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Published
by Microsoft Game Studios
Developed by Day 1 Studios
Release Date: 4th February 2005
Price: £39.99
The
first MechAssault game proved to be very popular and not
just because there are a whole load of Mech enthusiasts
out there. MechAssault was the first game to really show
what Xbox Live could do and it's no surprise that a demo
of the Xbox Live side of the game was initially included
with the Xbox Live starter kits. If there was one major
disappointment with MechAssault though it was the lack of
provision for deaf gamers. Mech fans will have hoped that
wasn't going to be the case with MechAssault 2, but sadly
it is and although there's some great new features and an
impressive assortment of Xbox Live modes, deaf gamers will
feel short changed again.
MechAssault
2 sees you playing through the fairly short single-player
campaign as the Lone Wolf, the only survivor of his decimated
Dragoon. This time around the developers have attempted
to create a more 'realistic' experience with the emphasis
being on giving the gamer a greater sense of scale than
they would have had in the first game. To achieve this you'll
actually leave your Mech from time to time, for a wide range
of reasons such as hacking security panels and tasks that
simply can't be done from inside a Mech. Seeing a small
human climb out of the cockpit (which is only a very small
part of most Mechs) really does hammer home how big some
of these Mechs are meant to be. It also does away with the
illusion that the game is made up of fighting robots and
shows that Mechs are indeed advanced armoured vehicles.
In
Halo 2 it was possible to throw enemies from the Ghost or
other vehicle and it was a great addition to the game. Similarly
in MechAssault 2 you can hijack another pilot's Mech. To
do this you have to NeuroHack your target Mech. First you'll
connect with your Mech's claw and then you'll have to hack
into the desired Mech by pressing a series of buttons in
the displayed sequence. If you're successful you'll displace
your opponent and you can leave your own Mech and jump into
the new Mech. It's a nice feature and one that's sure to
be popular. Another new addition is the ability to use your
claw to prevent your descent when scaling large buildings.
As you all know your jumpjets fuel isn't infinite and only
lasts a few seconds. Just as it runs out you can initialise
the claw to fix your Mech into the building whilst the jumpjet
fuel refills, which is very useful. When you're outside
the Mech you can also pilot bomb, that is to say you can
plant explosives on the outside of a Mech, which is risky
but can be rewarding when you pull it off.
The
main focus of MechAssault 2 is with the multiplayer side
of the game. The modes on offer are split-screen multiplayer
for 2 players, System Link play for up to 12 players and
of course Xbox Live. There's a staggering 10 different modes
on offer (Grinder, Destruction, Team Destruction, Last Man
Standing, Team Last Man Standing, Not It!, Capture the Flag,
Check It!, Snatch It! and Base War) which is impressive.
There's full support for clans this time around too. There's
also a Xbox Live mode called Conquest which is an on-going
battle between 5 houses (Marik, Steiner, Davion, Liao and
Kurita). On entering the mode for the first time you'll
have a cutscene (unsubtitled) explaining what it's all about
before going on to pick a house to fight for. The battles
continue around the clock and even when you're not there
the war still rages. You aren't bound to one particular
house though and can change your allegiance each time you
play if you wish. After choosing your house you'll be told
which house is currently in the lead and you'll also be
told which planet's need defending and such like (all of
this is in text). You can also access War Updates, which
are all given in text. On entering the war you can choose
to Launch Attack, Reinforce or Defend. In short, it's a
great addition to an already impressive Xbox Live component
and it will ensure that MechAssault 2 is just as popular
as the first game was online.
Graphically
MechAssault 2 is good but doesn't really improve upon anything
we've already seen on the Xbox although it certainly improves
upon the original MechAssault. Where as the first game looked
great at the time, the sequel doesn't really come across
as anything spectacular. What has improved though are the
explosions, which is actually quite important as you're
going to be seeing a lot of them in MechAssault 2. It's
also great to see a frame rate that remains constant throughout
the game, regardless of how hectic it becomes. The game
includes a good range of Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault
Mech's and you can also drive tanks, operate turrets and
control VTOLs (Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles).
All of these look good and control very nicely (although
the VTOL takes time to master).
What
really spoiled MechAssault for us was it's lack of provision
for deaf gamers. Those of you hoping that MechAssault 2
was going to be a different story in this respect are going
to be very disappointed. There are no subtitles for the
cutscenes. Much of the dialogue in the game has no subtitles.
The tutorial messages that are spoken verbally are only
shown in an abridged form in text. Your next objective is
shown in text (in a blue box at the top of the screen) and
you can recall this by pressing the start button. Pressing
the white button will also recall any tips you've been given.
When you're escorting another vehicle there are times when
it will be attacked and they'll let you know verbally when
they need your help. Sometimes you'll receive a text warning
of this but most of the time deaf gamers will be unaware
of this cry for help. Similarly sometimes you are verbally
forewarned of approaching enemies and these warnings don't
appear in text. The first you'll know of the enemies are
either when they appear on the radar or they begin firing
at you. Voice communications in Xbox Live mode does nothing
to help either (although as we've said before that's an
Xbox Live issue rather than a game issue). In short then
MechAssault 2 is problematic for deaf gamers and it's definitely
a case of try before you buy if you're interested in the
game.
Those
of you that have been looking forward to MechAssault 2 will
be really disappointed with the game. Primarily because
the game is fairly hostile towards deaf gamers and it makes
playing the game a lot more of a challenge than it should
be. You'll have no idea of what the games story is about
and this really does take quite a bit away from the game.
You've probably noticed from the title that we looked at
the Limited Edition of MechAssault 2. The extra disk that's
included contains some multiplayer maps and a making of
MechAssault 2. This 'making of' movie is pointless for deaf
gamers as it's not subtitled, which again is disappointing.
Taking everything into consideration then MechAssault 2
is only going to be of any worth to those deaf gamers who
are Mech enthusiasts and don't mind missing out on a wealth
of information.
Overall
Game Rating: 5.5/10
Another enjoyable MechAssault game from Day 1 Studios but
unfortunately there are problems for deaf gamers and this
does reduce the whole from being great to a game that only
dedicated Mech fans should play because of all the omissions
for deaf gamers.
Deaf
Gamers Classification:
(Click
the letter or here
for details)
With no subtitles for cutscenes
and so much content unsubtitled in the main game it's only
just escaped an E grade. Had the objectives not been shown
in text it would have definitely earned one.
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