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One thing you will notice is the utter mediocrity of the single player campaign. Mech Assault veterans be warned: you’ll blow right through it in only a few hours. What’s there is enjoyable while it lasts but I was really hoping that the original’s biggest flaw would have received more attention. Sadly, it’s now even shorter than ever. The plot is also predictable and flat (go here, do this, etc) and character development is non existent. I defy anyone to play through it and actually care about the mech warrior as the main character. Strong and silent types are nice and all but he’s about as deep as Paulie Shore and only half as interesting.
Of course, anyone who spent any real time with the first Mech Assault found that the single player campaign was totally overshadowed by the incredible online play. Much like Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, going at it with friends on Live was where the real fun was to be had and that soon became the game’s main draw. Mech Assault 2 improves on this in a big way. Take on up to eleven of your pals (via Live or system link) in any of ten different game types including Destruction (individual and team), Capture the Flag, Last Man Standing, and Base War. I personally found using the VTOL to be a much bigger kick than hijacking other people’s mechs. Scouting ahead, transporting another player to the scene of a battle, or performing support drops was just too much fun.
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All this would be meaningless if it not executed well and thankfully, Lone Wolf delivers. The online play is smoother than in the first game and suffers only slightly from occasional slowdown. The experience is greatly enhanced through clan support but my biggest interest lay with the Conquest Mode. This has the potential to be absolutely huge, given that you must take over an entire network of inter-connected planets form other clans on the path to complete galactic domination. Each planet has its own mode of play, allowing you to experience each of them in turn. The only pitfall I can see is the level of commitment required. It could literally take weeks to finish it and having members of your clan drop out several days into a campaign could be problematic to say the least.
Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf is a great example of why Xbox Live is such a success and why your system is incomplete without it. The greatly expanded online play is brilliant and goes far towards dulling the sting of the disappointing single player campaign. Hopefully, Day1 Studios will pay as much attention to the downloadable content as they did with the original, making an already solid title even better. However, those of you who still don’t have Live (you know who you are) won’t find much to do here and are doing yourselves a real disservice by playing without it. Link play simply does not compare to the unbridled mayhem to be had online. Do yourself a favor and pick up a starter kit and Mech Assault 2 together and see what you’re missing.
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