M.A.X.: Mechanized Assault & Exploration

M.A.X.: Mechanized Assault & Exploration is a science fiction-based strategy game designed to explore and colonize new worlds on previously unexplored planets. The production prepared by Interplay studio is an original hybrid, combining popular real-time strategies with classic turn-based gameplay.

The story told in the game takes place in a distant future, when, after exhaustion of the Earth's natural resources, mankind was forced to leave its home planet. Thanks to the help of foreign races, life moved to a giant ship drifting in space, where, over time, as a result of internal conflicts, humanity divided into 8 rival factions. Each of them had an advantage over the others in at least one of the many military or economic aspects. Soon, therefore, using alien technology, the factions stood together in a murderous race for the primacy of colonization of the new, resource-rich planets. The player takes on the role of the leader of one of these groups.

The general assumptions of the game do not differ significantly from the schemes set out by popular strategies like Command & Conquer or Z. Our main task is to expand the base, allowing for efficient exploitation of valuable deposits of raw materials and defense against opponents trying to take over our territories. Unlike the RTSs mentioned above, the structures we build do not have to be in their immediate vicinity, because they are connected by special pipelines, ensuring a constant supply of the necessary materials. To defend the base we will use quite a wide range of more than 50 land, air and sea units, each of which is described by several parameters, such as the strength and range of fire, field of view, speed of movement or the thickness of armor. It is worth noting that our units do not have infinite ammunition and during the fight they will require constant supply. As the game progresses, they can also be further improved, which affects their combat effectiveness.

The biggest novelty that M.A.X. brings with it is leaving players free to choose their gameplay model. Following the spirit of the times, we can choose to compete in real time. Traditional players are left with a classic turn-based system, in which we set a huge number of parameters, such as the number of turns, their speed of play or initial resources. The third alternative is hybrid mode, combining the elements of the two previous ones. In this variant, the game takes place in real time, in which our units are subject to certain restrictions, such as the number of points of movement or the time limit for its execution.

The creators took care of a very wide range of available modes of play. We have at our disposal 24 missions to be played individually or as part of a campaign, in which we are introduced by simple training missions. We can also take advantage of a virtually unlimited number of single missions, generated randomly by the computer. Multiplayer mode allows you to play in two via modem or local network or even 4 people in "hot seat" mode. The game is further enhanced by a good, but slightly raw graphics with fully rendered, shadow casting buildings and units, and a fluid zoom for easy orientation on the ground.

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Last updated on August 14, 2015