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Turns out it isn’t a real-time strategy game. Massive Assault from newcomer developer Wargaming.net and war-veteran publisher Matrix Games (as well as our friends at Tri Synergy) have crafted a game that appeals to RTS fans but is actually turn-based. The game puts a lot of emphasis on action and there isn’t much in the way to slow the action down.
The game takes place several hundred years in the future. There are six planets with vast resources to be gained for your Free
Nations Union party. There is another group that wants those planets, though. You’ll need to fend off the Phantom League to gain these resources solely for your tribe.
Compared to real-time strategy titles, their turn-based relatives are a bit harder to get into. There are usually tons of different variables and options to tweak. And once you do get this done, the action is pretty slow and not all that exciting. Luckily, Massive Assault doesn’t fit into this mold. Chances are if you’ve played an RTS, you’ll have a blast here.
The game doesn’t completely forget its turn-based gameplay, nonetheless. You’ll need to be pretty observant and have a better control of your army than in most RTS games. However, one can argue that you’d need to do the same in an RTS to be successful. In Massive Assault, much of your success depends on your ability to read enemy patterns and adapt to them.
It seems that in the future, we will no longer use soldiers in battle. In Massive Assault all of your units are rather large, like tanks for example. To the game’s credit, there are lots of different units to use. Massive Assault also does away with research buildings and resource management. You purchase additional vehicles with the revenue to have. You get this revenue from the areas you’ve taken over. All in all, Wargaming.net did an excellent job at simplifying the experience focusing on the most fun moments.
The overall visuals in Massive Assault get the job done, although they aren’t quite to the standard of recent RTS titles. But compared to other turn-based titles, it does a surprisingly good job. The maps are textured with good detail, as are the units and vehicles. When stuff blows up, it looks pretty, as well. You also get lots of graphical options to make the game even prettier. It doesn’t tax your system much, so pump those effects up.
The audio package is pretty standard. It’s basically what you’d expect to find. The background music is compromised of a war-sounds-techno-mix, and does a nice job. There are plenty of sound effects in the game, as well as a bit of voice. The audio quality is good, too.
There were a few times when I was playing Massive Assault where a buddy asked what RTS that is. Considering the slow nature of most turn-based titles compared to the quicker RTS games that shows that WarGaming.net did what it accomplished to do. There is tons of action and the game performs nicely in the audio/visual departments. Definitely recommended to turn-based fans, although RTS fans will find much to enjoy here. Easily my favorite turn-based strategy title of the year.
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, 600Mhz, 256MB RAM, 32MB DirectX-compatible video card, DirectX-compatible sound card, DirectX 8.1, 8X CDROM, 650MB free HD space -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 3, 2003
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