It's great roaming through a city and looking into the distance to see the headlights of an enemy Mech lumbering towards your position.

With zero lag or indeed slowdown of any discernible kind, the gameplay is fluid and intense. And the Live-enabled game adds greater depth to the fairly shallow one-player experience.

With only five very standard multiplayer games available, there's certainly scope for more variety like King of the Hill or Attack and Defend. A skill adjuster option for Optimatch mode would also benefit new European players, who are getting whupped by the more experienced Americans.

It looks ace, provides more tactical opportunities than expected and doesn't suffer from any speed problems. With the promise of downloadable content, such as additional maps and Mechs in the pipeline, MechAssault will just get better and better.

Enhancement
A game built for Live. It's more sophisticated than in one-player.

Setup
Occasional lobby dropout but great speed in-game.

Variety
Could really do with more game types for some variety.

Live Verdict
MechAssault stands tall as one of the best online games available.