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Auto Assault

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8.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 34 critic reviews
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Based on 39 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: NCsoft

Developer: NetDevil

Genre(s): Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, Car Combat

Players: Thousands

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: April 13, 2006

Summary

Combine fast-paced vehicular combat with high-tech, futuristic weaponry and hundreds of intense skills and you get Auto Assault -- a unique departure from traditional Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). Hop in your own customized cars, semis, and motorcycles and prepare to fight the mutated creatures and bandits of Auto Assault's post-apocalyptic world. Battle other players both in arenas and in epic race vs. race wars for control of the regions in a devastated Earth. Auto Assault uses the power of the Havok physics engine to let you make insane jumps, send obstacles flying and even blast bridges, buildings, fences and trees with your car-mounted rockets. Anything you can hit, you can destroy. [NCsoft]

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What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Pelit (Finland)

Mad Max brought to MMORPG world, finally! Too bad that action-packed fighting is almost the only thing the excellent setting is used for, at least for now. Luckily the action is all good and enjoyable. [Apr 2006]

Computer Games Online RO

The fact that it’s very solo friendly, the large number of missions, the interesting universe and the artistic design will surely convince a lot of newcomers to the online gaming world to give it a try.

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1UP

There are enough MMOs out there that deserve to be roadkill, and Auto Assault isn't one of them.

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GamerFeed

Auto Assault has undergone a massive overhaul from last year. In it's current state it looks fantastic, and plays with the kind of adrenaline-rushing glee that all games hope to aspire to.

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Yahoo! Games

It's unlikely to tempt many current MMO addicts away from their regular poison, but if you've been looking for something that requires less commitment or organization it might be just the ticket. Auto Assault is the MMORPG for people who don't have time for MMORPGs.

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GameZone

Is it fun? Yes. Is it graphically pleasing? Yes. If Auto Assault suffers from any problems they would be a repetitive influence in missions, and a lack of players, giving the sparse world an even sparser feel.

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PC Gamer

Auto Assault's biggest issue mmaay be its lower-than-normal player population at launch. If the world doesn't attract more players, its post-apocalyptic setting may be more appropriate than the developers intended. [July 2006, p.77]

Gaming Nexus

This vehicular action/MMO hybrid may be a tad ahead of its time. Grind-core audiences have too many combat variables; pulp action audiences have too many RPG-growth elements.

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My Gamer

Such potential is marred by a lack of polish and care- there is simply too much that is flawed or missing to place this game in the "great" category, despite the noble ambition of delivering a unique MMO experience.

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IGN

If Auto Assault's mission content had a little more substance, and if its geography had more familiarity, then its conventional MMO level grind template would probably be only a small annoyance.

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Deeko

An inventive and completely amusing massively multiplayer role-playing game that incorporates elements of traditional MMOs with the vehicular combat seen in games like "Twisted Metal."

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PC Gameworld

Reminds us why car combat is fun, stellar graphics if your ‘puter has the goods, a totally different brand of MMORPG.

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Gamers' Temple

It’s not quite Mad Max, but it can be fun to hit the open road and blast a few mutants along the way.

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Gamer 2.0

If you’re looking for a game to replace "World of Warcraft" or "Everquest" for your long-term fix, Auto Assault won’t fill the abyss. However, if you’re looking for an action-packed MMO to last you a month or so, it’s a decent change of pace.

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PC Format

It's picking the wrong fight - taking on MMOs on their own turf, instead of truly daring to be something different. It tries. Often it succeeds. Just not enough to stop the sound of its stalling engine ringing as loud as the gunfire. [June 2006, p.92]

Game Chronicles

Basically, if you’re into speed and blowing a lot of stuff up, you’ll enjoy this game. It also has enough ambiance and an interesting enough story to hold your interest for a while.

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GameSpot

Auto Assault certainly has a lot of potential. But in its current form, that potential is squandered with repetitive quests, technical glitches, and a complete lack of challenge from most of the environment.

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GameSpy

The problem is that NetDevil really needs to improve on the social aspects of the game; as it stands now, it's more of a "massively single-player game" than anything else.

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Eurogamer

Combines the vehicular glee of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors with the ultraviolence of Rambo or Carmeggedon. What lets it down is ugliness, its hunger for power (and the corresponding technical issues), and the knowledge that this would be much better and more coherent as a purely single-player game.

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Games Radar (in-house)

If you're looking for an MMO with voice chat, heavy weaponry, and absolutely no elves, Auto Assault is likely the one. The game delivers on its promise of massive combat action in a twisted shadow of the world we know, albeit for a monthly $15 subscription fee and some steep tech demands.

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Game Informer

A certain population of gamers will no doubt find exactly what they're looking for here. especially as they get into the higher-level content and PvP areas of the game. [Jun 2006, p.117]

GamePro

It's obvious a game is unpolished when you have to sit through a patch download each time you want to play. Auto Assault may be fun for the hardcore Mad Max fans, but the steep learning curve and frustrating controls are red flags for the casual gamer.

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GamerNode

If you like the idea of driving while firing machine guns and rocket launchers from your mobile death machine in a post-apocalyptic wasteland in a fully-destructible environment, this is the place to do it.

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AceGamez

For now it feels too much like a single player game with some nice multiplayer options, and there's no real incentive for you to invest much time or money in it once the free trial has ended.

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PC Zone UK

The fundamental problem is that it all feels a little detached - for an MMO, solo play feels far more natural, as the speed turns most of the battles into one-on-ones dotted around the map. [July 2006, p.88]

Computer Games Magazine

Something that delivers the goods this fast and with such a high smile-to-trigger-pull ratio will be hard for anyone to put aside for long. [July 2006, p.83]

PC Gamer UK

Given time, a tune-up, and some more vigorious fanning of the community flames, this could improve, but at the moment there are more appealing things to spend a monthly fee on. [June 2006, p.90]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

2006 is an unforgiving time for online gaming, and a game as mixed up and inconsistent as this simply cannot make an impact, as hard as it tries with its meaty combat and awesome-looking vehicles.

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Loaded Inc

Sadly, regardless of the time of day I played, I generally felt very alone in the world.

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games(TM)

With drab visuals, lifeless towns, frequent performance problems and little sign of an enthusiastic player community – the chat channels are very quiet – Auto Assault feels like a game where the key is in the ignition but no one’s quite got around to turning it. [July 2006, p.134]

G4 TV

Just don’t expect something radically different from what we’ve all be playing for the past 8 years or so.

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VideoGamer

As it is, Auto Assault is a distraction - a bit of massively multiplayer fluff - not the genuine competitor to World of Warcraft people hoped it would be.

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Game Revolution

It leaves behind much of what makes MMORPGs so addictive and still keeps us shelling out $15 a month. If Auto Assault followed the "Guild Wars" model, it could definitely have been the short-attention span alternative. But this budget rental car just isn’t worth the luxury fees.

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Edge Magazine

The short-term gratification is gradually diminished by too-obvious regeneration of the damage you cause, and there's not enough variety of experience to sustain a monthly subscription. [June 2006, p.90]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mart R. gave it a5:
There is nothing defining or special in this game that should keep anyone playing it for longer periods. The controls are clumsy, the graphics mediocre and the action repetitive and stale. It is a crime to charge people for something as boring as this on a monthly basis.

Alex W. gave it a4:
The game is excellent as a departure, but it is less than addicting and highly repetitive. Content seems stretched over a huge game that leaves large gaps and causes players intrested in feeling something new, whether it be a level, enemy, or area to explore unfullfilled for long periods of time. Also the fee is quite high for a first time entry into the market by an unknown developer with a product of questionable worth. Add to that a plethora of bugs that should of been resolved in the quite long open/semi-open beta and the fact that despite largely lacking instanced maps and missions heavily encourage single player play, the game is a major let down. Perhaps content will be added, or the game itself and its economic model focussed to something more feasible but right now this game is largely a waste of money for what will likely dissapoint most players by the end of their first month playing.

Bet M. gave it an8:
I won't kid you - the game has flaws, but they're nowhere near as large as some would say. I really love the game, especially the lore (of course I play mutant, which I guess is the best story of the three).

Dan D. gave it an8:
This game seems to be hit and miss for most people - you either love it or you hate it. I personally love it. Finally an MMO where travelling is FUN. Getting from x to y involves speeding through interesting areas, jumping through groups of enemies with guns blazing and destroying everything in sight. The reason I give it 8 out of 10, is because things like auction houses, skill point respec and more group content should have been there from the start. These are all things that we have been promised would appear, but working on a game for 5 years and not including such essential things is a bit disapointing. However it is still a very fun game, I personally hate driving games but love auto assault. Hopefully it will only get better and better!

Michael N. gave it a9:
If you love speed and things that go KABLOOSH!!, then this is the game for you.

K-Rock gave it a5:
How could they take possibly the greatest MMO premise - one that we've been waiting for ever since Interstate '76 - and make it so ugly? Include the technical issues that all MMOs go through in their infancy and you have a game that screams, "Wait a second! Don't buy me just yet. Give me a chance to walk first...I'm still crawling." Less organization is required, making it less of an MMORPG than a multiplayer game. Big on action, small on layered content. We'll have to see how this one progresses - but even The Matrix Online had more to offer at launch than Auto Assault - and we all know what happened to that MMO.

Oren gave it a10:
Phew, this game is amazing. It has everything a serious MMORPG player would want! Great PvP? Check! Multi-layered PvP (areans, free-roaming and more)? Check! An extremely deep crafting system? Check! Tons of customizations? Check! Economy? Check (auction houses are forthcoming)! Housing? Check! Auto Assault includes some revolutionary mechanics as well, including destructible world and random loot (meaning that hardly ever two drops will be the same). In addition, the countless missions are full of lore, and the setting itself is refreshing. I was never attracted to car games, but Auto Assault just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. It will happen to you as well, if you just give it a try. Highly recommended!

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