Tag Archives: MechAssault

MechAssault: Phantom War

MechAssault: Phantom War. This is a game I actually picked up and own to this day for my Nintendo DS. Instead of the masculine no-named Wolf’s Dragoon MechWarrior from the first two games, the player gets Vallen Brice, A multi-talented pilot from the Lyran Alliance. Her unique (from a video game perspective) blend of technical and physical skills in addition to her affinity for piloting ‘Mechs leads me to believe that Brice is a Loki agent, though I don’t specifically remember it coming up in the game itself.

I also think it’s an interesting departure from other games from within the BattleTech Property from this time. The FedCom civil war was still very much a thing. And with games like MechWarrior Vengeance, Black Knight, and MechCommander 2, House Steiner was very much a vilified organization. I like that instead of going with a Mercenary or Davion protagonist. Though it would be more refreshing still to see some even more underutilized factions in a video game. I digress.

Mobile Kit Fox action. Unless you have an Apple Product you won't find better for now.

Mobile Uller action. Unless you have an IOS device you won’t find better for now.

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RetroWarrior: MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf

Like the original MechAssault, the sequel MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf centers on a no-named Wolf’s Dragoons MechWarrior supported by Lieutenant Foster from the original. The graphics are a few years more advanced of course, as are the sound effects.

But I feel that even more than the new BattleMechs, the dismounted gameplay in Lone Wolf is far more important for both the series and the genre of action games in particular. Never before had I seen the ability to crawl out of a ‘Mech and interact with the environment on a smaller scale in a BattleTech themed game.

Lieutenant Foster developed the armor after the events of the first game when the player recovered a memory core from a fallen ‘Mech. Given that the enemy was Word of Blake, the player’s armor could possibly be a derivative of the Purifier. It’s armed with an arm mounted small pulse laser, a mortar- (an autoloading large caliber grenade launcher really), a claw, and jump jets. Unlike the Purifier, this armor doesn’t use any kind of stealth capability, but has the ability to “hack” security protected ‘mechs- even while they’re in operation by means of a mini game.

I think I'd prefer SRMs, but at least you're better armed than in the HALO games.

I think I’d prefer SRMs, but at least you’re better armed than in the HALO games.

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RetroWarrior: MechAssault

I remember having mixed feelings about this game when it came out. I never owned an Xbox, and only played it when over a friend’s house, so it was actually to my benefit that the game was more of an episodic arcade style action shooter. I could leave off practically anywhere. I also remember quite a few MechWarrior and MechCommander purists complaining about the powerups and other unrealistic aspects of the game (including a very non-canon super heavyweight ‘Mech or two in there as well). My main beef with the game is that you can only select one kind of weapon at a time; be it missiles, lasers, etc. They really streamlined the weapons inventory, and with none of that mechlab business fans love so much.

The Cougar, for when you want be able to haul ass yet still be able  to kick some too.

The Cougar, for when you want be able to haul ass yet still be able to kick some too.

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