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Alpha assault, this is bravo cadet. We've got bandits.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: September 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Mechassault for Nintendo DS is a simplified version of its bigger console brothers. That doesn't stop this game from packing a punch of its own. Yes, the controls have been streamlined, and the game is less of a simulator and more of an arcade romp - yet somehow, it doesn't feel like an arcade.

Missions in Mechwarrior/Battletech games have always been mostly linear, and this game is no exception. You're thrown from one dramatic predicament into another, with different goals to accomplish. Professional voice actors who communicate with you along the way add to the sense of urgency and being there to the missions. I must reach the HPG relay no matter the cost !

What I like about this game is that it has a little more depth than one would expect from someone doing a "lighthearted" 3D game for Nintendo DS. The huds differ for different mechs, the crosshairs change shape when you switch weapons, jumping jets are implemented, and when you're really low on energy, your Mech starts to sparkle electricity and limp, in an uncanny resemblance to the damaged Mech in the opening scene of Mechwarrior II.

But enough about cosmetics. The depth goes a little further than that. For example, this is what happened during one of the missions -

I was making my way through enemy resistance when I stumbled upon a powered-down Mech, which, I could tell, had stronger (and cooler-looking) weaponry. I made my character hop out of my Mech and hop into the new one. It powered up, and soon I was dodging enemy fire and using terrain for cover. However, they kept hitting me and I kept missing, which eventually resulted in my Mech sparkling, limping and emitting high-pitched beeping noises.

Where in another game I would be dead, in this game I limped back to my old Mech, jumped out of the near-dead one, went back in and finished off the enemy vehicles.

HACKING mechs and computers- this is another part that most games get wrong. Usually hacking is implemented as a minigame, and this one is no exception. However, the minigame moves at a hyper speed, and later on becomes more complex, which adds a degree of exhilaration as the time limit starts to run out and the beeps run closer and closer together until either you're removed from the system, or you "got in".
Some missions involve you getting very close to a bigger mech, while taking heavy fire, hitting a button to climb on it and then hack it so you can take control of it.

Overall, Mechassault DS delivers an engrossing portable gaming experience. It may be small, but it thinks big. I'm looking forward to playing more of this game.

Good fun, but lacking in some areas

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Everyone should stop talking about this as compared to the Xbox version. Sure, they share some concepts, units, etc, but Phantom War was built from the ground up for the DS, so it shouldn't be looked at as a port.

As a whole, it's pretty fun. There are some moments that'll have you pulling your hair out, especially those missions that require you to hack other units (groan), and being forced to start some missions in completely underpowered units, but overall, it is enjoyable.

Graphics and sound are what you'd expect for a game with this much "stuff" going on (lots of units on screen, plenty of action, and huge environments), far from stellar, but this is the DS, not a full-sized console, so I give the developers some leeway as they had to work with the limitations of the platform.

In the end, it's a good game, though a bit short and frustrating at times. It's most sinful omission is the lack of Internet multiplayer, which stinks, becuase honestly, how many DS owners do you know who'll come over to your house with copies of this game just to play over the regular (non-Internet) DS multiplayer?

Few features, no replay value

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: October 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this just to see how well the concept worked on a handheld. It does, though as you might expect it isn't much compared to its console or PC cousins, with the game having very few features that will keep you coming back for more.

The game is a basic single-player campaign that is about what you expect from the genre. You pilot a series of "mechs", giant walking (sometmes flying) combat vehicles, in an effort to convert an advanced communications device into a weapon in a sort of arms race with the other "houses" (political factions). You start out in a wimpy mech, and as you go you are given progressively more powerful mechs to single-handedly conquer the universe. There are light, medium, heavy, and assault mechs. There are weapons with names like PPCs and Gauss rifles, as well as lasers, missiles, etc. You have armor, and heat, and shields to manage while attempting to blow away the enemy mechs, who of course are doing the same while trying to blow you away.

In other words, if you've played any of the other "mech" games you'll feel right at home in ths one.

Unfortunately this one really has nothing going for it except that it runs on a portable. The basic single-player "campaign" mode is good for maybe 2 days of dedicated play, or maybe a week if you're less enthusiastic. Once you've finished there is little to draw you back for more, and no other play modes except multiplayer besides the campaign mode. If you win you get some "cheats" like invincibility unlocked, but frankly once you've finished the game the hard way I see little reason to go back and play it again in "invincible" mode.

And that's assuming that you even bother to finish it once. Some of the scenarios are so contrived I almost quit in disgust. For example, there's one scene where you're supposed to protect your drop ship (the landing craft that transports mechs from orbit to the surface of a planet). Followers of the genre will know that these things supposedly have a dozen or more heavy lasers, a few PPCs, and a pretty hefty shield, among other things. Yet this one just sits there taking fire from over a dozen enemy mechs, leaving you to do the dirty work with a single heavy mech. Pretty ridiculous. What kind of idiot drop-ship pilot gets himself into that sort of fix to begin with, and then can't even point a laser in his defense? Unfortunately you have to save the dimwit or you can't get to the next melee.

Anyway, lame plot devices aside, the game doesn't have any sort of practice mode, and even multiplayer mode via wireless requires that everyone be in the same room, and have their own cartridge. No download play here, and no access to internet play. Your options are to play the silly campaign over and over (it doesn't change.. you don't even get easy/medium/hard difficulty levels), make sure you get your local friends to buy their own cart so you can play multiplayer, or play a different game.

I would have enjoyed at least an arena mode where you could pick your your mech and one or more computer-controlled mechs to battle it out. Also, the mech designs are unchangable. No replacing that PPC in your favorite chassis with a gauss rifle or another SRM rack. You get none of that sort of thing.

The graphics are your basic 3D/3rd-person perspective, but pretty primative compared to the console or PC versions. The mech designs are static and there are less than a dozen that you actually get a chance to pilot over the course of the campaign game. The campaign is very linear. No alternate paths (unless you count going around or over the pixelated hills), or even hidden "bonus" areas to liven things up. You don't even get to pick the mech(s) you pilot for a given scenario. Can you say "boring"?

What I'm trying to say is that this game is like the talking dog. It isn't so much that it does what it does with flash and polish. The remarkable thing is only that it does it at all. On that basis it works. Barely.

The end result after you've plunked down your 30 bucks though is a couple days of pretty basic mech-blasting fun, then its over. Maybe you can find a place that buys used games and at least get a couple of those bucks back, because you're probably not going to want to play it again.

I'm giving this game 3 stars for fun, maybe even a little more for the first time through. After that though there's nothing left, so overall I'm giving it only two stars. If you're a die-hard mech fan who wants to be able to play on-the-go, by all means buy it. If you want a great Mech Warrior game with beautiful graphics and game play that keeps delivering value long after you've "finished" the game, well, this isn't the game you're looking for.

Eh, so-so

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game not because I had heard anything about it, but because I was instantly captivated by the cover and the concept it suggested. As it turned out, there was only one copy left- and the game had only been in the store for two weeks! However, I believe the majority of these customers bought the game for the same reason I did. Perhaps if we had known more about the content we would have been persuaded elsewhere.

As the other reviews state, the basic action involves two aspects: fighting other mechs with yours and hacking. Of course, the latter only takes a few seconds, so really the game's only focus is search and destroy. Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing at all, but with the rather boring options available to you, it can get quite tiresome.

Although you can pilot a variety of different mechs and vehicles, the differences between them all isn't that great. One may have a slightly different weapon than the other, or one might travel 5mph faster. When it's time to fight, these aspects don't make much of a difference.

The combat itself is rather boring as well. It takes quite a long time to bring down an enemy mech, and you'll find there's little strategy you can employ. The average tactic: hold down "fire" (you'll have 2-3 different weapons, which vary only slightly from each other) and strafe (the jump ability doesn't save you). A general engagement would include you vs. three soldiers (walk over them), two tanks (they die in about five shots), and two mechs (by now you're hurting). The biggest instance of strategy I've seen is destroy the bunker (3 shots) to stop the flow of enemies.

The graphics are ok, and the sounds are fair. The storyline is pretty dull, and the environments are rather basic. In each mission you're basically doing the same thing: go from A to B, hack something, and kill the pockets of opposition you face.

Overall, this game is so-so. When you factor in the boring story, basic scenery, slow rate of fire and lengthy health bars, nearly complete lack of tactics, average graphics, short campaign, hindering multiplayer (all four players need the game, no internet capability), you're left with a rather bland experience. It can be fun at times, but it certainly won't keep you up at night with addiction. I'd suggest looking around the shelves for more interesting games, or waiting for the price to drop.

Mech Assault, now a great hand held game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Bravo to Nintendo DS, for giving us a proven XBox game. If you played this title on XBox you will love this new format.

Great for first timers

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

MechAssault. Definitely a good game for those who have not played MechAssault before. The game play is great. More Mech choices than the original, but the downside is you cannot choose your Mech at the start of each mission. The campaign is quite fun, there are multiple levels but they are all rather short. With less things to completely blow up, the replay has gone down. The original and second MechAssaults had great replay values because you could be distracted for so long by the almost unlimited range of things to destroy.In Phantom Wars, you might be gifted with a few buildings, or some trees. I tried replaying it and quickly found myself bored.

Multiplayer, five and a half stars. Gather up your friends because with the multiple Mech and Game Variant choices, you can have hours of fun. Campaign is dry, but the Vs. is always great. So many great maps, so many great Mechs. I found the time flying by with my friends.

Overall, if this is your first time ever playing MechAssault, get it because you won't be disappointed, or if you have a few friends who also own it, that should make it unanimous. Getting it in hopes to blow some random stuff up over and over again is a waste. But hey, it is cheap and can distract you for a few days.

Also, I suggest that you buy this online from Wal Mart, it only cost like 15$ with shipping included.

Overall- 4 Stars
Campaign- 3 Stars
Multiplayer- 5 Stars
Gameplay Graphics- 4 Stars
Cinematic Graphics- For a DS, 5 Stars
Replay Value- 3 Stars

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