Reviewed: August 4, 2006
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
SEGA
Developer
From Software
Released: July 11, 2006
Genre: Simulation
Players: 1
7
8
7
9
7.9
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Just when I thought Test Drive Unlimited was going to capture the title for “first persistent online world” game for the Xbox 360, SEGA makes a sneak attack and unleashes Chromehounds, and the world of giant robot fighting might never be the same.
From veteran designers, From Software, makers of all those Armored Core games on the PS2 and Murakumo on the Xbox, Chromehounds is a fantastic next-gen vision of giant robot fighting machines called Hounds set in the not-too-far-off future where three world superpowers are fighting for global supremacy.
While these types of games aren’t uncommon Chromehounds innovates on numerous levels starting with its focus on squad-based combat designed for multiplayer and online play, set in a persistent world where players are assigned to a superpower and play their own role in an ongoing battle until somebody wins and the servers are reset.
And the designers even snuck in a solo campaign so you won’t embarrass yourself when you do go online. I was surprised at the amount of detail that actually went into the solo story as well as the division of missions; seven in each of six unique campaigns that focus on a specific type of Hound.
There is a nice progression of difficulty as you learn and master each of the Role Types (RT) like Scout, Soldier, Heavy Gunner, Sniper, and Defender. Still, with all of this content, the actual story dealing with the Neroimus War between three warring factions falls a bit flat, due mostly to the fact that everything you do in the campaign all takes place before the war even starts. Combined with the fact that you also are forced into playing as all three sides of the war makes it hard to develop any true loyalties or even care about who wins.
The solo campaign is more training than anything else for the real war that takes place online. The first time you do go online the game will access your offline progress and assign you a rank for each RT as well as starting cash. It’s in your best interested (and the interest of your teammates) to play the solo game extensively before heading online. Oh yeah - if you don’t plan on taking part in the multiplayer modes then steer clear of this Chromehounds altogether.
The first thing you need to do whether playing solo or online is build your Hound. At first, this is relatively simple because your options are limited, but as you unlock and purchase new parts and upgrades things can get confusing and fun. You’ll get to pick from all sorts of mobile bases like wheels, feet, or tank treads, then you get to pick your cockpit and equip weapons and power generators and cooling systems, and computer upgrades and vision modes, and the list goes on. If you love to tinker with futuristic war gadgets that don’t exist yet then you’ll spend hours in the Hound garage.
You’ll quickly realize you aren’t alone on the battlefield and you’ll need the services of your teammates, whether they are live people online or AI controlled in the solo game. You’ll need to use Scouts to survey the landscape and take over communication towers called COMBAS. These are key installations in communicating with your allies as well as revealing enemy locations on the map. They also play a critical role when it comes time to disrupt enemy communications.
For all the potential strategy and team reliance, once you actually get into a Hound battle things quickly devolve into the same standard action fare we played a decade ago in MechWarrior games. You unload your weapons at the target then dance and strafe around avoiding their incoming fire while your weapons cool down then rinse and repeat until somebody blows up. It only gets tactical if you have somebody sniping from the horizon or a second Hound that can keep the enemy occupied while you cool down.
With that in mind, the real battle is won, not in the individual fights but in the garage. It’s all about who can build a stronger, faster, and more durable Hound. There is no real skill required to lock-on and hit these targets. It’s all about how much damage you can inflict and how much you can sustain. Factor in the stats and roll the dice. It really is like RISK.
Chromehounds really takes off when you head online. You can participate in impromptu Deathmatch, CTF, and various capture and base destruction missions to get your feet wet, but you’ll eventually want to join the persistent war. First, you need to join up with a squad affiliated with one of the three warring factions. This is pretty much like joining a clan or team in most other online games. You will then go out on very specific missions into enemy territory, working as a cohesive unit, and taking over territory in a giant game of robot RISK until one faction wins the war and the servers reset so you can do it all again.
This is definitely a team game, which goes against the lone wolf mentality of a lot of gamers out there. It might take awhile to get a functional and reliable team assembled. Then you have to worry about upgrades and repairs and how to spend the credits earned in the online matches to the best of your, and your team’s advantage. You can also build up extra cash by playing in the low-risk single missions. These don’t pay as much as Neroimus War missions but you also don’t have to pay to repair any damage you might have taken.
The awesome aspect of COMBAS (and a Commander with an NA array) is that as long as there are open lines of communication you can talk to your teammates using your headset, but if a tower is captured or destroyed or your Commander moves out of range you might find yourself very alone. This is a great feature and really forces you to stick together and play as a team.
Chromehounds does a great job of grabbing and holding your interest in the war with frequent news flashes about fallen territory, or requests for aid from other squads. It really does generate a fully functional community of gamers, and also breeds competition since there is a wealth of statistical information kept on the leaderboards.
Chromehounds set a new high bar for graphics, at least for giant robot fighting games. The first thing you’ll see are the amazingly intricate Hound designs, with hundreds of moving and interacting parts. You can play from multiple views including a cockpit view, but you’ll quickly learn the chase-view is the best and the PIP in the top corner always shows you what the cockpit (and forward guns) are aiming at.
If you love explosions, big fiery explosions, the look no further for Chromehounds has the best orange fireballs on the system. You’ll also appreciate some of the best night vision special effects this side of a Splinter Cell. Even launching a flare creates this ultra-cool blue glow that highlights the landscape in eerie ways.
The landscapes are rich with textured surfaces and low on details. There is a smattering of foliage and buildings when it suits the purposes of the mission. Everything that exists in 3D can be blown to bits but the pieces oddly vanish leaving only charred earth behind. Some explosions are terribly violent and other times structures sink into the ground like they were properly demolished. Even the Hounds simply vanish behind a thick cloud of fire and smoke. I want residual proof of my victory – not a flashy magician trick. I want to pick up the arm of a fallen Hound and beat another Hound to death with it.
The framerate is smooth for solo play and mostly smooth when you head online. There are some synching issues when you get lots of players on the same screen then start adding smoke and fire effects. The entire game looks fantastic with HD support for progressive scan and widescreen.
There is a rather thrilling soundtrack that blends orchestral and traditional military themes into something that is quite compelling and easy on the ears. You don’t hear music all the time so it’s a treat when it does rise to the occasion.
There is a moderate amount of voice work, mostly in the solo game and mostly mission briefs and updates via radio chatter. It’s not the best voice acting around; actually it’s pretty bland, but you won’t be playing the solo game long enough for it to bother you.
The remaining portion of the sound mix are lots of loud explosions to match the fiery visuals as well as a pleasant variety of unique weapons sounds, thumping footsteps (for Hounds with feet), drive mechanics, sparking sounds when you take damage, and a few random sounds for basic Hound operation like vision mode activation, etc. I was impressed, not only with the dynamic Dolby Digital mix, but also how they accounted for sound depending on if you were playing inside or outside the cockpit.
Gamers can finish off the 42-mission solo game in a day or so, then it’s time to head online where the real fun begins. As long as people keep playing and Ubisoft keeps the servers going, I don’t really see an end in sight to Chromehounds. There is just so much to do and so many ways to play and the possibilities for building and customizing your Hounds are nearly infinite.
Achievement points are spread across 49 goals, many of which can be earned through training in the solo campaign, while others will require lots of online effort, dedication, and even some loyalty to the same nation for extended periods of gameplay. Good luck getting all 1000 points.
I’ll say it once more for people that missed it the first four times…do not purchase this game if you don’t plan on playing it online. Sure, 42 missions might sound like a lot, but it’s not really; it is merely training to get you ready and ranked for core game which resides entirely online.
With that in mind, Chromehounds is probably one of the more inventive games of its time. It’s the first persistent online game on the 360 and it’s FREE to play (Live fees not withstanding). It has good graphics, challenging gameplay, and enough parts and upgrades to keep even the most diehard armchair mechanic glued to their TV for weeks and months to come. Combined with great squad-based gameplay that encourages and rewards team cooperation, Chromehounds is a grand new vision for giant robot fighting on a next-gen system.