'Mech-ing Things Difficult
By Hardcore
Welcome to back to the Hardcorner, temporarily relocated to the corner of Smash & Kerplode here in beautiful, dangerously unstable New River City. Longtime readers (both of them) know that we here at the Hardcorner do love the MechAssault, and now that the long-awaited sequel MechAssault® 2: Lone Wolf has hit the shelves, Hardcore has actually had to cut back his Halo® 2 time to make room. But, it's a good kind of cutback. And, remember: Hardcore may not always play the flashiest game modes or the most over-powered 'Mechs, but that's all to boost the challenge.
Favorite Hardcore 'Mech
Now, this one is a tough call. Does the BattleArmor count as a 'Mech? If it does, then the BattleArmor is about as hardcore as online combat gets. Everyone else? Towering, King Kong-sized tanks. You? You're pretty much a Master Chief on a battlefield full of Scarabs, if you get me. But, that means:
Your enemies will underestimate you.
You will be very hard to hit, especially if you keep moving.
You can use the Jump-Jet-and-grab method to scale any wall, using your Jump Jets and grappling claw.
Your mortar weapon, if you master aiming the bloody thing, is pound-for-pound the most powerful weapon in the game.
You can hop onto a Vertical Take-off Landing craft (VTOL) and drop behind enemy lines
Once you're behind those lines, you're all ready to jump on some fool's back and hack your way into his 'Mech.
The Going Commando map is BattleArmor only, and it's about as fast as the MechassaultDestruction mode gets.
BattleArmor? Yes, BattleArmor!
Runner-Up
The runner-up isn't really a 'Mech; it's a vehicle—the VTOL. For a pure team-game Xbox Live™ challenge, make yourself the de facto VTOL pilot. All your allies will love ya (provided you can steer), and your enemies will make things very hairy for you. And, you've got nothing but some lousy, low-damage missiles to shoot back at them. It's not unlike taking a Warthog straight into the enemy camp with no gunner … and it's a freakin' blast!
Favorite Hardcore Trick
All right, this is really only a trick if you're new to MechAssault 2, but hey, check it out: Plain-old human pilots now have a weapon, too! And, you want to talk challenge? Try taking out a 'Mech—any 'Mech—using only a trigger or motion-activated satchel charge. If the shockwave doesn't kill your puny human, the angry 'Mech will certainly try.
That's why Hardcore's favorite trick is booby trapping. While your teammates are out blastin' and nukin', you get the lay of the land and figure out where the enemies' high-traffic areas are (e.g. outside of their base, near checkpoints, in datacores, by their flag, etc.). Consider using a VTOL, light 'Mech, tank (in NullSig mode), or BattleArmor to get there quickly and without giving away what you're trying to do. Hop out of whatever ride got you there, set a satchel charge, and get out of there as fast as you can.
Mines for idiots: Step 1, plant mine (R trigger).
Step 2: Run your fool head off.
Step 3: Keep running, you're just a puny human.
Step 4: Wait for an unsuspecting 'Mech.
Step 5: BOOM! (And, get farther away next time.)
Favorite Hardcore Mode
So, you've probably already figured out that Hardcore digs the challenge of being a puny human in a world of metal giants—and that's what makes Check It! the most hardcore mode of them all.
The basic set up is a lot like territories (e.g. "three plots," etc.), where each team wants to control points on the map for longer than the enemy. But, in MechAssault 2, you don't just run up, stand there, and hope no one blasts you with a rocket launcher before the red bar fills up. Instead, you have to drive your 'Mech (or VTOL or what have you) up to the control point, get out in the middle of what's likely a firestorm, system hack into a control panel (just like you're jacking a 'Mech), and only then do you control the point.
Once controlled, each point's quartet of laser autocannons goes active, so if you're trying to steal a control point, take out the turrets before you leave your ride. Check It! maps include: Deliverance (swamps), Ill Wind (icy), Killing Fields (open and fiery), Mountain High (swamps, mud, and water), No Man's Land (high and low ground), and Witch's Cauldron (an insane canyon of fiery death).
Wendigo's pretty sweet, too. Autocannons …
AndPPCs, thank you very much.
Using high-tech, split-screen technology, I took a VTOL out to show you where the control points fall on Witch's Cauldron, a map that's colder than a witch's … cauldron. We're going from the Blue base, so watch the right side of the screen. When you're in a 'Mech, the lay of the land is such that you should zig-zag down the canyon to hit the control points as fast as possible (alternatively, send a group of assault 'Mechs left—again from the Blue base, reverse for the Red), and a group of BattleArmor-wearin' yahoos over the hills on the right side for a truly nasty surprise.
Point 1: Lots of fun.
Point 1: Head right, away from the cluster of other 'Mechs. It's set off to the side, and it's a sprint, but the VTOL gets there fast. It's closest to the Blue base.
Point 2: Electric boogaloo.
Point 2: Now, head hard left and run partway up a narrow bottleneck in the middle of the map. Look for two crystals jutting at diagonal angles overhanging this fairly open position.
Point 3: All for me.
Point 3: This one's a long hard right from point 3, but it's easy to spot because there's a VTOL landing pad right next to it.
Point 4: Control some more.
Point 4: Now, go left, over a dangerously open field with some stones for cover, and look for a triad of crystals right next to the control point.
Point 5: I have arrived!
Point 5: This one is closest to the Red base and is well-protected in a little corner that's open to Red's base and protected in Blue's direction.
