Auto Assault: AA West Coast Tour - GameDaily Update

The wasteland is more fun than you think.

For this round of testing I decided to be a Human, female Bounty Hunter by the name of Mad_Maxiane. I know, not the most original name, but I felt obliged to pay homage to one of my all-time favorite movie characters. I'm not sure if it was the new build or if it was the change of Race (from being a Biomek)... but this felt like a completely different game experience.

Perhaps the two biggest additions, aside from all the graphical tweaking (while much improved, still needs "more") and boosting the number of characters allowed per server to 12, is the inclusion of the new Battle Mode and Power Allocation Systems. There is a small HUD piece above the Health/Power/XP window in the lower-right corner of your screen showing three different icons for the Battle Mode System: Stealth, Combat and Sniper. These can be changed on the fly, but only one mode can be active at a time. Each class has three modes, and when used properly can greatly improve your stats.

The New Power Allocation System is just as cool. Surrounding the speedometer is a new ring with three different power modes: Speed, Offense and Defense. Clicking on any of these options in the outer ring allocates more power to one of them. But doing so will decrease the other stats. So for instance you move the dial to Speed, your speed will be boosted by 20%, but both your offense and defense powers will be reduced by 13%. You can click the button in the center to return to a neutral state.

We'll go into more detail about these two new features that so far seemed to have change the game considerably. Some of the other highlights from this patch (go here for the whole list) include a major graphic pass done to character art, as well as tricks and trims for your vehicle. There are now over 150 unique chassis in the game, and they added over 500 new, rare, item enhancements to satiate all you loot freaks.

GameDaily recently attended an Auto Assault demonstration, and Scott Brown (project lead) was there to answer questions. We asked Scott what the advantages of teaming up would be as opposed to soloing, since AA can be completely soloed. NetDevil plans on addressing this issue in several ways. First, there will be more XP granted for completing missions while in a group. Case in point, the new build has changed group experience calculations by giving an extra 10% XP per group member. While skill sets are designed to be self-sufficient for each player, they will also be complimentary while in a four-man convoy. Lastly, there is built in voice support to make grouping easier.

As previously mentioned, when NetDevil decided to go back to the drawing board, they broke down the development team into individual "strike teams," creating one for each race and allowing them to focus on each one independently from the other teams. This is working so well that when the game releases the individual strike teams will remain intact.

Dan Sandler, a member of Legion of Velocity wanted to know if there was going to be anymore real world structures or monuments in the game, ala the VLA (Very Large Array) seen if you're a Mutant. Scott said that there will be a few, but referred to them as being rather "sparse" for the most part.

NCsoft recently announced the contents of the Limited Edition version of Auto Assault, and if it does sell at the anticipated price of US$59.99, it's one helluva an incredible value! The LE version will include:

*A premium Creative Labs headset and microphone (HS-150) to use with the game's built-in voice chat system.

*A CD soundtrack featuring music specially created for the game by electronic music pioneer Richard Dekkard.

*An exclusive in-game Remote Control style vehicle that follows the player around the game world. Think of it as a "pet."

*ƒxAll three starter packs for the Auto Assault Online Trading Card Game from Worlds Apart.

*Ammunition Style Collectors Box.

*A 14-day trial code you can give to friends that don't already have an account.

We did a little more digging about the RC "pets" and were told that they will be like companion "pets" you see in other games. While you can't name them, and they don't participate in combat, they will follow you around and do jumps and tricks (basically they have a mind of their own).

Preorders can be applied to either the Limited Edition or Standard Edition of the game. As each new build is released, this game just keeps getting more and more enjoyable. Now that it's personally at a level that I'd pay for, backed with an incredible LE version at an unbelievable price, I'm clickety-clicking on over to my favorite online gaming retailer and laying down my clink for it! Monthly subscription pricing hasn't been announced yet, but it will be in the coming weeks.

Auto Assault is nearing the finish line and it's shaping up to be one extremely slick and powerful mean machine. Stay tuned to GameDaily as we hang on for dear life, updating you as we cling along for the ride!

by Eli "The Mad Man" Shayotovich