A recent article in the newspaper introduced to me the game AirMech by Carbon Games. It is an RTS where the player controls one unit while directing an army of creeps to smash the opposition. The game is free but there are unlockables that give more stuff to play with. Paying with real money unlocks stuff faster, though there are also exclusive items that must be bought with real money.
And here's the fun part: that one unit the player controls is an AirMech, a transformable air-ground unit. As an air unit, it is fast, allowing the player to go around the battlefield quickly so he/she will almost always be able to get to the action. Almost, because if the AirMech is destroyed, the player will be stuck staring at the main base as it assembles a new AirMech.
As a ground unit, the AirMech is a robot that deals destruction. Well, some of them do, particularly the AirMechs designed for direct combat.
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| The AirMech. |
In a normal game, the player has to defend his/her main base while attacking that of the opposition. The player directly controls the AirMech. The player may build creeps - tanks, infantry, turrets - to help in the battle. The AirMech can directly transport these creeps to the action. Specialized AirMechs can even carry multiple tanks.
As the player plays, the AirMech gains experience. At each level up, health and fuel/energy is restored (this saved me a number of times). The player also gains a skill point that may be spent on upgrades to improve the AirMech, which may be active skills or passives. A general upgrade available to all AirMech improves the stats of the creeps.
There are also guardians, little orbs that hover close and support the AirMech. However, the AirMech has limited slots for those (starts with 0, zero). Some guardians provide repairs while others attack as the AirMech opens fire.
There is a tutorial to explain the basics of playing the game.
The tutorial does not explain that to activate an AirMech's ability, the right-mouse-click is used. There is also a keyboard button for that, which may be specified in the Settings. Some abilities require the left-mouse-click while the right-mouse-click is held down.
The tutorial does not introduce the guardians either.
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| Lexi fan club. |
Before the battle, the player may set the composition of his/her army. There is the AirMech type to choose, along with the pilot, which give passive bonuses and penalties. There are also the creeps that the player may build in the game.
AirMechs, pilots and creeps have to be purchased with Kudos (in-game currency) or Diamonds (bought with real money). However, there may be trial items which are available for players to use for a limited time, presumably so they may try out those items.
The game does get slow when there is lots of action on screen. Though that is likely because of my old computer.
The main problem with the game at the moment is the lack of online players. There is offline play available, but those only award Kudos and XP for the first 90 minutes of play daily - enough for three games. Online play provides unlimited Kudos and XP - if players on a game with little lag can be found.
Do note that Coop PvE play is also subjected to that 90-minute rule. This makes Survival popular for players who want to buddy-up against the AI.
Overall, AirMech combines the fun of robotic destruction and the joy of, uh, ferrying troops into battle. It is more enjoyable to play with others, that is, if online players may be found. Perhaps, as word of the game spreads, there shall be more players later.
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| It's really hard to get action screenshots on an old computer with no game pause. |
For screenshots with action, look in Carbon Games.
