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Tremendous promise- a blast to play!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: April 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

In a nutshell, after 6+ years of swinging swords or throwing fireballs in cyber-action, I was desperate for a change of pace, where I could play some kind of sci-fi game that captured why I loved Steve Jackson's Car Wars paper chit and dice game, as well as the Mad Max movies. I was hoping that AA would give me this kind of online virtual on-line adventure, with all the staples one expects from an on MMOPRG game, including:

Lush, graphical gameworld
Flavorful backstory of said world as played out via npcs and quests
Interesting ways of advancing character besides rinse-n-repeat grinding of the same few classes of mobs at "camps"
Meaningful but not griefing-prone PvP
Tactically-rich combat for both PvP and PvE
Player-made gear via crafting
Intuitive user interfaces for action as well as for character assets and development
Context-sensitive help menus or pop-ups.

Based on what I have seen in several sessions of play, Auto Assault has delivered, big time. Many reviews by individual gamers on gaming sites have been unfavorable. However, many of these reviews (as well as positive reviews) illustrate why some select few are paid to review things, while most hacks like me are not. Professional reviewers are able to view and critique a film, for example, BASED ON WHAT THE FILM-MAKERS were trying to accomplish. Conversely, the slams several forum reviewers have made about this game are like ripping on The Bridges of Madison County because there were no flaming car chases, or like ripping on The Matrix because it didn't have enough tender dialogue between Neo and his mate.

This game was explicitly designed to be a hybrid between the move-your-avatar-to-other-virtual-avatar and stab-it-so-that-you-can-get-resources-to-get-even-better-gear-so-you-can-gank-even-tougher-code-driven-algorithms....with the arcade feel of an auto-racer. If you like car-racing action, and want to enjoy something extra in the way of a gradual progression of your own abilities and tricking out your ride, then this game is for you. If manual-dexterity-based car racing and the post-apocalyptic genre are not your thing, then you will not. Also, according to many who slam this game, it would seem that any new MMORPG stinks unless it has EACH and ALL of:

The graphics of EQ2
The extensive gameworld of 5+ years of EQ1
The flavor of WoW
The PvP of Dark Age of Camelot
The grouping commands and tools of City of Villians
The absence of a monthly fee of Guild Wars.

In the INITIAL RELEASE!!!

IMHO, I think the developers have done a good job of delivering what they intended the game to be. Getting to race around with the challenge of keeping your target in Line-of-fire is a lot more engaging to me than hitting a /stick command to move and stick to a foe and hitting a key to autoattack, or even issue a series of clicks of weapon styles in the same endless cycle.

Another big criticism is "All you do is drive around and blow everything up. I'll be bored within two weeks." Not only is there more to the game than that, but I suspect these same people would be bored with ANY new MMORPG. When I compare the endless series of quests in AA with interesting backstory flavor in the text, I think back to trying to level up toons in EQ years ago, and how absolutely mind-numbing that was! If EQ were launched today, its dated graphics, lack of meaningful weapon styles/skills, and brutal old-school death penalty would have people giving it poor marks.

The fact is, there are only so many ways you can dress up move-your-avatar-to-other-virtual-avatar and-apply-your-damage-algorithm-so-that-you-can-get-resources-to-get-even-better-gear-so-you-can-gank-even-tougher-code-driven-algorithms... So many games are out there that really differ only in the details-how many quests, atmosphere, UI, how they handle character death, how does PvP loot work etc.... At least with AA, the developers overlaid the NOVEL challenge of high-motion, dexterity driven combat atop all the traditional elements of an immersive MMORPG. This game really DOES play differently.

The three factions play markedly differently, and the backstory actually provides some rationale for why the three would be at war with each other. This flavor seeps through in the quests' text, if you actually bother to read them. A few sessions of playing a biomek, and I felt like a borg. Even the background music reflects the different moods of the different factions. In contrast, DAoC never made me feel like a part of a realm, and never really gave flesh to the bones of the conflict-why we should be out fighting others.

The loot system is great! Even going to merchants to get low-end gear, you will find several different variants of the same make and model weapon, but with slightly different DPS, range, and targeting arc. Nice to be able to be able to spend a little more to get a better specimen of the "acme flechette gun."

The one drawback, which is eminently fixeable with patches and expansions, is that the designers made the game so solo-friendly (to enable casual players to not have to blow precious gaming time in cobbling a group), that grouping is actually a disadvantage when coldly calculating XP/hour when considering time to form a group. This will hurt NetDevil, because gamers are not accustomed to paying a monthy fee for a game that they can play all by themselves, like Half-Life.

Bugs are fixable. Nuances of content are fixable. The core designs and mechanics are not. Fortunately, the latter hold great promise, and even if you just play the heck out of this game for the "free" month of online play that comes with purchase, and never subscribe past that, the 10 gigs of content will keep you plenty occupied.

See you on the dangerous, dusty, roads.

One of the years sleeper hits

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: April 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Explosions, chaos, destruction, mayhem, rumbling vehicles and mutants galore -- Auto Assault delivers on full-fledged action in a game that borders on being a niche hit of the year.

The reality is, the game has a wide appeal to gamers of many sorts though it does lack some polish (for some that stands as part of the attraction to the game) and needs some additions to bring it into a fully developed offering. Despite its minor failings the game is surprisingly well done and manages to offer some features that simply cannot be found in any other competing game.

Perhaps even more surprising is the setting. NetDevil (the developer) has conjured up a solid foundation for a role playing game, MMO or not. More importantly, they have delivered on their setting by providing three races and a world that captures the variance and flavor it all in astounding color and depth and futuristic chaos.

Of course, the setting begins to shine as you overcome the mild learning curve and realize that the game holds a huge amount of depth beyond the extremely addictive "Mad Max" style of game play. Combined with an intricate crafting system, tournaments and PvP Arenas, the massive world to explore and literally destroy at every turn makes for the sort of addictive play found only in the likes of games made by giants such as Blizzard. If you found yourself spending vast amounts of time pouring over a game like Diablo or WoW, chances are this game will also sink its hooks into you in a way that you haven't experienced for a long time.

It's difficult to sumarize the many influences that can be seen in the game. For example, at times while speeding across tattered highways or blazing into some "Pike" stronghold (a group of crazed humans who scrap together junk in attempts to fend off invaders of every type, including players), the undeniable sense of influence from other games will wash over you. At some points you might half imagine you are playing in one of City of Heroes more destroyed and hazardous regions, for example.

There is little doubt that the experience of PlayNC and their growing umbrella of MMO's have been borrowed from in a myriad of ways for Auto Assault. That is, in part, what makes this game a success. They have managed to extract "what works" from other games they have dealt with and, at the same time, created an all new style and mode of MMO gameplay that is at least as enticing and entertaining as anything else on the market. For one thing, it seems well balanced whether you look to solo/co-op play or within the PvP arena.

Having said that, if going absolutely beserk and being able to destroy virtually everything you come across in the world (beyond just the enemies ... we're talking about ruins, forts, cities, pretty much everything), if that sort of thing doesn't hold any appeal to you then neither will this game. It has an edgy and warped flavor that might not hold the interest of everyone, but for those who find the setting and notion of driving Mad Max styled vehicles into a forboding and troubled post-apocalyptic word, well, this game certainly demands a run behind the wheel.

Happily to suit, the developers have been active and involved -- they really seem to have an interest in this game and it shows through interactions on the forums. That bodes well for the future of the game and for the ongoing enjoyment of the players there. It also signals that some of the things the game does need work on are being addressed.

Overall, I'd recommend the game to most anyone -- certainly a month of playing it will reveal whether it is not to your taste or whether you have become hopelessly addicted. I might add, it is fantastic for solo play and is even more fun when you get a convoy of destruction minded friends to join you. Of all the problems the game has, the "Convoy" (read "Group" from other MMO's) matching system they have in place does need some improvements to make it easier to find and get into a convoy, but I haven't had a lot of problem so far finding others to group with.

With fun game play, stable servers, a well crafted setting and more mayhem and destruction than any MMO available, its hard to think that NetDevil and PlayNC don't have something on their hands worth pushing harder than they have. Plain and simple, its a fun game!

An excellent game, with it's own little problems.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Another excellent game published by NCSoft, Auto Assault excels at keeping players entertained by bringing back the pleasures of Twisted Metal in the form of an MMO. But unlike Twisted Metal, Auto Assault boasts fully destructible environments, realistic game physics, and an impressive graphics engine that makes the game incredible fun to play. And, to make the game easier to play with friends, Auto Assault incorporates built-in voice chat, something that many other MMOs do not.

What Auto Assault offers in terms of PvP action makes the game equally exciting. While combat between factions is limited to specific zones, there is Arena-based PvP where players compete in ladder-type tournaments for in-game cash and experience.

But, like many MMOs freshly released to the public, it has it's own set of problems. Every now and then, you'll see the Bug Report window come up, and ask you to report what's happened to the technical support teams. While it can be irritating, it does help the tech support teams to fix the game (and trust me, they do fix the problems :D).

Overall, at it's current phase, Auto Assault is an excellent game. Once several of the in-game problems get fixed, it will be outright incredible.

From a long time MMORPG player, ....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

this is a true gem. I have played these types of games now for many years, dating back to the EQ launch. I have enjoyed many of them. Auto Assault is my next BIG game.

I beta tested this game for a couple months prior to release. Here are my thoughts...
Gameplay: FUN. Fast action, MANY quests. Almost all takes place in your vehicle. Only use avatar in towns to get quests, sell/buy, and craft.
Crafting: VERY DEEP. Great crafting system.
Loot: Great loot concept. A bit like diablo with even more randomness. No two items are alike.

The game is not perfect. They still need to (and will) add an auction system. they need more options for guilds.

Overall, I am very happy with this game. Again, it is FUN.

Don't judge a game by it's beta test!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's a pretty cool game, definately not like the other MMORPGS on the market, I mean, you don't have to point and click press a few buttons, and boom you're done, you gotta actually *move* This game has a lot of protential, okay, there's lag (Especially a game with this much movement), there's bugs too. But it just released, what can you expect the first days out?

A fun, but shallow MMO experience

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: April 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been waiting for Auto Assault for a while now. When I heard that there was going to be an action-based, car-centered, post-apocalyptic MMORPG, it seemed too good to be true. Unfortunately it is. What Auto Assault boils down to is a shallow and repetitive experience that, while fun for a while, won't keep you running back for more.

The beauty of the MMORPG genre is that the games virtually never end. Bored of your lvl 60 Human Paladin? Then go try a Tauren Shaman out for size. The majority of good MMOs out there give you a variety of playstyles missing in most single-player games. Auto Assault has three playable races, each with four of their own classes (although they are essentially the same four classes, with cosmetic variations for each race). Unfortunately, the classes play pretty much the same. Sure, you can do some more "casting" or "healing" with one class over another, but in the end it boils down to killing hundreds upon hundreds of mobs, and usually by yourself.

Which is another problem (or plus, depending on how you look at it) with Auto Assault. The game is almost completely deserted. You may see other gamers in town, but once you hop into your car, you'll rarely see another soul on the road. The game is young, yes, so this could theoretically change in time. But for those of you with dreams of hundreds of cars battling it out in PVP matches, look elsewhere. I have yet to see a server with a higher population than "low."

The benefit of all of this, though, is that you can effectively solo your way through the entire game. While some games require you to group up constantly (eating up a lot of time just finding a group), AA allows you to just go out there on your own. This makes me wonder why NCSoft didn't just release a similar single-player game instead, which in all honesty would probably have been a more successful venture.

The graphics are a mixed bag, too. While generally nicely detailed, there is a lot of just plain open road with nothing but hills and trees and broken down houses littering them. Post-apocalyptic worlds have never been known for their beauty, and this one isn't any different. However, the Havok engine allows you to destroy almost everything in your path. It's quite satisfying after a long day at work to come home and be able to gun down hundreds of enemies and raize entire cities to the ground.

Which brings me to the best part of the game: the fun factor. There are a lot problems with Auto Assault, but the reason I keep logging in (although I'm not sure for how much longer) is because it is can be just plain fun. While not purely action (the game still uses dice rolls and tab-targetting to deal out damage), it is a good deception. You control a turret-weapon on the top of your car with your mouse and hold down the right mouse button to fire away. The gun casts a triangular area of damage and anything in its path can get hit. Basically, though, it's the same auto-attack that's in every other MMO just well-disguised. If you try not to think about exactly what the game is doing, it really feels like you're dealing out damage yourself. The action is fast-paced, and you're always on the move.

If you want a fun, action-packed MMO, this may be your game for a week or so, but don't expect the experience to last beyond that for most gamers.

Pros:
Can be a lot of fun
Destructable environments
Different from other MMOs

Cons:
Buggy
Shallow
Repetitive
Mediocre graphics

I think its just not my kind of game...or maybe its indeed lacking

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have always liked the Mad Max movies and the Post-apocalyptic scenario. This game has captured the feel perfectly but thats where most of its high points end. First, the car physics are totally unrealistic. Imagine jumping miles up a cliff from a turbo-boost ramp and than falling miles down into a ravine and coming out unscatched like a bouncing ball. You suffer no damage or injury and also your ammo in this game is limitless(so no worrying if you are out of ammo, good or bad i dont know). There is no death penalty in this game which is good I guess. The game eventually becomes a repititive grind-fest which is the staple of all NC Soft mmo's. They tell you to go somewhere kill a bunch of guys and than go back and kill some more for the almost never ending sequel quests. After you have killed those guys zillion times than you will be send to some other area and you rinse and repeat adnauseam. Some of these quests are also the staple fed-ex quests genre too. Go there deliver something and come back etc. The scenery in this game is very bland and doesnt change much once you leave your central cities. Its always some desertish enovoirment with bunch of broken down buildings, or some deserted factory and you are off to trashing the whole place up and killing the mobs that spawn within. The mobs, the menus of the quests, most of the audio is straight out of City of hero's and even City of villians in most cases.
On the good side its pretty much fun to beef up your cars with lethal arnaments and than eventually get enough money to buy more better cars(though buying new cars is not cheap and expect to grind a lot to raise the Clink(in game money) to buy them). Strangely enough for anyone who has played the space simulation 'Eve Online' mmo the process to equip your cars, buy and even (the detailed)crafting is very much similar to Eve(its looks to me Eve online was their benchmark here ;) ).
You can also own Apartments, and actually get out of your cars in the instanced towns and move about. You can meet other people or buy or sell loot, visit repair garages to have your car repainted or retwinked etc. The one drawback is that there is only one major city for each race which in turn is not very big to begin with. All others cities you run into are small outposts. For some reason the game doesnt feel epic like most other mmo's do. Everything appears limited and sparse. All the quests are usually just round the corner from the quest giver and i really miss the feeling of driving along the road for maybe few minutes to reach my destination enjoying the outdoors etc. I know this is how Post-apocalyptic enovoirment most likely would be but the lack of scale compared to other mmo's out there is dissappointing and might contribute towards players having a smaller run with this game.And once you leave the main Cities you are back into your 3rd person perspective cars and can't be on foot anymore.
The pvp in this game is of two forms. One through instanced arenas for certain range of levels or after you hit a certain level you can visit open pvp areas called Ground-zero. There its free-for-all and also there are some Outposts which certain factions can capture and hold or retake etc.
Anyway, if you want to live and breath in Mad Max kind of setup this game will appeal to you. However the end-less grind, no economy to say(though Auction house are supposedly coming down the road), very bland, desertish, reptitive envoirments as well a less than Epic feel compared to other mmo's are some major short-comings with this game.
I on the othe hand dont plan to pay them after my free month ends. Maybe after 3-4 months the game mechanics might get improved or tweaked and I might return.

VERY GOOD GAME BUT UNFINSHED GAME

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: April 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am a big fan of massively multiplayer online games and PLAYNC should be more than happy to have customers like me. City of Heroes City of Villains Guild Wars Lineage II are some of my favorite games and I did review some of them with 4 and 5 stars. I can understand as an old and experienced gamer that the more complicated are the games the more bugs you are going to deal with. What I can't understand is how a game with 5 years of development can have so many bugs and specially when hundreds of gamers like me we supported the development of the game not only dedicating our time but PAYING for the pre-order version. There are no excuses for treating the advanced gamers which is your target group like this.
On the top of all PLAYNC has created a very nice online adventure game called "support". Each time I used it in the past I was forwarded from one server to another (From U.S. support to the European support e.t.c. then I was getting a ticket number I was logging in my support site and then I was checking for my answer. Nice easy and requires no time at all.
Ah! I forgot to tell you about the game. The concept is really good you choose a hero and a customized vehicle with high-tech, futuristic weaponry in order to fight the mutated creatures and bandits. You will be able to participate in epic battles and wars over the control of the regions. You can develop advanced crafting skill you will able to fully customize your vehicle and you are going to develop your abilities.
The environment is a devastated Earth where you can blow up buildings, trees, and other structures and fortunately you never run out of ammo
The game includes PvP (Player vs. Player) interaction clan/solo Arena dueling for fame and fortune.
Now please do not get me wrong the game is very good the only problem is that it is UNFINISHED. I would recommend waiting UNTIL THEY FINISH IT FIRST and then YOU WILL BUY THE FULL VERSION. Trust me when they will finish it I promise I will change my review but until then try it only if you don't mind to crash your system every time you play.

Had potential but disappointed in the end

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing AA since beta and I've seen it grow in unique ways but unfortunately, the game is still plagued by numerous bugs and requires some serious tinkering. In the one day since the game went live, I re-recorded over 80 issues that any player will encounter in the game. This issues plus hundreds more have been given to the dev team many times but they are haven't given us the slightest sign that they are aware of the issues or are going to address them.

Like other players that I've talked to, they are also disappointed with the performance of the game and the frequent lag that you'll experience while driving and especially in any town. I will continue to play the game for the first month as it's free but after that, if there's no improvement then my friends and I are leaving.

Online Only

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 9
Date: October 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

318 MB of patches and you can't even play the thing unless you're online. I feel as though I've been robbed.

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