as Halo 2 had going for it. MechAssault 2 characters seem to have no life in them as they act more like robots than the robots they are driving. To go along with the brilliant graphic effects is the addition of sound effects that are well rounded. Never before did it sound so awesome to take off with your Mech into the air and fire away your rockets.

Controls:

With the addition of so many new mechs and new vehicles, the controls had to be great. What Day 1 Studios delivers is very close to being great, but lacks some in-depth response. The response of your mechs tends to be very slow and quite lumbering. The start of all matches will take about fifteen seconds to see any combat begin between the parties involved. The camera system is almost flawless with only the walking of the humans that have the feel of awkwardness. The controls overall still feel a little clunky and still not responsive enough, but they are decent enough to not stress the player out.

Replay:

The heart of the game lies right in the multiplayer mode. With that said, you all ready know the replay value is high. You could play online for several hours; flying without even noticing. What is unacceptable, is the single player campaign. I predict not many will be playing through the single player more than once and just stick to the online matches. What especially makes the online worth it is the Conquest. When you factor in the ongoing wars that occur, you will see that it has a limitless amount of replay value. You will want your banner flying high above the rest and will make sure everyone knows that you are among the best online defending it.

Summary:

Next time around, I am hoping Day 1 Studios puts a little more effort in the single player experience. The online multiplayer ability is strong enough to hold up the sequel; allowing you to forget about what’s lacking in the single player mode. My only advice is if you are an avid Xbox Live player, pick this game up. There is co-op for those not benefiting with a cable modem and having Xbox Live, its not as strong as say Halo 2’s co-op is. Without the multiplayer, MechAssault 2 is just your average shooter with some great graphics.