Chromehounds Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 7 July, 2006

Dog's dinner, more like.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Those of you with long memories and Bill Gates CEO Microsoft press badges might remember an exciting clip shown off a couple of E3s ago from a SEGA-published From Software title called Chromehounds. This is obviously that. And that was, it turns out, the intro movie. It's looping in the background as I type - busily telling the story of a bitter conflict between mercenaries of the future, who dart through crumbling cities in nimble but heavily armoured walking robots doing war on each other. Some scout, others clash and others still assault the enemy from the bylines - the barrels of their monstrous sniper rifles peering out of what used to be the windowframes of a bustling industrial complex. A year ago, the trailer stood out - even amongst Fighters Virtua and Hedgehogs Sonic. A year on it stands out again - against the plodding nonsense of the game it portends.

The story the game tells is of a supposedly complex fictional situation on a futuristic Eurasian landmass; where diverse nations form uneasy alliances and said giant mercenary robots flog their services to the highest bidder. Any similarity to any person or presumably robot living or dead is entirely coincidental, the game warns us, before proceeding to talk about America and the USSR and insurgents and oddly named middle-eastern countries like Tarakia, and how it all descends into war because the higher-ups want it to.

It's all themes of valour and home and "something's telling me this little incident isn't going to go away quietly", and each of the six story arcs that play out in the single-player game explore this stuff through the medium of shoddy dialogue about crumbly warriors fighting to protect their own interests. It's classic old-days, "I don't know why I'm telling you this, mercenary, but it's presumably something to do with the plot," and it's wretched, really. And what's up with all sentences...

'Chromehounds' Screenshot blowup

You can blow all this stuff up. And by 'blow it up' I mean 'shoot it until it sinks into the ground'.

...broken by incongruous pauses during the narration?

Another thing - how is it that these walking robots became the final answer to the question of how to wage war anyway? They have awful manoeuvrability, and they can't even look up. If one of these moaning warriors invented, I dunno, a couple of logs, the war could be over tomorrow. Have we learned nothing from the Ewoks? And surely explaining why all these robots are suddenly better than things which are so obviously more suited to futuristic war would make a slightly more interesting plot?

Fortunately you can ignore the one that is in place, and besides that the premise is solid enough and clearly works for From Software in Japan. Over there, the cottage industry for building your own robots and making them fight against a backdrop of warring soliloquies is alive and well (and Chromehounds seems to be doing rather well in their press), and even on the side of the world where Armoured Core means little and even the relatively exciting MechAssault is no longer something Microsoft's bothered about, it doesn't bode too badly.

There are six fundamental classes of mech, and they each approach battle in a certain way: soldiers get down and dirty on the frontlines, defenders are blockers with ludicrous armour and even more ludicrous weapons, scouts are used to secure advanced objectives and, well, scout, heavy gunners handle artillery, snipers are best deployed hundreds of metres from the firefight too, and tactics commanders can roam where they like, sipping from a glass of engine oil as they direct the battle.

'Chromehounds' Screenshot base

Sometimes you get to destroy an enemy base. This involves standing next to it pressing the fire button for five minutes.

As well as "borrowing" mechs with certain loadouts and characteristics, you can build your own in a lovingly detailed editor that allows you to graft all the weapons you could want (even several at a time if you want each weapon 'set' to be particularly deadly), and the only provisos are cost, physical restrictions and loss in speed for each addition. Certain types of mech, like scouts, can also deploy other tools like mine detectors to help them avoid mishap in the field. And, as you work through the single-player side, you gather more parts for use here - as well as camo patterns and other symbols that you can apply to your mech's armour.

The twist in all this is that Chromehounds is about co-operating rather than going alone. Really, the single-player's just there to fatten you up, but even here co-operation is key, and most of your objectives (and certainly the top 'S' ranks for each level - a full set of which bags you a neat gamerpoint bonus) are contingent on the survival of allies. Online, the idea is that full-scale war has broken out, and the action is spread across several countries and specific battle areas, or levels, where you and group of friends can represent a particular nation. You take on small, eliminate-all-the-enemy type individual missions to build up a fund of cash to spend on your kit, and there are free battles to take part in as well.

By joining or recruiting for a squad, you can engage in the main event - an actual war - pushing and pulling the lines back and forth. It's a bit more of a commitment than simply turning up one evening because you're bored, but with the right crowd it can be quite interesting. Success in battle results in substantive gain, and with three main sides it's possible to completely wipe one out and have them surrender. As you go, all sorts of damage is done and all sorts of point-heavy medals conferred - with the ultimate achievement complete victory over your rivals. Team sizes are a bit small, but it's forgivable when you're in a well-specced unit and you're up against a similarly intelligent enemy. There are various game-types, and an interesting take on the usual blanket voice-communication facility.

COMBAS towers, which you're meant to claim by lurking next to them, are dotted around each map and create a communications bubble around them. It's only in the bubble that team comms are possible. So the only way to push the limit of your communication bubble (alright, "Network Area") is to go off and capture other COMBAS towers. Unsecured gaps can break up communications between commanders and their troops on the frontline.

Diligent use of the tactics commander mech type can help you out here though, and probably requires further explanation. TCs are rolling Network Areas, and can be used not only to identify enemy units and alert colleagues to their location through a rudimentary system of d-pad commands (or via voice), but can also bridge gaps between friendly COMBASs. TCs spend most of their time looking at the map, and it's pretty basic work - there's no zooming around in 3D like an RTS, certainly - but along with COMBASs it amounts to an interesting take on traditional mech combat, and lends multiplayer, in particular, a palpable aura of strategy.

However, there is a problem with all of this, and unfortunately it's rather a big one: Chromehounds is really, really, really boring to play.

You can forgive the story (yes it's rubbish, but it's not the point). You can forgive the small numbers of players online (I certainly can, since the game is sure to see a bit of growth right after it comes out today). But the pace is awful. Even on something relatively mobile like caterpillar tracks, if you tool yourself up with more than a bargepole to swat at people you'll take a massive speed hit, and with so much ordnance flying around you'd be ill-advised to go in under-stocked. Jumping into the scout campaign and being told of my high mobility, it was a bit depressing to discover that this basically meant walking instead of sauntering.

'Chromehounds' Screenshot online

Online things get a bit more exciting. Do you follow orders, or play the maverick? Do you fill the time you spending walking places chatting, or doing a bit of knitting?

The single-player game sows the seeds for this slothful pace in endless brown and gold and grey fields of battle that you have to plod across for what seems like an eternity to get anywhere. Often while your commander-du-jour is busy telling you to get a move on in gratingly affected tones. Cleverly, the developers also throw in huge mountains you can't climb and rivers of mud that slow you down - you can avoid them, but usually it takes longer anyway. As for the scout missions I mentioned - some of them simply involve pootling around for a quarter of an hour in the dark. Well done.

Once you do get somewhere exciting, you can switch between up to four weapon sets with the right bumper and fire at will, clicking in the right analogue stick to switch between third- and first-person views - the latter zoomed depending on the weapon. But the combat's awful. The third-person camera is angled down slightly with no crosshair, so you can scarcely aim at anything without relying on the window-in-window first-person view - something that never came naturally while I was on the front. Played in first-person, your peripheral vision's suddenly grossly limited, but at least you can hit things; providing you can get the awkward analogue aiming to fix on a target, or your view isn't being horribly obscured (and the game slowed down) by billowing smoke and explosive effects (which still fail to mask the way certain enemies, particularly tanks, simply fade away once they're hit, rather than actually disintegrating). Tactics commanders have it a bit better, but not much - they can avoid battle, and don't have to pootle around so much, but their reward is, er, watching coloured icons move very slowly across a map screen.

'Chromehounds' Screenshot customise

Each mech can be customised to a huge degree. And they show real signs of wear and tear too.

It's all a bit of a chore, and even the high-resolution mech models and excellent editing suite can't help it - the latter bodes well for cyberpunk artists, but only providing they want to showcase their wares in the midst of a raging inferno. There are other problems offline, like night missions where you can see virtually nothing (and yes I did find the night vision button, although I'll freely admit that this may still be a brightness failure on my part - wouldn't be the first time). Meanwhile, mission structure often relies on noting where the maddeningly swift smaller enemies spawn so that if you do fail and have to start again, you can at least make sure you're in the right place and not spend two or three boring minutes staggering slowly toward the white noise of anguish flooding from your dying comrades' diesel-soaked lungs. Did I mention that the first thing that seems to go when you take damage is speed?

There are some plus points, certainly - control of the COMBAS towers, in particular, has a tangible importance that resonates throughout with greater effect than any of the other UT-Domination-inspired game ideas I've encountered recently. But like the mech editor, it's a well implemented idea in a fairly shonky game - and not one that I can imagine Xbox 360 players sticking with for more than a handful of hours tops, no matter how starved they are for new releases at the moment.

4 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (92) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bauhaus #1 6 years ago

    Ooooh, just popping out to get this.

    Sorry, *was* just about to pop out is what i meant.


    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 13:45

  • riz23 #2 6 years ago

    Even after Tom put the boot in? Mine is waiting for me when I get home...

  • jack_klugman #3 6 years ago

    Did neither of you play the atrocious demo?

  • v3rtigo #4 6 years ago

    Ouch - the demo was fairly representative then...

  • coojam #5 6 years ago

    I thought the demo was fairly decent...though, as mentioned in the review, totally different to THAT video we all saw last year.

  • riz23 #6 6 years ago

    What can I say? I'm a sucker for Mecha games. I thought the demo was alright though. Not really an Oblivion beater but worth a punt

  • Hicksy #7 6 years ago

    Mech games have never pressed my buttons but this is unfortunate!

  • Dizzy #8 6 years ago

    4 seems a bit harsh... from players on the internet it seems to be quite a solid game in multiplayer and that can only improve when more start playing. It looks a bit like an aquired taste... slow tactical combat instead of fast and furious.

    Seems to be more of a Sim game than an FPS with robots.
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 14:16

  • Xephon70 #9 6 years ago

    Best waiting until it's cheaper then, I'm a sucker for mecha games, but I can wait for this. Bring on Mobile Suit Gundam...

  • TripSkyway #10 6 years ago

    If you liked the demo then you should like the full game, as it's an improvement on the missions in that. The online experience really starts picking up with a squad of 3 or more, and can be really entertaining.

    I didn't particularly like the demo, but found that after some extended play time the game grows on you more and more. The single player seems to be a training exercise for the online, but has a few good fun missions.

    Connecting to the server can be really irritating at the moment, as long periods during peak hours, result in repeated"cannot connect to the chromehopunds server" messages.
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 14:02

  • Heartcore_Ninja #11 6 years ago

    Wow! Is this game really *that* bad?

  • rinoaMW #12 6 years ago

    oh phew- i saw this in GAME over lunch and was tempted - thanks EG! ^^

    Still feeling that dry summer patch though, it seems :/
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 14:03

  • Glitch #13 6 years ago

    I havn't played the game yet, will do tonight or tomorrow. It might be bad but I think 4 is abit too low. Is the reviewer a rpg whore or something?

  • Fatnick #14 6 years ago

    Either my radar has seriously gone off the boil, or the industry has gone a bit mental of late. Over the last couple of weeks i've got my grubby mits on both this and the poorly recieved 'Over G', and have had fun with both.

    The review does raise a few fair points. All mechs aside from the Wheeled ones do certainly seem a little slow, for example, and the reviewer has even ignore some irritating aspects of the game such as the occasional screen-tearing, but i don't know - i get the feeling you'd have to be some kind of robot yourself to garnish absolutley no pleasure from playing this. Who knows, perhaps things will take a drastic turn for the worst once i get in a bit further, but at the moment the ability to stomp on little enemy mens coupled with the ability to cause genuinely impressive explosions by blowing up gas silos means this game is surely worth at least 6/10. Especially since the mech i've built from the rubbish default parts looks better than about 90% of the offerings found in the Mech Assault games.

  • binky #15 6 years ago

    oh dear :(

  • Whizzo #16 6 years ago

    Blowing up the fuel depots at night is certainly spectacular stuff. As is being some distance away and seeing your allied forces having a long range rocket duel with some enemies.

    I only started playing this last night and was initially turned off by it completely but it slowly starts to grow on you.

    I'm looking forward to giving MP a go, it's obviously a title that's been written with that in mind.

  • rinoaMW #17 6 years ago

    @Fatnick

    even 6/10 doesn't exactly scream "buy me" though really :)
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 14:29

  • jack_klugman #18 6 years ago

    the reviewer has even ignore some irritating aspects of the game such as the occasional screen-tearing

    By focussing on irritating aspects of the game such as the utter lack of fun?

  • Fatnick #19 6 years ago

    That's why i said 'at least'. The online mode seems somewhat more intimidating than your average live affair. I have a feeling this game will make a lot more sense when you play it on live.

  • York #20 6 years ago

    I guess that after you've seen Metal Combat in action, everything else pales in comparison.

  • MikeP #21 6 years ago

    It's all about the multiplayer for me, just a shame that the SP sounds ropey.

    I guess it's an unavoidable consequence of multiplayer-focussed games that reviewing code ahead of the public launch means that a lot of the intented flavour of the game won't come across.

    Which is a pity, because when the SP gets slagged less people will get engaged in the multiplayer, dragging that down as well.

    However, I don't really care - occassionally I'll take a punt on something, so I bought it today. This might turn into one of those niche experiences that a small audience get a lot out of.

  • JediMasterMalik #22 6 years ago

    I love the way blackdog sets him up to get flamed so easily. :p

  • KillahSouljah #23 6 years ago

    Another crap game for the 360... tut tut...

  • toy_brain #24 6 years ago

    Where is my Metal Wolf Chaos dammit!

  • nickthegun #25 6 years ago

    I hated the demo, so the scor eis no surprise.

    The best thing about it was walking around stomping on people. And even that got old after a few minutes.

  • Eighthours #26 6 years ago

    It was one of the worst and more boring demos ever, IMO, so I'm not overly surprised.

  • Mr_Whacker #27 6 years ago

    Well the demo did nothing for me but the Live stuff sounds great. Not enough for me to hand over the cash though.

  • Eighthours #28 6 years ago

    Review misses the point somewhat... if you want an arcade experience then yeah, move along... This is one for the seriously hardcore mech obsessives.. its heavy, slow and you can't dodge incoming fire, you just have to take it and return fire. It's got far more in common with old tank sims than it has with FPS or TPS games... It's a simulation approach to a fictional vehicle.

    You can be "serious" and sim, and still be enjoyable. Still have thrilling gameplay, great graphics, amazing immersion, etc etc.

    Chromehounds has none of these things. "Sim" isn't another word for "shit". The game is a slow, trudging exercise in boredom. Steel Battalion was way more exciting. And immersive. And more of a sim.

  • repairmanjack #29 6 years ago

    Timely review, but I think the demo warned most of us in good time. I wouldn't spend more than a tenner on it.

  • darkbhudda #30 6 years ago

    You'd expect a game with Chrome in the title to have a little more shine.

  • bloodflowers #31 6 years ago

    Not impressed by the demo. Sparse landscapes - fine, I can live with that if it's smooth. Oh.. It isn't? Maybe the gameplay is good?

    Two hours later I had crossed the river in front of me, and turned it off ;-)

  • Azazel #32 6 years ago

    Hmm, good job I never bothered downloading the demo then.

  • n3rdh8r #33 6 years ago

    What amuses me most is that in a sheer brilliant stroke of genius they uploaded this to XBL! Now we all get to enjoy this utter crap~!

  • Realtime #34 6 years ago

    ManicMinerUK, I do agree with what you said about Chromehounds as From Software did mention, it was a team game and I'm sure it kicks a$s online. For me though playing the marketplace download didn't give the game in it's right light, maybe if they had given us a timed online play like Test Drive, then that would have given us a better idea on what this game was all about.

    This is the subsitute for Steel Battalions without wallet damage.
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/06 @ 17:11

  • Darth_Flibble #35 6 years ago

    I wanted to like the game but after playing the demo I hated it. You would think they would choose better levels for a demo

  • MikeP #36 6 years ago

    Surely they'll release a multiplayer demo as well?

    If they can get a bunch of regular players going then I think dropping demo players into that environment to show what the game plays like online would do more than anything to sell the thing.

  • Xerx3s #37 6 years ago

    Chrownedhounds.

    lol. ;p

    Hmmm, this or Prey..... Though choice... ;p


    Oh well, I just hope that fasa or anyone else wants to do a BT game again. :( It's been sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long...

    Lemme guess who gave the 1.0....

  • Krun #38 6 years ago

    If they release a multiplayer demo I may reconsider getting this, but the SP demo realy put me off. After playing the huge Prey demo, the CHounds demo was so short it didnt grab my attention at all.

    ManicminerUK has reignited my interest in this, the Online game sounds tempting and as I get older the idea of tactical skill over twich reaction appeals to me more and more.

    Just like many here, I may wait till its in the bargin bin. Sounds like a game alot of people will sell off directly after buying it.

  • DjWhizzkidd #39 6 years ago

    Played the demo, and it was the most boring thing that ever happened to me.

    Im about to give up on the 360, so much potential, so few games.

    And yes, I do own one.

  • penhalion #40 6 years ago

    Hmmm

    I read the review and got this anyway. Eurogamer's XBox360 reviews have been missing the mark lately. Maybe everyone there is waiting for the mythical PS3 to show up and start the HD revolution....

    I started playing this and immediately realised that the scale of objects meant that the hounds appear to lumber while covering good distances fairly quickly. It's kind of like a knight looking up at a slow moving giant only to realise that each of the giants strides is a league all by itself. Suddenly running away seems a futile gesture!

    Tactics like hiding your hound on a hill of trees and firing a barrage of armour peircing rounds into the body of an enemy is satisfying. Firing rockets over a house while an enemy tries desperately to blow away your cover feels like a proper battle. Sacrificing speed for firepower is just a simple tactical choice and one that any real army makes every day.

    I don't understand why EG was expecting anything other than the tacktical battles that they got.

  • Zawath #41 6 years ago

    Sounds like the reviewer was expecting a new Mech Assault. Too bad Chromehounds was never meant to be a fastpaced Mech Assault clone. The only reason people complain about the slow speed of the game is because of Mech Assault and other arcade games similar to that. Mech are supposed to be slow.

  • absolutezero #42 6 years ago

    >>Mech are supposed to be slow.

    No they are'nt. Watch more Gundam, or actually any mecha anime. Even in realistic shows like Gasaraki the mechs are still speedy, interesting looking things. Chromehounds just crawls.

  • Sl1pstream #43 6 years ago

    I hated the demo, but the full game (as in online game) is really, really fun. I picked it up, still not knowing what to expect and I was surprised how fun it was.


    > No they are'nt. Watch more Gundam, or actually any mecha anime. Even in realistic shows like Gasaraki the mechs are still speedy, interesting looking things. Chromehounds just crawls.

    You're talking about anime :/
    As there are no mechs in real life, I guess you can compare it to a giant tank. Have you ever seen a tank that went really fast?

  • The-Bodybuilder #44 6 years ago

    I'm baffed by this review.
    I would have expected this review in about a weeks time (like you sometimes do), due to the fact that it's supposed to be a slow, online co-op games, and you would obviously need more people fo this.

    Sounds like EG wanted mech assault, and judged the game mainly on the single player (even if from software has said many many times its for online).

    I mean, all the features of the online world that manicminer mentioned weren't even touched on. These are integral parts of the online world, which is the main part of the game.
    To overlook these (due to the obvious low number of online users) and judge it on the SP is, quite simply, stupid.

    If you like sim-type mechs, read the japanesse reviews as they are the experts on these things (as even the review has stated). If you want a mech assault-type game that EG were expecting, then go for the EG review.

    I don't own LIVE (yet) so I won't buy it till I get it.

    I'm just amazed that many of the online features mentioned by manicminer (and others) weren't even touched on.

    P.S: don't mind the spelling mistakes. I'm tired and it's night. ;-)

  • Macross #45 6 years ago

    I really like this game so far, i dont know why EG gave it such a crap review apart from the demo, which was crap, the game is really good itself. If there is one review that EG has ever done that I disagree with it is this one.


    Sorry mate but you are wrong wrong wrong (or maybe i am just too much of a mech fan)

    EDIT: I do own the game and I have thouroghly enjoyed it so far, dont let the absolutely shite demo put you off what is actually a gem of a game.
    Edited by 1 at 08/07/06 @ 00:33

  • Drakron #46 6 years ago

    Challenger 2: Road speed 59 km/h (37 mph)
    Leclerc: Road speed 71 km/h
    Leopard 2: Road speed 70 km/h
    M1 Abrams: Road speed 72 km/h (45 mph)
    T-80: Road speed 70 km/h

    Those are MBT and tracked, wheeled reach around 100 km/h on road.

    We are not in 1915 anymore ...

  • ave #47 6 years ago

    Pretty lacklustre review all-in-all, the main negative points were:
    1)Poor story
    2)Slow gameplay
    3)Poor single player

    Ignoring 2) for the moment, you still scored UT2004 9/10 despite it most certainly suffering from #1+#3.

    Now, you decided that slow gameplay means poor gameplay, and in your summary decided that every single person will dislike it as much as you "and not one that I can imagine Xbox 360 players sticking with for more than a handful of hours tops, no matter how starved they are for new releases at the moment.".

    Considering other reviews, word of mouth and even comments in this section by other owners, we can see that that's bullshit. Comparing to ut2k4 again,I found it's gameplay way too fast and was turned off by it. If my name was Tom Bramwell, should I have given it a 4 purely because the speed of its gameplay didnt appeal to me, despite it appealing to many others?

    Why do the xbox360 reviews bring out the worst in EG reviewers? It's not that you're necessarily wrong, but that your reviews never really give credence to your scores.


    @Drakron, the most important part in your post was "Road speed". Cross country most modern MBT's fall to below 30mph.
    Edited by 1 at 08/07/06 @ 07:05

  • Fatnick #48 6 years ago

    "
    Now, you decided that slow gameplay means poor gameplay, and in your summary decided that every single person will dislike it as much as you "and not one that I can imagine Xbox 360 players sticking with for more than a handful of hours tops, no matter how starved they are for new releases at the moment."

    Yes, it is a bit odd. It's a Mech Game. Not Riiiiidge Racer. I don't remember the likes of Mech Warrior having their scores drastically cut due to the amount of time you could spend sauntering about on the landscape trying to trudge your way from objective A to objective B.

  • JediMasterMalik #49 6 years ago

    Wow you people are seriously offended by this review aren't you. Jeez it's only his opinion, no need to say it's unjust.

    Here's another review: http://ww w.gamebrink.com/xbox-360/1568-C...

  • Dodgymat #50 6 years ago

    Best online experience I've had since 1999.

    First day I played this for 2 hours offline doing some missions as I couldn't get on the server. When I did get on I stayed on, and found myself leaving 13 hours later. Seems to me the reviewer just didn't ''get'' the game or skimmed over the excellent online features as it was hometime.

    So to summarise - 2 hours offline + 13 hours online on day one, 'nuff said.

  • Fatnick #51 6 years ago

    "Wow you people are seriously offended by this review aren't you. Jeez it's only his opinion, no need to say it's unjust."

    As far as single player games go, thats pretty true. Its more insidious with multiplayer games, however. There are certainly a number of Xbox games that would have benefited from the larger online following that would have come from nicer publicity.

  • Sl1pstream #52 6 years ago

    The gamebrink review is even worse. He even says he couldn't find a squad (which you need if you want to join the online war). If you can't even play the game as it's meant to be played, why bother posting your review. Also, take a look at the user score on gamebrink. It's pretty high compared to the normal review, which was written by someone who called the game shit on Evil Avatar, even before he played it.

    But yes, the gameplay is a little slow, which isn't bad imo.

  • brombeer #53 6 years ago

    It makes me wonder why I have bothered getting the 360 in the first place. Where are all those 40+ titles which were promised at the end of 2005? Where are the decent titles which would at least justify the purchase of my NoiseBox (apart from Oblivion and GRAW there's not a lot of games worth buying the 360 for. And these can also be bought for PC anyway, for much less money...)?

  • Rombote #54 6 years ago

    Depressing read I'm afraid - first EG review I've seen that patently misses the point. The core focus of the game is its online gameplay, and the review completely skips that bit. A review is just a (published, influential) opinion, and that's how I'm reading it, but seriously... EG's seems cripplingly illinformed in this instance.

    I've been playing it a lot and finding it ace fun, for what it's worth.

  • Teeth #55 6 years ago

    I saw a couple of vids of this before it got released and have to say, if I were reviewing it I probably wouldn't even have bothered playing the single player. Definitely a multiplayer-focused title.

  • some1 #56 6 years ago

    "Here's another review: http://ww w.gamebrink.com/xbox-360/1568-C...

    ...and another twit trying to rate a game whose main advertised strengths are its online aspects. He complains about there being only 2 or 3 ppl playing per match online....for a game thats been on the market for...what.....24 hours? Need I say more?

    I'll be the first to admit I haven't played this title but i do quite remember reading the previews of this and noting that the developer was spending most of its resources on getting the multiplayer to be the main event while the SP campaign was to simply be training fodder.

    Sim-style mecha games are an aquired taste and I'm actually surprised that Sega invested in such a title for the western markets.

  • Mr_Brown #57 6 years ago

    I have to agree...after playing the demo, I thought it was a good idea, the graphics were great and etc but the gameplay just stunk. Which is a shame, its so close to being a good game.

  • Darth_Flibble #58 6 years ago

    just because you don't agree with the review, it does not mean it's shit review. The only times I've seen a crap review (in general) is when the reviewer hates that type of game and is biased

  • ave #59 6 years ago

    No, it's a shit review because he doesnt explain his reasons.

    He says it has slow gameplay, which is bad gameplay(why?), which makes it a bad game(how?).

    Thats a shit review.

  • ram #60 6 years ago

    The reviewer explains exactly why the slow speed of the game ruins the gameplay.

    e.g.... "the single-player game sows the seeds for this slothful pace in endless brown and gold and grey fields of battle that you have to plod across for what seems like an eternity to get anywhere."

    perhaps you just skipped to the score and didn't read the review?

  • Macross #61 6 years ago

    nearly finished the single player part of the game now (well unless you count getting S rank in all the missions, although i managed it in most of em so far). Once you get used to the pace its actually quite enjoyable, the only campaign that I didnt like much so far was the Heavy Assault one, but thats only cos im crappy with distances :p

    Id love to try out the multiplayer more but the damn server is down, well at least they are performing maintenance on it on the 11th so hopefully that wont happen much in the future.

    PS yeah the single player is a bit short, but basically its just glorified training for the MP element, its not too bad I guess cos ive been playing it all of saturday and a bit on friday and all this morning too.

  • Rambaldi #62 6 years ago

    I've never been a mech kinda guy, but I quite like this. It's clealry geared up for online, but so what. Quake 3 anyone? Unreal Tournament, non?

    Certainly not a 4. 6/7 depending on your willingness to become absorbed in a slower paced game.

    Can't believe nothing about the online war was mentioned in the review...

    EG: fill the other half of your glass....no...review, up ;)
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/06 @ 13:55

  • Darth_Flibble #63 6 years ago

    Quake 3 & Unreal Tournament were good in single player mode as well.

    EG is beginning to sound like Gamefaqs, the Chromehounds forum on there is full of people who can't understand that someone might have a different view.
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/06 @ 16:17

  • ave #64 6 years ago

    Ram:

    "e.g.... "the single-player game sows the seeds for this slothful pace in endless brown and gold and grey fields of battle that you have to plod across for what seems like an eternity to get anywhere.""

    Uh-huh, where exactly does that explain why slow = bad?

    It just says the single player is slow and it seemed to take a long time to get anywhere.(BECAUSE IT SEEMED SLOW PERHAPS?)


    @Darth_Flibble: They werent fun single player, because there was zero challenge offline. You might have liked playing them in deathmatch against bots(My experience of UT offline was "Hay, look i have teh uber skills for owning bots 20-0!", compared to online play against average players being like 5-10), me I dont see the point in playing them unless its against real people.
    Edited by 2 at 09/07/06 @ 17:36

  • absolutezero #65 6 years ago

    So wait, the slow speed is being attributed to the game being a mech sim, even though you can strap loads of silly guns onto your mech amd make it look like a big tower thing. Plus your meant to take this all seriously?

    This game is so awesome its like a sim but I can put guns on my guns!!

  • glaeken #66 6 years ago

    Did not like the demo much but might pick it up for on-line stuff once it gets cheap.

    Just on the lack of games for the 360 I do agree but would have to say look at the release list kicking in around August on this very site. There really are a lot of promising titles coming up in the last 1/4 of this year.

    It has been a lean period for 360 games the past few months though just looking like it is about to start getting a lot better. Let's just hope for no delays on any titles.

  • Xerx3s #67 6 years ago

    If they put up the MP demo, I am willing to give it another try, else it has failed. BT is slow as hell, but a shitload of fun. Slow != boring. The demo was just boring. As they aim at MP, they might put a MP demo online.

    As for the review; reviews are only oppinions. Ppl are after all, just ppl. So, he didn't mention the critical elements. That's why you have to read more than one review if you want to get a good idea. And may I suggest to that the ppl who disagree to write a reader review? You could always post the link to it in the comments section.

  • jlaakso #68 6 years ago

    Goddamn if I'm not tempted to buy this game, even though the demo was utter crap. Tactical, team-oriented, persistent online war with customizable mechs sounds just like my cup of tea, but the demo was so horribly slow... Then again, I've sat for several minutes at a time in a bush in Ghost Recon clanmatches.

    Probably going to go for a secondhand copy.

  • captainrentboy #69 6 years ago

    People moaning about the lack of games on the 360 at the moment saying it was all a waste of money,you know what to do don't you?Sell the bloody thing,you aren't going to lose that much over what you originally paid,and you wont have to sit there all sad and hard done by,thinking of how Microsoft lied to you then.Personally I'm used to the summer games drought,and really didnt think I'd have had 20 AAA releases for my lovely 360 over the last few months,but I know they're coming and when Dead Rising is released I'm going to jizz everywhere with pure joy.

  • linfknitz #70 6 years ago

    ^^
    /anticipates Dead Rising rolling over & muttering sympathetic platitudes e.g. "aww, that's ok baby" & "I'm sure you'll last longer next time", "it's flattering!".
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/06 @ 10:26

  • king_skins #71 6 years ago

    I would love to play the online section but everytime ]I try to connect I get a message saying "The chromehounds server is currently unavailable" and I get kicked back to the main menu :(
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/06 @ 11:02

  • Skooch #72 6 years ago

    I can only really see this game appealing to a niche group of gamers. It does play very slowly and the maps and UI are functional rather than appealing. The argument that a mech game should play slowly is somewhat misplaced as no modern warfare utilises frontline machines that move at snails pace, it would leave them too vulnerable. I guess if you like the demo then you'll like the full game, but from playing it myself I am hugely disappointed.

    Dead Rising best hurry........

  • S.J.Rogers #73 6 years ago

    I am getting really fed up with poor games being released for a supposedly top of the range, next generation console that I have paid over £300.00 to own.

    Have I wasted my money?

    When the 360 was first released and i got on Live I thought this was a fantastic glimpse of things to come but over the past 2 months with the lack of releases and the appalling quality of what is released it has mad me glad I have just purchased a new PC.


    It is now 3 weeks since I last switched on the 360!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #74 6 years ago

    I was thinking of downloading the demo. I am not really into mechs but seeing the game in a few video previews I thought it could actually be fun, despite looking slow as hell (Also because I think there was at least *some* hype about the game). Nothing bothers me more than walking around for minutes just to see one lousy enemy. On the other hand I really love Battlefield 2 and all the uncertainty that comes with it after minutes crawling through the grass without knowing if you are already in enemy territory.

    Seems like this game won't convert me to a mech lover. Still sad to hear that this game is not what many had hoped for - and especially what the 360 needed. I agree that there are not many quality games out there and there are a lot of people who doubt that owning a 360 was worth the money. For me I am happy as long as my PGR3 disc is working - and if Dead Rising will be a decent game.

  • Macross #75 6 years ago

    Chrome Hounds server is a bit pooped atm they are doing maintenance and allegedly adding another server in the US or somthing like that on the 11th. Maybe some of you guys who gave it such bad reviews should actually go and try what the game was designed to be..
    I have and it's good.

  • -=master=- #76 6 years ago

    I really think that the reviewer missed the spot on this.
    a poor review on a really great online game.

    the only thing wrong is that servers are constantly full and its impossible for the majority of people who bought the game to login to chromehounds online.

    at the moment this isn't a great problem, since the game has a long learning curve,
    but if it isn't fixed ASAP!! , then the game wil loose its momentum and it will become a wasted opportunity.


    p.s. you people think the game is too slow for you? lol
    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=xqeRxOPLSeE
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=xqeRxOPLSeE
    [/link]
    Edited by 3 at 11/07/06 @ 13:07

  • GordonJ@work #77 6 years ago

    Single player is quite bad though, to get S ranks you have to ignore the mission orders and just charge off and do you own thing, especially the heavy gunner missions where it's easier if you grab a faster soldier type hound and just race around compared to trying to hit anything with the howitzers (ps. armoured combat machines of the future dont have any range finding assistance, you're got to blow half your ammo just to judge the distance between you and the thing you're trying to blow up)

    Online it's a completely different game, and a lot more fun. Poor Tarakia http://ww w.sega.com/gamesite/chromehound...
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/06 @ 13:13

  • MikeP #78 6 years ago

    Managed to get online with some of the guys from the forum tonight, and online this is fantastic.

    It's going to take me a few evenings to really start exploring the online side, but all I can say is the 4/10 is very misrepresentative of the total package. Online, this is an 8 or 9 for me.

    There's a depth to this that I haven't seen in many other games. It's like the best bits of Rainbow 6 multiplayer. But with giant robots.

  • ssuellid #79 6 years ago

    Online is excellent - can see this being one of the best Live games I've played. We just fought quick death matches etc without getting involved in the war side of the online game - that promises to take Live games to a whole new level.

  • #80 6 years ago

    Oh dear, looks like EG really have messed up a little. Don't worry, I shall wipe the bum of the offending arse.

    /wipes Tom's bum

    There, all better now :)

  • Fatnick #81 6 years ago

    Online this really is phenomenal. Certainly one of the best games i've played on live and entire cities ahead of Mech Assault 1&2. 4/10 is wrong. Plain and simple.

  • #82 6 years ago

    Well, Tom obviously didn't like it, and personal opinion comes into it.

    Gah, who am I kidding, he's wrong!

  • Whizzo #83 6 years ago

    Online play is marvelous, the more I play the game, the more I think this is easily one of the games of the year.

  • HappyMonkey #84 6 years ago

    This gives a very nice video review

    [link url=http://www.gametrailers. com/
    ]http://www.gametrailers. com/
    [/link]

    Sorry can't do a direct link due to the way they setup their page. Anyway it basically says a mix of what the reviewer here said and the comments are saying. Okay single play, great online.

    Personally I was looking forward to this but thought the demo was a stinker. When the first review (here) came out I thought well I was right, but after all the comments posted I think there maybe more to it. I will go back to the single play demo and have another look. What I really want is a multiplay demo or somewhere that will rent me a copy.

  • ssuellid #85 6 years ago

    A online review needs doing - the single player part is not what a review should entirely be based on. The best 360 online game I have yet to play.

  • Vin #86 6 years ago

    Yeah, this game really rocks.

    REVIEW NULLIFIED.

  • widow88 #87 6 years ago

    First, I saw this review and wrote off the game. Forums are abuzz with how great this game is online. Went out and purchased it based on word of mouth and it's absolutley incredible. I built myself a Commander, upgraded it and now I feel like Patton barking orders on the battlefield. Awesome.

  • Krun #88 6 years ago

    Okay. I now have the game and here's why its miss understood.

    Yes it has slow paced game play. However this is NOT a bad thing in multiplayer because it gives you time to think and to speak.

    Designing your mechs and planning and executing attacks with squad mates gives this game a social aspect that even Halo2 cannot match.

    I give the game 8/10 (good but wont apeal to everyone)

    I give the reviewr 2/10 (because he didnt actually do his job and play the thing)

  • penfold #89 6 years ago

    I played the demo and wasn't too impressed, but bought it on impulse anyway.

    It's the first game i've got for the 360 thats justified the purchase of the console. The online game and mech customisation is the dogs bollocks.

  • JackB #90 6 years ago

    Eurogamer embarrased themselves giving this game a 4...

    The reviewer said, "and not one that I can imagine Xbox 360 players sticking with for more than a handful of hours tops..."

    Time for him to start IMAGINING!!!.... since I've not only sticking with this through 60+ hours, I'm not sure how I can stop!!!! :-) The online squad based Neroimus War is brilliant!!
    Edited by 1 at 20/07/06 @ 16:44

  • widow88 #91 6 years ago

    Chromehounds is now #3 overall of all XBL titles and that includes only Live Aware titles beating titles like Battlefield and Oblivion. Source majornelson.com. Worst review ever.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/06 @ 18:32

  • cyber_nicco #92 6 years ago

    I haven't played this yet, but I am quite interested in it. I like slow, thoughtful games. I like flight sims, slow tactical shooters, and I don't know how much time I spend just tuning a car in Forza before I race it. Oh, and I love mech games. In fact, all the other Xbox mech sims I have played (several of them) I didn't care for because of the quick arcadey gameplay.

    One comment on reviews and reviewers in general. I don't think it's right to say "it's just an opinion". If I just want somebody's opinion, I can just read the forums and skip the reviews. A professional reviewer should try to bring some level of objectivity to his reviews. Otherwise, I am just hearing some faceless person rambling on about what rocks or what sucks.

  • widow88 #93 6 years ago

    If you don't have xbl yea then I guess you can give the game a 4 but muliplayer on xbl is off the hook with tons of customization and squad strategy.

  • Shrimp #94 6 years ago

    Wrongest review ever.

    CH is fantastic - if you like Planetside, Tribes 2, Armored Core (but with a far far better mech builder), or just giant lovingly crafted robots in a persistent war, this game is for you.

    Even just for the single player content 4/10 is too low.

    Just don't expect lightning fast action - the pace is slow to give you more time to think about tactics.

  • Pirotic #95 6 years ago

    another one in the 'this review is just plain wrong' bag from me. the single player mode is at least a 6, add to that the brilliant online stuff and you could easily double this 4/10 and still remain harsh.

  • sambo_nz #96 5 years ago

    After a year under a rock, I decided to go out and take the plunge (ok so the fact it was on sale *may* have had something to do with that..)

    ..and now I'm annoyed I didn't buy it earlier, thanks largely to the review on this site.

    I cannot recall any other Xbox360 game with such a deep, customisable and persistent online gametype and experience?
    It's utterly unique, and most of all a hell of a lot of fun in compare to every other variation of FPS or racing game that clutters the online bitumen at the moment.

    The offline campaign is quite obviously just an interactive training video (and for those of you whom actually bother to read the manual, it states *exactly that*) to prepare you somewhat for the superb and detailed online component.

    The demo is absolutely no reflection of the XBL experience.
    If you are even vaguely interested in mech games, let alone a persistent online war, do yourself a favour and give it a rent at least.

    8/10 minimum.