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Bit-Tech shakes out Auto Assault's hardware demands

And now for something completely different. We've shown you a steady diet of Auto Assault gameplay reviews, now here's one that looks at the game's tech-quisites.

The greatest performance increases for most people, though, will be to lower the Shadow slider to close. If you’re having problems with high quality Shadows you should try Medium quality before you just turn them off. All our mid-range cards performed very well with just the Shadow Quality at Medium, and the shadow distance slider set half way.

Overall, you can get a great experience on any of these cards - the gaming isn't outrageously demanding.

Check out the nuts & bolts of Auto Assault at Bit-tech.net.

An Auto Assault review that reads like a preview...

In one of those strange reviews that gives a banal score without really describing what's to dislike, iAfrica gives Auto Assault a 7 out of 10. I do appreciate the perspective of someone not really into MMOs, I just wish the perspective was a little more... critical.

A welcome feature is the ability to create up to twelve different characters on each server. This allows you to experience the different races and classes at any time. So when you get bored of one character just switch over to the next one in line.

You may feel disorientated at first, but things soon become second nature. The user interface is comprehensive but well laid out so that everything is literally a click away. There is even a bandwidth monitor notifying you how strong or weak your connection is. Needless to say, a broadband connection is definitely required to fully enjoy this game. You will experience lag here and there but this is only because there isn't a dedicated local server yet — you'll connect through the UK server.

iAfrica's review of Auto Assault is available by clicking here, and if your interest survives the score, check out the Auto Assault @ Ten Ton Hammer community site!

Auto Assault reviews abound... here comes the Sun.

The Vancouver Sun just reviewed Auto Assault, giving the game a 4 out of 5. Our own review shows that 4 out of 5 reviewers give Auto Assault a 4 out of 5.

t all adds up to fast and fun game play.

You hop out of your souped-up vehicle in town and move around with your character. But the town graphics and movement are jerky and a step down from cruising around the landscape terrain.

Finding missions is easy in Auto Assault - I mostly found myself having to smash apart villages searching for an item, delivering a parcel to another town or knocking off some mutant creatures or their boss.

Read up on the Vancouver Sun Auto Assault review, and if you're still in the review-reading mood, check out Ten Ton Hammer's Auto Assault "first glimpse" review (we bucked the trend and gave AA a 4.8 / 5 - we likes it).

IGN gives Auto Assault 7.5 out of 10

Among the perceived low points was Auto Assault's handling of the class system:

The character classes are functionally identical across all three factions. You get different descriptions and titles tailored to the style of the faction, but class behavior is different only so far as racial abilities are different. For example, the Biomek vehicles have more hitpoints, the Humans get small energy shields, and the Mutants have some regeneration. Now, I don't necessarily expect one faction to operate differently from another. But if a fighter class is a fighter class is a fighter class, I think the game should be honest about that.

Now, far be it from me to argue (/cough) but in Auto Assault, there are significant differences between fighter classes. For one, the Biomek martial class (Terminators) are far more group oriented than Mutant Champions (which are more defensively-oriented), which are likewise different than Human Commandoes (whose focus is high damage output). Of course they look relatively similar in the early game, in the levels before their ability choices are fully fleshed out.

Reviewers love to paint a game in broad strokes after only playing the low-end game and listening to the embittered, self-proclaimed "experts". I've written some lousy reviews in my day, but I've (hopefully) learned that it's irresponsible to write a review without having something like a full picture. Granted, MMOs are notoriously tough to get your hands around - there's little that's truly objective about the gameplay, which is why concrete (if unfair) little generalizations like "the classes are all the same" tend to flourish.

But see for yourself if you agree. Check out the full review at IGN.