Chromehounds (Xbox 360)

I remember being on the XBox LIVE Beta testing and being glued to my TV playing Mech Assault, I love mech games. They released a sequel , but never really captured that unique Mech feel like the first. Steel Battalion was an amazing game with the biggest controller in history. I still have it and it's a vast and monstrous beast of a game. when I say I'm a mech fan, I mean it.

Now, we have chromehounds. Must admit I was a bit sceptical about this one.I downloaded the demo and this didn't really sell me. I bought the game and here's what I think :-

Graphics - the Xbox 360's first mech game does have some very nice textures and draw distance. I wouldn't say they're amazing, but they suffice to impress with the framerate never dropping. The smoke and explosion effects are very cool. The game interface and presentation is quite good. 6/10

Gameplay - the mechs controls are quite good, but some do take a bit of tweaking to understand how to move them when you've turned around and the front is now the back. Can lead to some embarrassing driving , crashing, blowing up. "Pimping" your mech is a great feature and is not cosmetic in any way. The vast possibilities make every game you play seem like a freak show of what people can do with a little time and experimentation. Takes a bit of time to work it out, but the game has enough depth and intuitiveness to make it stand out. If you are expecting fast movement and fast combat you may not like this game. It's slow to build up , but compensates with being a game where working as a team is your weapon.8/10

Offline Play - I've seen the reviews in magazines and these are understandable. The game is slow, single player is fragile, but still good fun. This is where you learn about the game and earn equipment. Not a bad single player, just flawed. 4/10

Online Play - Single player is where you learn about the game, multi-player happens to be where you put what you've learnt into action. There's an online battle going on where you can join a house and fight for dominance. It's not as amazing as it sounds, and one side keeps winning (Americans). Joining a clan is a great option, like a cut down version of Halo 2's room , but you don't join as a party. Online battles\features are a mixture of amazing and annoying. The online war is limited and one sided, the waiting time in a lobby is 15 minutes so if everyone doesn't check ready there's no Auto-Launch, you get whooped for the first 10 games, unless you have find someone to give you advanced weapons. It's not all bad news though, some battles are absolutely amazing and great fun. Maps are huges and it makes all other games look tame. 9/10

Conclusion - A slow paced thinking mans mech game. Flexible enough to provide a solid gameplay performance. If you have friends playing this , then go help them out...you'll learn to love this after a while. If FROM Software fix a few niggles then this game will really take off. It's no arcade game, but the pace is ideal for this type of game. If you like mech games then get it, ignore the reviews and demo, give it some time and don't play alone. 8/10

This game i have had now for nearly 2 weeks and have barely stopped playing it at first the game seems slow but given that its mech based warfare it is forgivable as the mechs in this game are based on what i think are more realistic than those in previouse games like armored core and Z.O.E the story mode is very small basically only giving you a tutorial for each hound type the real game is on xbox live and my is it great

i would only recomend this game though if you have xbox live or plan on getting it shortly after purchase but given that the story mode is pretty minimal i still give this 5 stars for online play it redeems itself

I must admit that i was a bit shying away from the title...after much passing back over....i finally rented it and was really suprised that it was extremly enjoyable. Best of all was the online play.... you can play little missions to build up your online cash.... And then join a clan..... i got my butt wipped by some expirienced gamers, but it was the best online expirience.... TIP beat the game in solo then go online and play for a while maybe an 1 for 2 months on the online single missions to build up you cash and then join a clan.... at the end it was a great expirience and i would recomend this at the amazon price...a must buy.