Auto Assault: Information from Answers.com

Platform: IBM PC Compatible
Release Date: April 13, 2006
Genre: Role-Playing
Style: Persistent World Online RPG

Game Description

Online PC game publisher NCsoft moves from swords, sorcery, and superheroes to souped-up street racing with Auto Assault, a "massively multiplayer" game of vehicular combat, developed by Colorado's NetDevil. Set in a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of Mad Max movies, Auto Assault has players taking the roles of futuristic road warriors, battling over the scraps of a crumbling civilization in their highly customizable cars, trucks, and cycles.

Players can choose to drive for one of three competing factions: the humans, the mutants, or the biomeks. Cooperative, competitive, and solo play are all supported. Compared to earlier persistent-world role-playing games, Auto Assault is designed to offer more accessible, action-oriented gameplay that doesn't rely on complicated experience systems or grueling "grinds" to reward players. Like most persistent-world PC games, Auto Assault requires an Internet connection and charges a monthly subscription fee for continued play.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

In the competitive market of persistent world role-playing games, a title has to either have a standout theme or it has to build the "better mousetrap" to keep players hooked. The latter aspect is arguably the most important. A successful online RPG is measured by how addictive, how compelling the content is, as paying subscribers rationalize the added monthly expense for their newfound fix. Auto Assault earns points for its post-apocalyptic, car combat theme that is part Mad Max and part Twisted Metal. Yet underneath its swirling sands and radioactive fallout, Auto Assault sputters where it should accelerate, raising concerns about its long-term appeal.

Players begin by choosing one of three races, a class, and a vehicle. Classes in Auto Assault are strikingly similar to fantasy archetypes. The Biomek agent class, for example, resembles the traditional rogue with the ability to blind opponents and use invisibility to sneak in areas undetected. Each vehicle can also be outfitted with an array of guns, missiles, armored plating and other parts, a modern update to chain mail, bows, and swords. Experience points earned by defeating enemies and completing quests enable players to acquire new skills in combat, leadership, stealth, and other race- and class-specific areas, so the framework is identical to other online RPGs.

Even the combat isn't as dramatic a shift from more conventional fare, with the keyboard and mouse surprisingly adept at maneuvering the vehicle, firing weapons, and activating skills. While a gamepad enhances one's enjoyment, the developers have made the action fast and chaotic without becoming toochaotic, thanks to an extremely helpful lock-on targeting feature. Another bright spot is the ability to solo a strong majority of the content, with teams (referred to as convoys) completely optional for the bulk of standard and instanced missions. Solo players looking to gun things down for a few hours can do so without feeling guilty about leaving friends in the lurch or having to wait for a team.

Where Auto Assault breaks down is in the area of imagination, which is a surprise given the interesting choice in theme. Repetitiveness is the game's biggest enemy, with the bleak world built for high-speed combat and little else to entice players to explore every dusty inch. Gangs continuously harass vehicles that drive into their zones, and after a few levels worth of blowing them into squishy chunks, you're ready to give them your keys. The trite, "fetch this, collect that, kill so-and-so" quests do little to inspire repeat trips, as the action decays into a monotonous grind for items to craft new equipment. Instead of blazing a trail into new territory, Auto Assault takes a promising idea and throws it on cruise control.