Chromehounds

"Squad-based multiplayer done RIGHT."

Chromehounds was released for the Xbox 360 console on June 29, 2006 in Japan, and on July 11th, 2006 in North America. It was Developed by From Software, the makers of the Armored Core series (AKA some people who really know how to make a good mech game), and Published by Sega.


Introduction

Chromehounds is a strange game. At first, you think the game has almost no content. You play the single player and suddenly find yourself struggling to stay awake. Sure, you unlock some parts along the way, but you end up beating it in 3 hours.

"Great", you think to yourself. "What do I do now?"

You suddenly notice the option on the main screen, titled "XBOX LIVE."

This option on the title screen is the portal to some of the best online squad-based action consoles have ever seen.


Gameplay

The single player in Chromehounds is short and unimpressive, but has a decent amount of variety. The game revolves around giant robots called "hounds" that are used as tools of war. Hounds can be of 6 different types, known as Role Types, or RTs. They are: Commander, Defender, Sniper, Scout, Soldier, and Heavy Gunner. Soldier and sniper are known as the two easiest types to use, Heavy Gunner and Commander the hardest, and Scout and Defender somewhere in the middle.

There is one unique gameplay mechanic in Chromehounds that sets it apart from other games of its type. On each map there are COMBAS towers scattered across the map. These towers act as communication towers. Each COMBAS has a range which represents itself as a circle on the map around the tower. Inside this range, teammates cand talk to each other. Outside of this range, teammates will not hear or be able to talk to their teammates. COMBASes are often close enough together so that the range of the towers will link together. Eventually if your team controls a bunch of COMBASes, they will be able to stretch their range of communication and gain a distinct advantage in battle. To capture a COMBAS, all a player needs to do is stand beside one for about 10 seconds. Because of the COMBASes in the game, teamwork is not only encouraged, it is vital in ensuring a victory.

The controls are simple. In menus, the standard "left stick to move, A to confirm, and B to go back" works in this game. In combat, the Right Trigger shoots the selected weapon, while the Right bumper switches your equipped weapon with the next weapon in line. The Y button brings up the map and the X button allows you to zoom in with the map. The D-pad allows you to give orders to the rest of your squad if you do not have a headset.

The gameplay in Chromehounds does one thing exceptionally well, however. It acts as a set of training missions before you thrust yourself into a squad on Xbox Live. If you get an S-Rank on every mission in the single player campaign, you will undoubtedly be able to hold your own online.

Now the the online multiplayer. In Chromehounds you cannot participate in the Neroimus War (the fictional war going on in the game) unless you join a squad. Once you do that, you have the option to enter the Neroimus War and fight either other human opponents or AI bots. 20 is the maximum number of people who can be in an online squad, and 1 to 6 can fight in the same battle at the same time. The amount of teamwork required in these battles is remarkable, as locations of enemies need to be called out at all times to ensure your teammates know exactly what you're doing. There is also a promotion system in Chromehounds,as you start as a lowly recruit and work your way up to Colonel. This is based on the amount of EXP points you have, which you get from winning Neroimus War battles.

The hound editor in this game is fantastic. There are an exceedingly large number of parts in the game, and they are country specific. That is to say you cannot acquire all of the available parts in the game until you play for all of the three countries involved in the Neroimus War.. Even then. you will not unlock all the parts until you S-rank every mission in the campaign. Due to the sheer number of available parts, the amount of customization of hounds is incredible. For example. there are about 35 different types of leg sets (which vary between hovercraft, wheels, treads, or several types of walking legs) alone. You cannot build a gigantic impenetrable hound either, as each leg set has a specific amount of weight it will allow to be built on top of it before it becomes unable to move. On top of that, you need a cockpit. In the cockpit you need a chip set which determines what your stability, speed, and amount of firing systems are. Additionally, every hound needs a generator to supply it power. As you can see, hound customization is incredibly deep, and as a result you will run into many different types of hounds over the course of your online career.

Gameplay - 9/10


Graphics

The graphics in Chromehounds are mostly hit-and-miss. The hound models look absolutely fantastic, and the reflection of light off of the metal of the hounds is an absolute treat for the eyes. The fact that this game can be played in HD only adds to the polish. The environments, however, leave a lot to be desired. ground and building textures are incredibly grainy, as if the game were being played on a Playstation 2 instead of an Xbox 360. Buildings fall in cities when they are shot, and the animations provided show off the graphics for the better.

One thing must also be noted about the game's graphics: Chromehounds has AMAZING explosion effects. Even when several explosions are going on on-screen, there is very little slowdown. Impressive.

Graphics - 8/10


Sound

The sound in Chromehounds is not really notable in any way. It is average and gets the job done, but does not stand out. The voice acting in the single player is somewhat weak, but explosions sound good. Subtle music plays in the online lobby, which is a nice addition to a rather plain-looking menu.

Sound - 7/10


Replayability

In terms of single player, the replayability factor is low. In fact, the only reason you'll want to even play the single player campaign a second time is to get an S-rank on every mission and unlock the "Tactical Instructor" achievement.

In terms of multiplayer, if you have a squad to play with, the replayability is endless. There are always new combinations of parts to try in a new hound, and you will undoubtedly find more combinations of weapons that work best for you.

NOTE: Not many people play Chromehounds at the time this review was posted (May 2009), so you will have a hard time finding other human opponents to play against. However, you will still be able to assemble a squad and fight against up to 6 other AI controlled opponents.

Replayability - 8/10


Final Recommendation

Chromehounds is a very solid game with good graphics and fantastic multiplayer. Even if you generally don't like mech games, I would still give this game a shot, seeing as the game is only about $20 new in stores these days.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/09

Game Release: Chromehounds (US, 07/11/06)