Big robots. Big robots with big guns. Big robots with big guns blowing big holes in other big things. You've heard that story before, but not all that much. We in the computer gaming industry (and even those of us who make fun of said industry people) have gone to the great trouble of creating a new sub-genre of action simulations û the big robot or "mech" game, and after much time spent hyping this new thing and getting the game buying public frothing at the mouth, and only a straggling few games appear to fill the need we so thoughtfully created. Geez, that's the last time I bend over backwards for THIS industry!
For those of you not yet familiar with this sad story, let me take you on a mystical journey back in time, to an era when only good computer games made it to market. (Scratch that last bit; even I can't do the impossible.) Way back around the time your grandfather was graduating high school, Activision announced that they were working on a much-anticipated sequel to their popular MechWarrior game. When news of this product got out, thousands of computer gaming enthusiasts around the country lost their lives when their heads spontaneously exploded. This sparked a rush of bandwagon jumping, but the amount of actual finished product remained irritatingly small. Naturally, the game that started the whole craze is still nowhere to be found. (I hear that Activision has finally worked its way around the Pentium bug and is now finishing the MechWarrior II Beta build version 0.90000214.)
Gradually, the void is starting to be filled. One company which is helping is Virgin, which is about to release Iron Assault from the little-known design team Graffiti. An early look at this game shows that, although it's not the technical powerhouse of Earthsiege, it has a kinder gentler learning curve for those of us who want to make our first kill minutes after breaking the shrink-wrap instead of hours after.
Iron Assault tells the story of humanity's grim near future. (Why? Because 20-story robots with guns the size of buses wouldn't flourish in a utopian society, fool!) By the year 2070, the globe is dominated not by governments, but by organized crime-run big business. The gargantuan robots the game focuses on are created as the ultimate security force. But in 2080 the massacre of striking factory workers in Spain raises the cry for revolt. Pockets of poorly-funded rebels begin to form and coalesce, and after about 15 years the rebels become organized and well-funded to the degree where they stand a chance of beating the syndicates in open warfare. The time for a final strike is now, and naturally it's up to you to lead the world to freedom. One more time and you'll get a gold watch!
Instead of relying on the tried and true "get your mission parameters and blow everything up" method of game advancement, Iron Assault actually allows you to set your own tactics in the war against the syndicates. You receive information through the rebels' World Net computer system, which gives you constantly-updated news regarding the syndicates' forces. From there, you can decide what targets are the most vital areas to strike. The key to success will ultimately be the destruction of enemy bases, but rolling up to the front door and saying, "We're here!" isn't going to get you very far. Strategic attacks of support structures like generators, factories, and depots will cripple the vital links that allow the bases access to new robots, increasing your chances of survival when it's time to go for the syndicates' throats.
Combat in Iron Assault is about as intuitive as you can get when piloting machines of this stature. Veterans of Dynamix's Earthsiege should find Iron Assault a very easy game to learn, while novices to this little sub-genre should find it to be a good entry level game. As is to be expected, rudder pedals will be supported to allow you to rotate your view independently of what direction you are moving in. One feature which (so far) is unique to Iron Assault is the implementation of "strafe" controls. Like the ALT key in Doom, this lets you sidestep directly left or right without having to move forward or backward. This greatly enhances your ability to use terrain for cover as you blast away at enemy forces, and is a much appreciated control enhancement.
People who were overwhelmed by the complexity of Earthsiege should definitely take a look at Iron Assault. For that matter, so should anyone interested in this type of game. The combat is solid, fast-paced, and relatively easy to learn, and the mission structure leaves room for you to actually play a strategic game. Iron Assault will likely be shipping by the time you read this, so look for a full review in an upcoming episode if IE.
