Chromehounds

"The most unique, immersive, and deep mech game you can buy."

This game is incredible, lets just get that straight. The official reviews you are probably seeing say it's slow and shallow. That is WRONG!

First off, the sole purpose of this game is to play online. The offline missions exist only to teach you to play a certain class of mech. Once you get online you can join a squad of 20 people (like a clan) and begin participating with up to teams of six for the Neroimus War, a persistent war that lasts two real months before it is reset. Three nations will battle for supremacy over territories on the map, and player victories or defeats in these battles against eachother will decide who controls what territories. Gaining more territories and donating money to your nation will help your nation by making more mech parts available to everyone, whether developed by the nation themselves or captured from the enemy.

The customization is the deepest of any mech game I've seen. Take Armored Core and make it even more ridiculous. There is the largest beadth of different parts in any mech game. Plus, you can attatch these parts to any of your other parts, allowing for a more complete customized mech by allowing you to choose how and where weapons and parts are placed. And when you are hit by an enemy shell, the damage is location specific, meaning that hit parts will get damaged and can be destroyed, so mech design is important.

Also, weapons can be "chained" together in one of four slots. There are four weapons slots you can use, and in each of those slots there are four weapon spaces. You select the weapon slots in battle and every weapon you assign to that slot will fire when you pull the trigger, allowing for some very interesting set ups and strategies for keeping consistent fire or for changing strategies.

Teamwork is key in this game. Some people say everything moves too slow, but once you and your team are caught in the middle of a firefight, your perspective of what adrenaline pumping through your body really feels like while change entirely. Online matches are intense. And tactics are key. If you just rush ahead yourself you'll die fast. If you aren't smart about how you position yourself you'll be taken advantage of. Communicating and working together on the battlefield are very important, and add great amounts of depth and nuance to the fight. Another great feature is that even if there isn't anyone online during the Neroimus War, you and your squad can choose to fight computer enemies, meaning that you won't have to wait for the action if you don't want to. However, human opponents are more interesting to fight and more satisfying to beat.

You need to play it to realize how great it truly is. If you're a mech fan, you'll be sold instantly. Just buy it, seriously. If you aren't you may become one after this game. Either way, don't listen to poor reviews saying things about it being slow or shoddily made. This game is totally unique and masterfully crafted. Once you play it, you'll know.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/06