Fans of giant mech combat, take note, Chromehounds on the Xbox 360 stands as one of the best giant robot games around. It looks gorgeous, introduces some nifty new gameplay mechanics, has a solid multiplayer mode, and plays very well overall. It won’t appeal to everyone, however, so it is definitely wise to rent it before you decide to buy.
Quick Hits
- Title: Chromehounds
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: Sega
- Developer: From Software
- ESRB: “T” For Teen
- Genre: Third/First person shooter, giant robot combat
- Pros: Great graphics, customization options, online play
- Cons: Slow pace, gameplay can get repetitive, not worth it if you don’t plan to play online
Story
The story in Chromehounds tells of a massive war between three world powers. In the single player part of Chromehounds there are six separate storylines that let you play as each of the six different types of mechs. The six storylines are split between the three countries so you get to see each side of the conflict, which is pretty interesting. What makes it all the better is that the single player portion of the game actually covers what happened to lead up to the massive war while the multiplayer portion of the game covers the war itself. It is a really cool way of telling the story and, thankfully, the tale that is being told here is actually worth experiencing. The single player is made up of six sets of seven missions and most of them are pretty short so you can plow through it pretty quickly. Multiplayer is really where the meat to Chromehounds is at.
Gameplay
Sega
The gameplay in Chromehounds is fairly simple and straightforward but that is part of what makes it so satisfying. The pace of the game can only be described as s-l-o-w but you get used to it. These are hulking and heavy tanks from the near future, not Gundams or Evas or something else ripped from an anime so we really shouldn’t expect them to be fast. They don’t fly or jump, and instead just walk or roll slowly. And I’m fine with that. The shooting aspect is interesting because rather than having an onscreen cursor you have a little window in the upper right corner of the screen that shows you what you are aiming at in third-person mode. With the press of the right stick you switch to a first-person view with a crosshair on it. This makes the experience more realistic since we don’t have neon colored crosshairs hanging a few feet in front of us in the real world. Switching to the first-person camera to shoot more accurately makes a lot of sense and once you get used to it, it stops being an issue.
Once you get used to the Chromehounds style of play, the game is pretty darn fun. Each “hound” is loaded with a ton of weapons including machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers and unleashing your arsenal to destroy enemy hounds is very satisfying. The pace of the game makes long distance shots pretty easy to make since leading a slow moving target doesn’t require a physics degree but the hit detection is pretty forgiving overall which makes the game easy and fun to play.
Besides just shooting everything that moves, you’ll also have missions that require you to destroy specific vehicles, destroy enemy bases, and capture radio towers. The radio towers add a unique flair to Chromehounds because they make all of the difference on the battlefield. By capturing more radio towers (each map has a bunch of them) you open up a wider radio range so you can talk to your teammates and it also gives you a wider radar range so you can see where your enemies are on your map. As you can imagine, capturing and holding radio towers has a huge impact on your success and in multiplayer they are absolutely vital.
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