MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf Preview

One of the first games to take full advantage of XBox Live, the original MechAssault provided gamers with a deep and engrossing Mech combat game and was a smash hit on the console.  Now, the sequel is poised to do even better, with improved Live support and a bevy of even deeper gameplay and storyline elements.  For XBox gamers looking for the next big Live game (well, after Halo 2, of course), MechAssault 2 is only a few months away.

MechAssault 2 will have some pretty cool new gameplay elements, like the ability to get out of your mech and run around, hiding in small corners and even commandeering enemy mechs.  In fact, there is the new Neurojacking ability, where you use your current mech to hack into an enemy and force them to eject, thus getting the means to take over their craft.  In order to do so, you have to attach to them, and then press a series of buttons in a certain order as they flash on the HUD, kicking them straight out of their mech.

The environments in the game are nearly completely destructible.  Getting into a huge firefight with enemies often results in the utter decimation of city blocks, with buildings collapsing into rumble a la Rampage.  The action in the game is hardcore, very intense and exciting.  Although your mech has understandably limited mobility, you can do a number of things with it, like soar with rockets, strafe and other abilities.

The multiplayer element in the first game wasn’t shabby, and MechAssault 2 will do even better by focusing more on teamwork elements.  The new Conquest mode works as a collection of different multiplayer modes set in a persistent gameplay universe where players join a house (which they can change at any point, at the cost of their stats and rankings) and battle for supremacy over other houses.  While the core gameplay of the Conquest mode incorporates other gameplay modes like CTF, there is a larger scheme of things that comes into play in this mode that involves outside rankings against other houses.

The graphics in MechAssault are going to be incredible, arguably some of the best seen on a console to date.  The mech models have been completely revamped, filled with an excellent level of detail and very meticulously animated at that.  The environments look great, and have a realistic level of destructibility, meaning that you can knock into almost any building and have it chunk off realistically.  The special effects are also quite amazing.  The lighting effects have a gorgeous “bloom” glow quality, giving them the same kind of atmospheric look as Deus Ex: Invisible War and Thief: Deadly Shadows.  The fire effects when you shoot off your rockets look great, possibly some of the best fire effects I’ve ever seen in a game.  The explosions also look awesome, causing a ball of diffracted light and energy to blast when a mech goes up.  Very cool.

As it stands, MechAssault 2 will not only bring to the table more of the great action from the first game, but is also set to make some huge improvements and add new gameplay modes to the formula, making for one of the best titles to hit XBox Live.  Mech fans, get ready to suit up this December.