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Auto Assault
- May 31, 2006 14:16 PM PST
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Auto Assault, on the other hand, takes a detour from the standard MMO and makes traveling half the fun by putting you in the drivers seat of your own personalized road warrior.
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Rich in Culture
Most of your time may be spent behind the wheel, but Auto Assault's background is immersive and deep with history, which you can learn about by completing quests. The world in Auto Assault is post-apocalyptic, but it wasn't always like this. A meteor shower raining down upon the earth brought about the Contamination turning the poor and vulnerable Humans into savage Mutants. In defense, the remaining healthy Humans created an army of powerful Biomeks to fend off the green-skinned Mutants. After the Biomeks failure to annihilate the Mutants, the Humans went underground and scorched the Earth with weapons of massive destruction in hopes to cleanse the planet. Years later, the Humans emerge only to find stronger mutants and a desolate wasteland they used to call home.
When creating a character, you will choose from one of the three different races: Humans, Mutants, or Biomeks. Each with their own attributes and advantages. Within these three races are character classes that break down into the basics of a Warrior, Medic, Assassin, and Commander. Once chosen you begin the vehicle and character customization, which is dry and lacks variety in customization choices.
You begin in a training zone, similar to a tutorial where you become accustomed to the game's controls, questing, and overall design. There is a steep learning curve to Auto Assault, which will take hours to understand the basics. More frustrating than fun, part of the learning process is getting a handle on your vehicle. Any bump from debris, enemies, or uneven terrain will send you into a disorienting spin.
The targeting and attack system is bold in design, but falters when it comes to keeping track of multiple targets. Each vehicle can be equipped with stationary front and back turrets alongside a roof turret with 360 degrees of motion. Attached to these turrets is the tactical arc, which displays the range and direction of the weapons on your vehicle. Until mastered, you'll find yourself locked onto and firing in unnecessary directions resulting in death for not managing your targets.
Destruction Can Be Creative
When in enemy territory its best just to keep moving, whether circling an opponent or just driving through so you reduce the risk of getting hit by enemy fire. You'll be too focused on quest locations instead of grinding as there are plenty to keep you busy. The highways in Auto Assault are your friends as they provide safe and fast travel routes.
Although grinding for experience isn't necessary, it can be a lot of fun. The enemies in Auto Assault are not all vehicles. There are giant bugs, spore plants, and annoying bipeds running around with peashooters asking for vehicular manslaughter.
Behind Auto Assault's floor it and shoot mentality, there is also the scavenger hunt aspect, looting in a way. In the world of Auto Assault, this post-apocalyptic Earth, there are broken down buildings and rubble waiting to be destroyed. They drop broken items such as glass and plastic, which is then used to craft. Crafting is the art of taking those broken objects into towns and turning them into pimp upgrades for your vehicle.
Far From Perfect
It's obvious a game is unpolished when you have to sit through a patch download each time you want to play. Auto Assault may be fun for the hardcore Mad Max fans, but the steep learning curve and frustrating controls are red flags for the casual gamer.
The graphics in Auto Assault are a step above City of Villians and the post-apocalyptic theme is clearly depicted with heavy dust swells, fallen skyscrapers, and desolate barrens. However, the texturing is bland and there is not much contrast in the color scheme making it hard to see what's in the distance. Hardly a problem if you keep the pedal to the metal.
It's tempting to just cruise in Auto Assault and search for the biggest jumps as the techno beats bump from zone to zone. But with a limited target audience, Auto Assault is a tough sell. And with so many other MMO's to choose from, you'd be better off with the more popular choices.
