MechAssault

MechAssault
Product information
Type	Computer game
Development	Day 1 Studios
Publication information
Publisher	Microsoft Game Studios
First published	2002
MSRP	?
Content
Series	MechAssault console games
Followed by	MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf

MechAssault is a 2002 video game developed by Day 1 Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for the Xbox console. A sequel MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf was released in 2004.

Canonicity

Computer games are explicitly excluded from the list of products that contribute straight Canon to the BattleTech universe while at the same time it was stated that the IP owners are "not in total denial about these sources either"; it has also been stated that fluff from certain official, licensed products (namely certain computer games including those produced by Microsoft) can be assumed to be part of the shared universe as long as it is not directly contradicted, and makes sense. On this premise, MechAssault is considered to be an apocryphal product.

Plot synopsis

Taking place within the Inner Sphere of the Mech Warrior saga, the story concerns the recent struggle of the people on the terrestrial planet Helios. A militant and fanatical religious sect called the Word of Blake is busily dominating the other inhabitants on the planet, thus a lance of the mercenary Wolf's Dragoons are called into action. Led by a Major Natalia Kerensky and operated by Lieutenant Foster aboard the DropShip Icarus, the player controls the best MechWarrior among them on various missions to finish the Word of Blake and assassinate its leader, Commander Strader.

Featured BattleMechs

An interesting note with all three of the Mechassault-series games is the designer's choices in 'mechs. There are technically around 20 'mech units in the first game, however, there are only 10 chassis designs that are given two different names for different configurations. The Timber Wolf and the Mad Cat, for example, share the same chassis, but are a different configuration, indicating that the designers misunderstood the clan/Inner Sphere names for clan 'mechs. This pattern is continued with Inner Sphere 'mechs as well, with the Atlas and the Prometheus sharing the same chassis, but having different weapons. The same is true of the Catapult and Bowman and the Owens and Hackman. The designers obviously tried to keep the clan/inner sphere designations throughout the game, and used the names of completely different 'mechs to represent one chassis. Of another note is that some of the designs are misrepresented for their weight class. The Mad Cat/Timber Wolf is labeled in the game manual as a 100 ton assault 'mech, although this discrepancy may be because the game was created at the height of WizKids' Dark Age line, which presents the 100 ton Mad Cat II as looking identical to the Mad Cat itself.

• Atlas
• Belial
• Bowman
• Catapult
• Cougar
• Hackman
• Kit Fox
• Mad Dog
• Mad Cat
• Owens
• Prometheus
• Puma
• Ragnorok
• Summoner
• Thor
• Timberwolf
• Uller
• Uziel
• Vulture
• Ymir

Featured Planets

• Helios

References

[[1]]