AirMech, is a free to play RTS PC game developed by Carbon Games. Since this isn't a full review, I did not have a chance to explore all the features. Only the solo play's, Tutorial, Challenge, and Co-op modes for about 3 hours. Having said that, let's play.
Story/Setting
So what is this game about? What is AirMech? Well according to the game, AirMech is the culmination of mankind's technology, developing the ultimate weapon. However since it's construction is too high cost, they are only a handful around, making them godlike.
This provides a decent expectation for the player. But aside from that, very little is said and therefore it only really serves as a setting for the player rather than a true motivation for them to fight, story-wise.
Game play
The game play feels fairly solid, I will admit RTS games are not my forte, but after taking the EXTENSIVE tutorials, I felt I had a good grasp of the game. As expected of any RTS, the player is expected to attack an enemy base while they defend their own. In each map, bases are scattered that must be taken over to be used as a spawn point for your AirMech and your units. The AirMech acts as an avatar for the player. The AirMech manages what units to spawn and can act as its transport. One unique feature of it, is its ability to enter combat, in both air and ground battles. The AirMech reminds me of a queen piece from chess, for it is as important and strong as one. If the player loses this the AirMech, they must wait for it to respawn. As important the it is, the other units are the ones that win you the battle simply by sheer numbers. They are several types of units but I won't go into detail on them. Mainly because I was able to win all my battles with basically two different units.
In respect to the modes, there are various, some available in the free version while others are said to be exclusive for the "Premium" members. The challenges in the solo mode served as the tutorials for the game. As I said mentioned, they worked well to explain the mechanics, however, some felt like they could held the player's hand too much. Having one for pointing and shooting and another for moving and shooting, seemed redundant. The solo and co-op games were not challenging enough and while the solid controls made it fun for that time, it wasn't enough to hold my interest. In the Co-op game, I was paired with someone who did not build a single unit in any fight and we still dominated against the AI team.
I would hope the campaign, which last I checked were for paying members, and the versus matches would be more challenging.
Art/Graphics
The artwork and graphics are solid and work well for this type of game. It has a very vibrant color palette that makes it easy to see your units. I was expecting much less for a free to play game, but it works well. I only got to see a few maps but they looked great and I would hope the rest of the game has that consistent level of artwork. The game lets the players choose the avatar for their AirMech with their own stats. Not a big deal in the beginning but I would hope an imagine it would be a way of customizing your AirMech along with parts for it. The AirMech designs look great too. The reminded me of a combination between Transformers and Mechassault.
Sound/Music
Nothing really worth mentioning. Sound effects sound great and music is forgettable .
Verdict
I would like to see more modes that give you different objectives, other than to attack bases. The AirMech mechanic, makes me wish there was more focus on them, rather than the base. A destroy the AirMech mode, since they are suppose to be so rare. Protect and or gain certain key locations. They are several things that can be done with it in mind. I'm not sure how great most of the other units are since I could play and win with only two different ones. I hope the rest of the game makes good use of them. In the end, this is a free to play game, and as such, if you are into RTS games, it's a decent game that deserves your attention. It might not be as complex as Starcraft, but it has good potential of being really fun.
RA Score: Worth a Try