[Deepblue]

Chromehounds

http://www.sega.com/gamesite/chromehounds/

A mech fan's dream come true. Complete part customization, decal editing, deep squad gameplay and multiplayer that is the equivalent of a mech MMO.

Impressions:

1) "The Persistent online war is so involved it's silly...it's just a totally immersive experience.

ZeroCommit finished the day off at 5-0.

The developers of this game did so many things right, from Clan lobbies (when you connect to live, you're automatically put in a private lobby with your clan), to graphic maps on the progress of all 3 nations.

For anyone who might care, Morskoj has taken the Tarakian capital once again, and is invading Sal Kar (where 0c resides), while at the same time Sal Kar pushes back on the eastern side. It's a brutal slugfest!"




2) "Q: How involved is the whole customization process? Are their parts you have to unlock? How often do you run across the same mech?


A: You will unlock parts both during single player, and during multiplayer. The $ you make (or don't make if you lose) fighting online is used to buy parts from a sort of online store. You can then build new hounds or customize an existing one with the parts from single/multiplayer.

During your fighting, certain enemy weapons will also be added to your clan's arsenal as being "salvaged from battle". You can view a list of these parts and then purchase a lottery ticket for any part you're interested in. After x hours the lottery is over and the part is distributed.

A similar list of prototype weapons exists, and you're able to enter a lottery on these parts as well, but i'm not certain where the weapons come from.

I didn't see the same mech once all day yesterday. The customization featuer is so involved that there isn't going to be a best mech configuration, it's all personal preference. They come in all shapes and sizes, from small and fast, to rolling shopping malls."




3) "The only thing bad about the game is not having it. Well, maybe the 15 minute briefing area where if one person doesnt ready up you could be waiting 15 minute before the match starts. But beyond that the game is awesome.

Its a gorgeous game, Trees falling from the explosions, and the lighting during a night mission will blow you away. High customization, A plethora of things to do online between the war, Individual Co-op missions, and the 15 or so gametype to do in freebattle there is just no reason not to get it. And the squad, Wow they really outdid themselves in it. There is a continuous main lobby where all the squad members are. you can talk to everyone in the lobby, and continue to do so while working on your hound from the lobby.

Lotteries, Elections for new presidents of the nation your a part of, Captured parts from detroyed enemy hounds, Editing Hound colors, emblems, weapon layouts, Strategizing the next move is all exciting and the speed of your mech never really comes into play. It doesn't take long to scrap it up with someone and when you do its pretty intense. The only types that take a little longer to get into action are heaver types, but they have long range weapons anyways and can strike from across the map. I can't get enough of it and we played from around 5:40pm til 2:30 in the morning.

If mech games aren't your cup of tea then thats fine, however if you let a half-assed review of the game keep you from getting it when everyone here is giving it positive impressions, you are truely missing out on a great title."


The Chromehounds Community is already kicking into full gear:

http://boards.sega.com/chromehounds/

http://www.chromehound.com/forums/index.php?showforum=2


And here are some links to some things you MIGHT want to know (Thanks to Jetson from XBoxnerds.com):

http://www.zerocommit.com/mb/thread.php?t=9364

http://www.zerocommit.com/mb/thread.php?t=9546

http://www.chromehound.com/forums/in...&do=show&id=13

http://www.chromehound.com/forums/in...&do=show&id=14

Now that I've spent some time with the game I can tell you that this game is the equivalent of a Massive Multiplayer Online Mech War Sim. Let me just say if you liked Steel Battlion, the Mech Warrior franchises (or super nerd like me and have played in the Battletech simulators) you will loose your mind when you sample Chromehounds. I'll be honest and tell you up fron this game is not for those who are impatient and looking for the quick action fix (to a certain extent), and it's all about the online game (i.e. just as you don't purchase Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for it's single player). Read the link I posted to Jetson's overview above at ZeroCommit.com. If you follow the links I posted earlier they'll tell you ALL you need to know about Chromehounds. Those looking for the quick run-&-gun fix, look elsewhere, this is not that type of party. This is all about squad/teamplay in a persistant online war. If you even any passingly liked of the Mech Warrior franchise or sampled some Battletech (sim or tabletop), you really need to take a look at Chromehounds. This game is a mech fans dream come true.

From Software has really done fantastic job and something amazing here. They took all their customization experience from the Armored Core series and went nuts in this game. You can build whatever you want. And how you choose to build your "Hound" has an impact on the gameplay. I could get into details but the links above provide plenty of examples. And what REALLY makes the game awesome is that this game borrows heavily from Forza Motorsport. The online and offline play are seemlessly intertwined. What you do offline carrys over to the online game and vice versa (i.e. leveling, skills, parts etc.). Also you can't customize and paint, decal, and create emblems for your hound. You should see some of the cool stuff people have already come up with. The building and customization of hounds is as fun as pouring a bucket of Lego blocks out and having at it. You are only limited by the parts you have available and your creativity.

The entire online presentation is just slick as hell. You get the sense of a CNN newsfeed as soon as you log on, from who's donating money to the their cause, election results, war status, what territorities are in conflict....friggin' information overload!! I will be honst and tell you that you need to put some time into this game (which most reviews so far obviously have not) before you see the potential that this game has to offer. I'm not trying to gish praise over the game and tell you to run out and buy it, but I do think you need to check out this experience because right now there isn't another platform where you could get something this immersive. The whole concept is off the hook!

Damn the haters....I love this game, and I can see how many wouldn't get into it. But I have to give From Software their props for borrowing heavily from other games, but doing something truly different and not run of the mill. And Sega gets props for publishing this game, not many would take a risk with something like Chromehounds (consiering the platorm, user base, genre, and gamer demographic), but Chromehounds should be getting a lot more praise and recognition. I'm also now have the chromhounds curse, sitting here at working thinking of different combinatins and configurations for my "Hounds".

Now that I've spent some time with the game I can tell you that this game is the equivalent of a Massive Multiplayer Online Mech War Sim. Let me just say if you liked Steel Battlion, the Mech Warrior franchises (or super nerd like me and have played in the Battletech simulators) you will loose your mind when you sample Chromehounds. I'll be honest and tell you up fron this game is not for those who are impatient and looking for the quick action fix (to a certain extent), and it's all about the online game (i.e. just as you don't purchase Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for it's single player). Read the link I posted to Jetson's overview above at ZeroCommit.com. If you follow the links I posted earlier they'll tell you ALL you need to know about Chromehounds. Those looking for the quick run-&-gun fix, look elsewhere, this is not that type of party. This is all about squad/teamplay in a persistant online war. If you even any passingly liked of the Mech Warrior franchise or sampled some Battletech (sim or tabletop), you really need to take a look at Chromehounds. This game is a mech fans dream come true.

From Software has really done fantastic job and something amazing here. They took all their customization experience from the Armored Core series and went nuts in this game. You can build whatever you want. And how you choose to build your "Hound" has an impact on the gameplay. I could get into details but the links above provide plenty of examples. And what REALLY makes the game awesome is that this game borrows heavily from Forza Motorsport. The online and offline play are seemlessly intertwined. What you do offline carrys over to the online game and vice versa (i.e. leveling, skills, parts etc.). Also you can't customize and paint, decal, and create emblems for your hound. You should see some of the cool stuff people have already come up with. The building and customization of hounds is as fun as pouring a bucket of Lego blocks out and having at it. You are only limited by the parts you have available and your creativity.

The entire online presentation is just slick as hell. You get the sense of a CNN newsfeed as soon as you log on, from who's donating money to the their cause, election results, war status, what territorities are in conflict....friggin' information overload!! I will be honst and tell you that you need to put some time into this game (which most reviews so far obviously have not) before you see the potential that this game has to offer. I'm not trying to gish praise over the game and tell you to run out and buy it, but I do think you need to check out this experience because right now there isn't another platform where you could get something this immersive. The whole concept is off the hook!

Damn the haters....I love this game, and I can see how many wouldn't get into it. But I have to give From Software their props for borrowing heavily from other games, but doing something truly different and not run of the mill. And Sega gets props for publishing this game, not many would take a risk with something like Chromehounds (consiering the platorm, user base, genre, and gamer demographic), but Chromehounds should be getting a lot more praise and recognition. I'm also now have the chromhounds curse, sitting here at working thinking of different combinatins and configurations for my "Hounds".

Seems like when your nation falls, you can join another nation or stay and be a guerilla fighter for the resistance. Very cool stuffl. And when you lose your capital, you lose the shop to buy new equipment and upgrade your Hound.

From what I saw, there's a lot of friendly fire online. Squads will paint one part of the mech a certain color (blue cockpits) or have a distinctive decal, so that you can tell at a distance. It's always good to check on the radio and see if there are any friendlies in the grid section in question. At night, when it's hard to see the colors, teams will say "identify c-6", if you are in C-6, then you should flash your lights twice.

As said before, the game has a ton of depth. I'm still in awe of the teams that can use heavy gunners to shoot over the hills while a scout calls in where the shot landed so the HG can adjust.

When forming a squad, you want to have hounds of different types ranging from soldier, sniper, defender, scout, heavy gunner, and commander. The commander type is important because it acts as a mobile communications array, allowing your team to communicate within a certain distance of the commander. Furthermore, COMBAS towers must be captured which are stationary communication arrays. If an enemy captures a COMBAS while you are utilizing it for communication, you will suddenly lose all abilities to coordinate with your team. However, you are not locked into any one of these classes, as the class is dependent on the mech you build, rather than the mech you build being dependent on a preset class you choose. This game is incredibly deep, and it would make this post rather long winded to go into all the awesome nifty features.

You can read more of the like at SA.

Anyway, if you are a mech fan, and have a 360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game. And please, help Tarakia take back its capital!

Pictures:







(custom hounds)

[aldo_14]

I read ChromeHounds was quite ****, myself.

[Deepblue]

Yes, the reviews whine about the single player game. Only a few of them (1up, Gamespot, TeamXbox) have actually gotten deep into the multiplayer which is where the real meat is at. The single player is basically a glorified tutorial for the online war that allows you to get some parts to start building your hound.

Read the user reviews. This is a hardcore game. You'll either love it, or hate it. If you like arcadey games forget it, but if you loved MW2, this is pretty much the best thing since.

I played this all last night with my squad of about 7-10 people.

This is the best 360 game I've played next to Oblivion. The graphics are amazing, I'm constantly in awe of what I'm seeing. I don't understand what the complaints are in that department.

But, more to the point, this is basically an MMO Mechwarrior 2. The squad tactics are almost limitless. The persistant war allows you to fight constantly in specific areas and actually see the progress you're making. Every battle is a gamble, with either a large chunk of cash lost to repairs/ammo/fuel, or a sweet payout that divides out to the whole squad that participated.

And the mech customization... my god. This isn't sitting in your basement fiddling with a mech designer. People actually see your designs online. And every piece of the mech means something. Have enough room for an armor panel on the right side of your cockpit? Stick it there. Place your squad emblem on it. When in battle, remember that you have that armor plate there and try to keep it aligned with incoming fire to suppress the damage. Notice as it gets blown off and adjust your tactics accordingly.

Want to stick 2 autocannons facing backwards on your mech? Sure. Now you can fire behind you. Want to get some height on that sniper rifle? Stick 3 spacers on your head and put the sniper rifle on top. Perfect for poking only the sniper rifle over a hill crest and maintaining a smaller target for the enemy to hit.

[Flipside]

Must admit, I've always liked the idea of games where you build your own units, like Warzone 2100, that way you can design the units around your gameplay rather than vice-versa.

[Mars]

Warzone 2100? I just downloaded that game last week, it's one of the funnest I've played, the multiplayer games are really fun because you never know what the other people are going to throw at you.

Of course, I'm still trying to figure out how to install V 2.0

[Flipside]

Yeah, most of the downloadable versions of it don't seem to be compatible with the updates, and it's nearly impossible to get hold of the original, though there are a few available on Amazon etc.

Theres also some brilliant ideas in that game like being able to link your barrage weapons to radar posts or vehicles to give them non LOS targetting, or building a Command unit that allows squads to concentrate their fire on a single target at a time etc. It was probably one of the most strategy-based RTS out there, and to my mind, still one of the best. Tank rushes could work, but they were equally likely to grind to a halt and be pulverised by the point defences.

I've always dreamed of writing a program that goes one-up on that and allows the player to design and import new turret types, chassis types etc, and, of course, allow for more than one turret on a chassis if it's big enough

[Night Hammer]

is this the game with the like 900$ peripheral or is that another mech game

[Deepblue]

No, that's steel battallion. This one is luckily fine with a normal gamepad.

[Mars]

I've always dreamed of writing a program that goes one-up on that and allows the player to design and import new turret types, chassis types etc, and, of course, allow for more than one turret on a chassis if it's big enough

I think you can import chasis designs, as mods, but I'm not sure

[MicroPsycho]

I'm still waiting for MechWarrior 5, but this may be worth checking out.

[Dough with Fish]

I'm going to wait for the demo to hit the Marketplace before I make my decision. And for those of you with a PS2 out there, the people bedhind Chromehounds are the same group who made the Armored Core series. So, that right there might give you a better idea on how the game will be (that is, of course if you have played the AC games) than any preview and shilling DB throws at you.

[Flipside]

I've always dreamed of writing a program that goes one-up on that and allows the player to design and import new turret types, chassis types etc, and, of course, allow for more than one turret on a chassis if it's big enough

I think you can import chasis designs, as mods, but I'm not sure

I've actually downloaded the Source Code to it, with mind to taking a look through it when I start college this Autumn.

[Rictor]

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/928456.asp

Average ranking 68%? Uh-oh!

[Deepblue]

I'm going to wait for the demo to hit the Marketplace before I make my decision. And for those of you with a PS2 out there, the people bedhind Chromehounds are the same group who made the Armored Core series. So, that right there might give you a better idea on how the game will be (that is, of course if you have played the AC games) than any preview and shilling DB throws at you.

There is a demo up already. But it's not a very good indication of how awesome the game is online. The server is getting reset BTW. Morstorkaj won the war. And the style is completely different from Armored Core (which is a fast hectic mecha style), though the mech building is similar but far more in depth.

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/928456.asp

Average ranking 68%? Uh-oh!

Uh-oh what?

Rankings like that are for the casual audience. This game is not for them (insert Penny Arcade comic). It's amazing that it was even published considering it caters completely to the hardcore mech crowd. For those people, this game is "a dream come true."

[aldo_14]

oh, jesus, I hate 'the hardcore crowd'.  It's usually synonymous with 'snobbish dicks convinced of their own superior taste'.

[Deepblue]

Or it just means "people who are willing to invest time and effort to get the most out of their games."

[SadisticSid]

aldo, considering space sim fans are considered a hardcore crowd by most, I hope you're wrong.

[Ford Prefect]

oh, jesus, I hate 'the hardcore crowd'.  It's usually synonymous with 'snobbish dicks convinced of their own superior taste'.

Gaming is not sufficiently respectable to merit use of the word "snobbish". This isn't music or wine we're talking about; it's electronic simulations of blowing **** up.

[Flipside]

I know, but 'The Hardcore Crowd' sounds like something that a DJ would say at an 80's rave I just get images of Ultravox lookalikes strutting down the street wielding their PSP's while some kind of street beat plays in the background :/

[pecenipicek]

*drools*


now, i'm not a mech fan, but holy ****, this game is one of the reasons for which i might consider getting a 360. and Halo 3. the graphics are OMGWT****ENUNBELIEVEABLE!!!!