MechAssault: Phantom War

MechAssault: Phantom War
Developer(s)	Backbone Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Majesco Entertainment
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	September 12, 2006
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen)
Media/distribution	Cartridge

MechAssault: Phantom War is one of the games in the popular MechWarrior series and is part of the BattleTech universe created by FASA. Players assume the role of a BattleMech pilot in a 3D environment with a third person view of the combat via the top screen of the DS, while the touch screen displays the inside of the cockpit and acts as the game's controls.

Story

Still involving the struggle between the Houses and the Clans within the Inner Sphere, players assume the role of recently administered Mech Warrior Vallen Brice, an expert hacker and Tech Warrant who has been assigned a difficult mission. For the past sixty years, the planets among the Republic of the Sphere have been unable to communicate with each other as each planet's Hyperpulse Generators have been afflicted with a computer virus, rendering each Generator inoperable. Rumors spread throughout each House on the planets that the Hyperpulse Generators may be re-established as weapons during their inoperable state. The Lyran Alliance is the first to act on this rumor and the first to try shut it down by sending Vallen into combat to hack into each Hyperpulse Generator and ensure none of them are used for destructive purposes.

Reception

MechAssault: Phantom War received generally mixed reviews. IGN gave it a 7.0/10 and GameSpot gave it a 7.1/10, while GameSpy gave it a 1.5/5 and it averaged 4.5/10 at Electronic Gaming Monthly. The game received praise for its FMV cutscenes and voice acting. Common criticisms include lack of online play, lackluster graphics, shortness of the single player campaign, and issues with the game mechanics.

External links

• Developer blog at IGN
• MechAssault:Phantom War at Majesco Entertainment
• MechAssault: Phantom War at MobyGames
• MechAssault: Phantom War guide at StrategyWiki