June 29, 2006 - You really have to hand it to the guys over at Microsoft Japan; after what can only be described as a disastrous launch for the 360 in the land of the rising sun, they've worked their behinds off in order to coax more Japanese gamers into picking up a 360. They've even acquired the services of Sega and From Software, the latter of which is famous for their Armored Core series. Now the company has given birth to a new game, which may be their next big franchise. ChromeHounds is a mech-based combat title that chronicles the journeys of an elite combat squad as they attempt to quell disturbances within their country.
In ChromeHounds there are different Role Types that you can assume and each of these types has their own separate campaign. You'll start off with the Soldier campaign, but you can also go through a Sniper, Scout, Defender and Commander campaign, all of which have you dealing with different challenges. The breakdown of each role is actually really good, because it allows the player to choose what they want to do; you're not forced into a recon mission or a sniping mission just because the developers want you to. Of course, going through each campaign will net you more Achievement Points, so it's probably best to go through all of them eventually.
While the game may seem like a single-player experience, it's very much a team-orientated game. Your computer partners will back you up in the heat of battle and they'll create diversions to make your life easier. In one Soldier mission early on, we were traveling with a Scout when an enemy Hound approached us. Quickly, the Scout whizzed past the Hound, causing it to turn around in an attempt to disable it, giving us an open shot of its cockpit (the weak point of all Hound vehicles).
As you go through each campaign, the objectives and challenges vary greatly, and so do the conditions. Even in the first couple of missions that we played we were thrown into different situations that present new challenges. In the Soldier campaign, the first mission was to defend Scouts and disable an enemy camp, but in the second mission you were assigned the task of tracking down a "mouse" and destroying it before it left the area. Even the early stages of the Sniper campaign were pretty heated. The first mission throws you into an evening skirmish, where your vision is severely limited. You can't see any targets moving until your Scouts and Soldiers engage the enemy and use flares to signal you where to attack. From Software did a good job in making the missions varied and unique from each other.
What the missions also do is show off some of the technical capabilities of the 360. Real time shadows, self-shadows and amazing light effects are supposed to be the norm with the next generation of hardware, and this game does a good job of showing what's possible. But, the truth of the matter is that a lot of the visuals are not going to impress a lot of people, especially the ground textures. It's a petty criticism, sure, but it's something that gamers do take notice of. But, From Software really excels in their mech modeling and customization options, and that's exactly where ChromeHounds shines. Simply put the textures and the modeling of the Hounds is so good that it nearly makes up for all of the graphical mishaps elsewhere. Then again, mechs and other objects mysteriously fading out of existence is something that's a little odd when you consider the kind of hardware we're talking about. Wouldn't a fiery explosion been better?
Forgiving the solid but unimpressive graphics, the gameplay is actually quite good, and for a mech game, it's very easy to get into. You don't have to use any of the face buttons other than Y, which brings up your graphical map. Cycling through your weapons is done with the RB button and firing is done with the RT Trigger. In a cool little touch, you have a Picture-In-Picture view of your weapons cam, which you can switch with the standard 3rd person perspective if you need a better visual on your targets. The Hounds do have limitations though; due to their designs, the Hounds have better visibility when looking down compared to when they're looking up, so gaining the territorial advantage is especially important in this game.
Unfortunately, that's where all of the good comments end. Suffice to say that I think the game is actually well designed and despite some graphical shortcomings it is a reasonably fun game to play, but the atmosphere and the overall experience can be a little boring if you're used to something like Halo or MechAssault.
Due for release in the US and Canada July 11, fans of MechAssault and other mech-based games will surely love ChromeHounds, but those who are just looking for another title to add to their 360 library may want to rent it before committing to the title. Look for a full blown review on the game very soon.
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