First Encounter

Let’s face it, everyone loves stomping around in a 50’ tall mechanized engine of destruction, spewing hot lead and hotter plasma at their enemies. The primal human drive to see our enemies vaporized in the glare of an exploding fusion reactor has made the original MechAssault the most popular game on Xbox Live—but its days as king of the hill may be numbered. A very hard-hitting sequel is on the way, and it’s going to get your attention like a Star Adder assault 'Mech on a bad hair day.

The developer of the MechAssault series, Day 1 Studios, could have just produced a new single-player campaign, thrown in a few multiplayer maps, and been done with it. Fortunately for us, they weren’t content to churn out a typical sequel. Of courseMechAssault 2 will feature new maps and 'Mechs, but that is just the beginning of what it has to offer.

Pity the MechWarrior without a ride!

For one, there are new vehicles on the battlefield, which bring exciting tactical options to multiplayer. The Rommel Mk. 2 tank features a 'Mech class grav cannon and null-sig cloaking for extreme stealth. Aircraft are even available to players now, in the form of the Valkyrie VTOL. This agile craft is lightly armed and armored, but it can deliver valuable salvage packs to allies on the front lines—it can even airlift tanks to otherwise inaccessible terrain.

BattleArmor hitching a ride on the VTOL.

As if that wasn’t enough, you can change vehicles in the middle of a mission. Hop out of your 'Mech and take the VTOL for a ride, or trade that battered Mad Cat for an abandoned Atlas. You can even hoof it around the combat zone in the new Battle Armor, if you like, harassing the big 'Mechs with your long-range mortar and superior mobility.

The face of MechAssault 2 multiplayer has changed greatly as well. Of course there will be full split screen, system link, and Xbox Live support, but the big news is the addition of a galaxy-spanning metagame called "Conquest." Conquest will let clans unite under the banners of the BattleTech universe's Great Houses and battle for the control of dozens of star systems. If you want to stick it to those House Davion pansies in the name of House Kurita, this is your chance.

The basics of MechAssault 2 will be familiar to anyone who has played the original; this is not a game that has forgotten its roots. Old-time 'Mech jockeys will feel right at home in the cockpit, but new features like vehicle switching and the Conquest metagame will keep the game feeling fresh for quite a while.

Be on the lookout for our MechAssault 2 X-Factor, where we'll take a closer look at multiplayer.

By Earl P. Thayton