Reviews

Game of the Month - August 2006

Chromehounds

The first thing Armored Core veterans will notice when they power up their lumbering “chromehound” is that this game offers a much better control system. Armored Core, for those not in the know, is the long-running mech series from Chromehounds developer From Software—and the game most folks thought this 360 title would mimic almost completely.

It does borrow a lot of elements from the old series, especially when it comes to customizing your mech, or “hound.” As you play through the single-player campaign, a seemingly endless array of parts can be earned and used to build or upgrade your hound to your liking. By the time you’ve played through most of the campaign, you can build one heck of a gun-bristlin’ war machine, which you can then take online in Chromehounds’ innovative new multiplayer mode.

Chromehounds’ online world is a perpetual one, where different factions are constantly at war for territory. After choosing where your loyalties lie (you’re required to side with a specific country online), you get to join a squad and participate in various missions to further the cause, earning cash to upgrade your custom hound or expand your mother country’s war coffers. It’s all very cool. Of course, you can switch allegiances without having to start from scratch, should you find out your country’s made up of a bunch of boneheads and team-killers. The same goes if you find that your particular play style (each mech plays a very particular role, like a gunner, sniper or scout) isn’t suited to the teams you end up playing with.

The online mode is definitely the biggest draw in Chromehounds, as the single-player campaigns, while engaging, really aren’t nearly as exciting. And it’s online where the whole idea of a squad-based mech game really plays out, thanks to the way you must specialize each mech to play a very particular role on the team.

The best aspect of Chromehounds, though, is that it borrows some of the best elements of the Armored Core series but leaves the unwieldy control system behind. For the most part, Chromehounds is user-friendly in every way—from trundling out onto the field for your first sortie to building your very own hound. Will Chromehounds convert a whole generation to war-lovin’ robot pilots? Probably not. But for those who’re sick of mech games that are tougher to control than a 747, it’s just about perfect.

—Greg Sewart

From Where?

Although From Software is most widely known for the Armored Core series, this developer has been around for about 20 years, releasing nearly every type of game you can think of. Some other notable titles include the King’s Field series on the PlayStation, the PS2 horror adventure Kuon, and the cult Xbox action game Otogi.