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MechAssault for Xbox Original
MechAssault for the Xbox Original is a third-person action game in which you steer a BattleMech through war zones. As a mercenary with Wolf’s Dragoons, you land on Helios, where the Word of Blake has seized control. You fire on tanks, other combat robots and defensive structures as new orders arrive. The camera stays behind your machine, letting you follow your movement, aim and surrounding space at the same time.
Each robot has its own combination of weapons and characteristics. A light machine can change position quickly, while a heavier model brings more firepower. You switch between lasers, missiles and other armaments while watching the heat gauge: sustained firing can overheat your weapons. Destroyed buildings change the battlefield. Salvage restores your armour or strengthens your weapons, so a risky advance can also give you fresh fighting power.
You play the campaign alone. On one Xbox, two players can fight in split screen; each player needs their own Xbox controller. Grinder lets you survive enemy waves alone or together and is not a cooperative story campaign. This is the original 2002 game, not the sequel in which pilots can leave their machines. The official Xbox Live service for original Xbox games ended on 15 April 2010, so online play and old downloads are not offered as working features.
Region and language
Our Xbox Original games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
MechAssault for Xbox Original includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of MechAssault
Day 1 Studios developed MechAssault with FASA Studio; Microsoft Game Studios released it exclusively for Xbox in 2002. It used the BattleTech universe, which already had a long history of combat robots and military conflicts. The design favoured immediate action with a camera behind the robot. MechAssault therefore approached that world differently from a cockpit-focused simulation: it centred on movement, aiming and the careful use of an existing weapon combination.
Its launch coincided with the early days of Xbox Live. Microsoft used MechAssault to showcase broadband matches, voice communication and downloadable additions. The campaign and same-console battles were also on the disc. Destructible environments supported both sides of the design: buildings were not fixed scenery but could disappear during firefights. The contrast between small, fast robots and large, slow machines therefore remained visible in the space in which you fought.
The sequel, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, expanded the idea with leaving machines, taking over vehicles and BattleArmor. Those features do not belong to the first game. MechAssault instead represents the original approach, in which you remain in your chosen robot and learn to manage weapons and heat. The distinction between local content and historical services is now also part of its context. The discontinued official Xbox Live support does not change the fact that this game also contains a separate campaign and local battles.
Similar games for Xbox Original
MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf also lets you control huge combat robots on Xbox Original. The sequel, however, gives you a pilot who can leave the machine, use BattleArmor and take over other vehicles. In the first MechAssault, you stay with your chosen robot and its weapons. Both use heat and destructible buildings, but the sequel lets your role change much more during a battle.
Halo: Combat Evolved combines science-fiction battles with vehicles and alien enemies on Xbox Original. You usually see through Master Chief’s eyes and can collect different weapons on foot. MechAssault keeps the camera behind a large robot and ties its armaments to that machine. Halo also has a two-player split-screen campaign; in MechAssault, surviving together is separate from the story.
Halo 2 also offers battles on Xbox Original in which your choice of weapon or vehicle changes your approach. Alternating between Master Chief and the Arbiter also shows different sides of the conflict. MechAssault stays with its mercenary and BattleMech. Where Halo 2 calls for precise aiming from a first-person viewpoint, MechAssault combines shooting with the turning circle, speed and heat buildup of a huge machine.
Brute Force likewise shows shooting battles from behind your character on Xbox Original. You manage a team of four specialists and switch between their abilities. MechAssault concentrates all its firepower in one robot, without a squad to command. Brute Force lets several players progress through the campaign together; MechAssault separates its solo story from local matches and Grinder. The camera angle may be similar, but your responsibilities differ considerably.
Star Wars: Battlefront lets you join battles with infantry, vehicles and different soldier classes on Xbox Original. Capturing command posts is an important objective within its larger engagements. MechAssault’s campaign instead follows assignments for one mercenary, with a robot carrying the entire fight. Both ask you to weigh positions and firepower, but Battlefront focuses more on an army and control of territory.
