Preview: M.A.V-Modular Assault Vehicle-Steam Early Access

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modular assault vehicle (M.A (1)

Take part in a persistent war across the surface of Europa, fighting against other rebel factions and the Earth Defense Force. Join with your friends to create your own faction, capture territories through hard fought battles, spend resources to get new parts for your MAV and upgrade the defenses of your territories, and possibly deploy…

modular assault vehicle (M.A (2)

Pros:

  • Big chunky, detailed graphics.
  • 360 pad support in game and an easier way to play with.
  • The point of the game is to make your own mech and go into battle, far from a straight up deathmatch, the game suits players better as a tactical shooter on a grand scale.
  • Video options while small at the moment, do have the main ones people need. Options like resolution and video quality ranging from fast to fantastic.
  • Huge array of weapons and parts already on the roster, I lost count after 200 and there is still more to come.
  • Can create your own MAV from scratch or you can even have the game auto generate one for you so your not completely alone.
  • When creating a MAV, you have complete control of the camera and is highly recommended to be used so you can see all around your creation.
  • Has a real bare bones, Scrap Heap Challenge eel about it mixed in with Robot Wars.
  • Guns can range from mini guns to rocket launchers to flame throwers and even shot guns.
  • You can expect to see the same level/amount of armor parts as you do for the guns part. Angled cock pits,heavy duty plates and many more are waiting for you to find.
  • Each part/weapon/item has a quick overview of power,defense,armor ratings and more.
  • The game is constantly updating as the dev listens to feedback on a daily basis.
  • The combat is intense and so much fun. Take on AI characters in one of the game modes to learn the ropes.
  • Handful of locations to play in, Take the fight to the wide open space of the dessert, or take it all Predator and fight it out in the jungles.
  • Every part of you has its own individual damage bar, Taking shots will deplete the corresponding bar and aid you in what needs fixing or changing.
  • Mini camera is located top right to help with shots and has a wealth of potential.
  • Good sound effects and each gun type does sound unique.
  • Every part can be changed in colour even at this early stage.
  • Joining parts to each other is easy as it will show a tether line to say it can be connected, if the part goes green your good to go, if it goes red then it will mess up your build.
  • Sniper rifles allow you to change the view so you can go into cross hair mode and get the perfect shot.

modular assault vehicle (M.A (3)

Cons:

  • In create mode, You really need an undo button as you can mess your whole build up with just one mis placed item.
  • Setting up a MAV for the first time is daunting and just getting to deploy is a hard task. Its not until you figure out yourself that weapons on your MAV need to be assigned to slots within the weapons section.
  • Sound drops in and out.
  • Slight pop up in places, ususually the more populated maps like the jungle.
  • Controlling your MAV can be really easy or really hard depending on your MAV itself, But a learning curve is in place as you get used to the different parts moving at different times.
  • It is more about learning the game for yourself.

modular assault vehicle (M.A (5)

In Summary, Its still in a really early build but that does not stop it from being really good fun! Once you master the art of placing parts, You will soon see yourself spending hours and I mean hours, creating the ultimate MAV. Tweaking it and then testing it out in the field, bringing it back in to the garage and changing parts out. Its like a Robot Wars for crazy people!My first 20 minutes with the game were not the best, Fumbling through menus and shouting deploy at the screen, wondering why in game my MAV was all kinds of awkward to control. Then a light bulb went off and it all started to click and I havent stopped smiling since. With the updates flowing and loads of new additions incoming, Buying this game now will help fund the game and get it finished quicker. The dev is approachable and listens to everything said, A nice way to get a game going I reckon.Its early days and fun is in there in its bucket loads so buy it now and look forward to more carnage. We will review the game once it leaves the early access phase. This is the closest we will ever get to another Chrome Hounds game period.

 

You can buy MAV from here on Steam.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!