Massive Assault

by Matrix

Product Features

• Save the future with principles of warfare like terrain advantages and guerrilla tactics
• Experience naval landing operations, operate carrier battle groups, and provide artillery support
• Original political system based on Secret Allies providing endless replayability
• Smooth and dynamic gameplay; 6 different worlds; A.I., hot seat, and internet play modes
• Full 3D graphic engine; huge 3D landscapes; 26 detailed 3D units; realistic effects

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DC44U
• Item Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 6, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,674 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Massive Assault lets you destroy a future threat to liberty and democracy, as humanity expands across the solar system!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best strategy game I played this year, December 18, 2003

By 

Jozef (Atlanta, GA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Massive Assault (CD-ROM)

Massive Assault is neither unique nor too complex. Still, it offers some of the best fun I've had in a long time. As a strategy buff, I'm particularly fond of turn-based strategies, which are easy to learn but hard to master. Whether old games like the original Warlords or the more recent Moonbase Commander, these games offer an almost unlimited replay value. This game follows the footsteps of its predecessors. With only 13 units that have very limited features and two sides to play, learning the game is a matter of minutes. Mastering it is a whole different story.

Pros
* Excellent tactical-level artificial intelligence. The computer will be very challenging in scenarios and campaigns, where each side starts with a predetermined number of units. With a recent release of 12 new free scenarios, the learning curve here is quite low, allowing for hour of fun, even for a novice.
* Great balance. It shows that this game was originally a board game. There are few units, and the maps are very carefully designed. Both these features allow for very exciting battles, and no exploits.
* Great graphics. The graphics are unsurpassed, as far as turn-based strategies go. I loved just to stroll around, wathing the battles from up close and different angles.
* Replay feature. You'll be allowed to save the replay of your battle and share it with others. It's fun and a great learning tool to see how others are doing.
* Multiplayer adds more to the replay value of the game.

Cons
* The strategic-level A.I. is weak. Once you fight world wars where you have to conquer countries and build your armies from scratch, the A.I. is easily exploitable and beatable.
* Sound and voiceovers. These are not up to par with other turn-based games, even those that are cheaper than Massive Assault, such as Moonbase Commander.
* Missing features. Currently, the multiplayer has one weakness: the loosing party often doesn't submit a turn, stalling the game and making it impossible to finish. This is only one of several features that the developers forgot to include.

Final verdict
Massive Assault is still the best turn-based strategy game I played this year (which also says something about the niche). I would recommend it to everybody who enjoys sitting back and thinking about the strategy, but younger players, especially those who prefer quick fingers over brain exercise may want to avoid this title.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Game, Disappointing AI, February 22, 2004

By 

Pecos Bill (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Massive Assault (CD-ROM)

The map selection on this game is inexcusably small and even on "hard" difficulty the AI is weak on strategy, consistantly making some obvious and costly mistakes. This is disappointing in what is otherwise a great game with nice graphics and enough units and terrain effects to keep it interesting.

Still, mutliplayer mode gives it extra value (who needs AI when you can just fight people?) and the AI is strong in the tactical missions if you prefer a directed campaign over a free-flowing "here's a map, go fight" setup.

In my opinion this game rates about 3.5 stars. Doubling the number of maps and fixing the glaring AI problems would make it a 5.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seems simple, but that just means that, March 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Massive Assault (CD-ROM)

It was designed to be accessible. You can dive right in and learn how to play this game faster than you can learn how to play Chess, for example. Like Chess, learning strategies to win is the challenge and the joy of this game. Playing against the computer is fun, but they make playing other people online so easy and fun that I'm hooked! Graphically its the best-looking game in the turn-based strategy genre right now.