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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.

Do not buy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: October 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Auto Assault was an interesting experiment of a game, but ultimately failed (and did so quickly) because it did not address the key interests of most MMO players. The game tries to be a hybrid between a true MMO with quests and character development, on the one hand, and a driving game, on the other, and fails as a direct result of that. Most MMO players are not into car driving games (and do not want the 100% twitch-based game and repeptitive blowing up of things), and most car driving game players are not into MMOs (and want to play offline, not worry about character development and crafting, and not pay a fee to play). So the end result was an interesting idea and experiment, but in the end only serves to reinforce the realities that (1) in MMOs, fantasy is king, and veering outside that space is risky (even most sci-fi MMOs have failed, the notable exception being EVE Online, which has no meaningful competition in its own niche of space-based PvP game) and (2) twitch-game players do not like MMOs where they have to play a lot to advance characters and craft and so forth over the long haul, and pay a fee for the privilege to do so, and instead prefer fast-paced, action-based games that can be "beaten" relatively quickly over the course of a few weeks (or faster) and then mastered for a bit and on to the next game. Trying to marry these two ideas was interesting, but failed because of a gross misinterpretation of the MMO marketplace.

The servers are empty. There were less than 10,000 subscribers to this game at its peak a month or two after release. Don't bother to buy this.

This online game is now shut down.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The Auto Assault servers shut down as of the end of August 2007. With no single-player capability, this game will no longer function.

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.

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

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!

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?

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.

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