Skip to main content

Chromehounds

E3: Global war in the meching.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

When they say that show floors are a rubbish place to cast judgements around, they're thinking about games like Chromehounds. If ever something's destined to have its point missed by sweltering SEGA-heads, it's FromSoftware's ambitious multiplayer mech game. Because while on the surface it's Armored Core crossed with MechAssault, a few minutes with a demo isn't going to tell the whole story - of a game with similar aspirations to the ludicrous multiplayer war of Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, trying to be unashamedly hardcore without alienating everyone.

It's easier just to say it's some pretty, configurable mechs shooting at each other, and wander onto the next exhibit.

But let's get to that in a moment. Previews need hooks and name-checking mech games probably won't do it. So here's how the general conflict works: you play a role in a team of up to six; your team's job is to secure the map by destroying the enemy or the enemy's base; your team is a bunch of highly customised mechs, probably in your own team-specific war paint, and organisation is a must because if you stumble out of range of the nearest COMBAS communications tower, you're on your own. And the other team's going to be organised too. And the only way out is to hit self-destruct.

Anyway, having spent a solid hour going through the game in minute detail, it's possible to expand upon some of original assumption: that it's pretty, configurable mechs shooting each other. First of all, "pretty". Chromehounds perhaps suffered at the Tokyo Game Show due to the sheer quality of the computer-generated attract sequence that SEGA originally showed at E3 last year. The comparison isn't overly kind. But that's by no means to say it's ugly. Quite the opposite in fact; there are gaps in its veneer, but the things it sets out to do it does expertly.

These guys, who look mean, are just fodder. And yes, you can track mechs through footprints.

The hounds - mechs - are superbly detailed, down to the last bolt and cog, and sparks abound as shrapnel splatters and sandy splash damage erupts around you - and visual effects to match the guns. AI-controlled tanks and minor mechs prowl around and radiate warmth from their darkly orange bubbles of exploding technology - and with particular vehemence in dark environments. Thanks to the spectacular draw distance, you can track down firefights by looking for the arcs of fire cutting through the sky, and the detail and depth of the urban environments puts rival 360 titles to shame, with no expense spared to render their undoing - hit a water tower and its contents bath the sand in a soggy shadow, which dissipates with time.

So that's "pretty". Then there's "configurable". FromSoft's experience with Armored Core ought to be a clue here - after all, this is a company that made a PSP game that involves nothing but building mechs and watching them fight.

Rolling your own mech has never looked and felt as authentic as it does in high-definition on Xbox 360. You can select the legs (or tracks, or hover craft mechanics if you like), the type of frame, with weaponry selectable depending on space and funds. With a hexagonal array on each arm you can equip all sorts, and rotate between weapon clusters in-game. As if to prove just how serious they are about the detail, at one point the game's producer, showing off the modifications, tried to add a machinegun to a roof mount only to discover the back end of it overlapped the engine core ever so slightly, ruling out its inclusion. As you'd expect, the range of stats provided for each part is vast - and there's a Pro Evolution Soccer-style six-pointed mech-quality star graphic in the top-right to show you how your mech is balanced in each area. So you can build up a really nice one - although that's providing you don't go over the weight limit, too. Then, once you get bored, you can mix things up again - with downloadable parts due to be made available after release.

The box in the top-right provides whichever of the two viewpoints you're not using - great for pinpointing enemy fire when in first-person.

Those of a MechAssault bent won't have to go this deep - there's an optional Assembly Guide to walk you through it - but if you want to go really deep then you can edit virtually everything, right down to the colours and your emblem. The emblem's not a sticker that wraps around, either - it's your design projected from whatever angle you like, perfectly viewable from that perspective as though head-on. A bit like the ads angled for the gantry cameras on rugby pitches. FromSoft reckons clans will love this.

So that's "configurable". Which leaves the mechs shooting at each other. A funny thing, too, since if you leave them shooting each other you'll lose the war.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Offline, first of all, you're treated to a pretty sizable campaign. There are six classes in the game - soldier, sniper, defender, scout, heavy gunner and commander - with seven missions for each and a final boss, and the missions will gradually introduce you to the disciplines required to handle each type of mech (remember, there's scope for configuration wherever you head), ramping up in difficulty as it goes. Initially you're loaned a hound and parts because you can't afford much, and the story's the same if you want to go online without grafting your way through the single-player, too. Pre-rolled may be fine. From my perspective it wasn't a problem anyway - SEGA's QA department made me a shiny green fellow with a ridiculously powerful cannon and speedy caterpillar tracks. Muahaha.

Once you're in the fray you're able to roll around with the left stick, aim with the right, and switch between third and first-person views by clicking in the right thumb-stick. Whichever viewpoint you're not using is shown window-in-window in the top-right. You certainly make plenty of use of both though, because while third-person is handy for keeping an eye on your surroundings, navigating terrain and so on, first offers gun-sights. With which you'll have plenty of things to aim at.

Buildings are there to be stomped. For extra fun, pretend people are in them!

Although there's a big single-player campaign, and it's possible to solo online to a certain extent - or fill in the blanks with AI-controlled mechs - the real object is to conquer the world. To actually conquer it. Pick-up games are possible, but the main focus is called the Neromius War - a revolving conflict of push and pull, offering the kind of scale to the multiplayer mode that Steel Battalion reached for before it stumbled over the weight of its inherent catch-22. Well, both of them.

Which is to say that the Neromius War is a screen of flag icons spread over three nations, with three factions fighting for their control. Each flag represents a clutch of battlegrounds you can enter and try and influence, but eventually someone wins. The first side to be completely suppressed can choose exile or asylum - mercenary duties, effectively - with one of the other two. And once the war is completely resolved, the next war starts. The limit for individual battles is six versus six, but squads (clans) can support up to 20, so a concerted evening-long offensive could steamroller the disorganised.

Naturally then it's about team-play. There are variations on the conditions, but on the whole the basic game we were introduced to made sense by itself - and the COMBAS tower control angle is quite ingenious. Each one and its ownership is marked on the satellite view you can bring up by pressing the Y button, and capturing them is a case of moving close to them for a short while - as with the flags in Battlefield. Once under your control, the COMBAS tower creates a bubble within which communications are possible, whether via voice or through selectable pre-set commands you can access with the d-pad. If you stray outside the COMBAS bubble, you have no direct communications, which is a problem. And just because you own COMBAS towers on opposite sides of the map doesn't mean the two areas can communicate; you need to connect the bubbles through overlapping. In a game of six versus six with some 15-20 COMBAS towers, positioning is likely to play a big role, and a good balance of classes - faster scouts, consolidation from heavy gunners - equally important.

It's all a big online tug-of-war. Each icon represents several battles.

Another layer of help comes from the commander class. Commanders can talk to the troops and, obviously, issue orders - but they can also act as their own small, portable COMBAS towers. By positioning one between two separate comms bubbles, they can act as a bridge - like the soldier clutching two ends of telegraph wire with signals pumping through his corpse.

From our experience playing it, combat is highly tactical. High ground is very valuable, for example, but if you stand up there and then try machinegunning or firing weak rocket salvos, a skilled sniper or decently competent missile launcher will be able to take you down regardless. And while speed may be your friend out in the open, in urban environments it can see you careening awkwardly into structures you're forced to expend ammo on to remove. Each of your mech's component parts has a specific durability rating too, so it's rarely a foregone conclusion - a skilful or even lucky shot to the right area can be crippling, taking out weapon arrays, and a misstep on a mountainside can impede your manoeuvrability by damaging the legs once you drop. But, for every Ying there's a Yang - in the shape of equippable glider parts and so on.

Ultimately Chromehounds is likely to be one of two things: a victim of its scope, or a success because of it. A lot of its popularity online - where it needs to be popular to really mean anything - will probably owe to review scores focusing on single-player. We hope it works out. It has the potential to go wrong, as do all risky endeavours - but it also has the potential to go right, and drag your weekly Ghost Recon crowd into the mechanised future in the process.

Chromehounds is due out on Xbox 360 on July 7th, and should be playable in demo form on Xbox Live Marketplace around now.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com