Home » Articles » PC Game Review

Massive Assault

	Author: Chris Massey Article Type: PC Game Review Publication Date: 12/4/2003 Developer: Wargaming.net Publisher: Matrix Games Publisher: GMX Related Categories: Science Fiction, Turn-based, Strategic

A Very Pretty Hex-Based Game?

Most certainly! Running on a proprietary Wargaming.net 3-D engine, Massive Assault sports a bright, colorful look that's uncommon in turn-based games of this nature. Looking much like a Technicolor Total Annihilation, the 3-D terrain and units manage to mask the hex-based gameplay beneath Massive Assault's pretty veneer. This is perhaps an effort to make the turn-based play more immediately accessible to gamers who don't usually try out turn-based games, but whatever the reason the graphics work. They're nice enough to compare to most games of the last year or so, and they offer complete 360 degree control for players. I was able to zoom in, rotate and elevate my view whenever I needed a better angle on the action, but I found that for the most part the fixed view worked well enough in most instances. It's certainly fun to zoom in on Rocket Launchers as they launch their salvos, or to watch the destruction on the other end in half speed as pieces of units erupt in massive explosions.

I do have a problem with the trees, however; despite the fact that they become translucent when a unit is under them, sometimes it can still be hard to make out units beneath their many branches. I discovered it was easier to look for the red or green hit point pips rather than the units, but this also made it hard at times to make out how many hit points remained to units beneath the trees. The trees have no real affect on gameplay, and an option to have the trees disappear instead of becoming translucent would have been helpful. Fortunately there are prompts which, if the player hasn't disabled them, ask the player at the end of his turn if he would like to move or shoot any units not used that turn. While the can sometimes be annoying, given the delicate balance of play they can save the player from an inadvertent oversight.

Oddly enough, other than blocking avenues of entry and exit, the three-dimensional terrain doesn't add to the gameplay, other than looking pretty. Elevated terrain doesn't affect LOS (all units are visible at all times, there is no fog of war), nor does it improve defensive strength or offensive range and power. But it sure looks good, and the computer requirements for running Massive Assault are actually quite low.

The unit sounds are done very well, and various units sound the way they should: engines whine when small wheeled vehicles speed forward; gears creak and hydraulics hiss when the mech types walk; launchers explode, cannons erupt and lasers burn in a believable fashion. On top of this, the music is very good, and sets the mood of a futuristic conflict without relying on the popular trend of electronic music. The tunes, while there aren't many of them, are orchestrated well and offer a sci-fi tint without sounding like something from The Prodigy.

One of the tutorials.	Initial disclosure faze - the yellow countries are all of my secret allies.