The customization options are stellar, but some of the missions can use work.
However, I really like the feel of this one. The way you can customize your ACs give you the feeling of being a badass mechanic. The way you customize your ACs has an effect on how you complete the missions. Love that you can make emblems for your mechs. I also had an easier time figuring how how things work in this one. It just feels more user friendly, which is a big plus for me. And once you unlock all the cooler parts, you can own the really hard missions and simulations.
The production quality in this game is above average, but not spectacular. The graphics of the mechs themselves are nice, but the backgrounds can be a little bland. The game looks it's best when in action, rather than standing still. The biggest plus is the flawless frame rate, and water effects. Call it a sleek and simple style.
The missions: destroy all targets, destroy main target, protect target, assassinate this target, infiltrate this, intercept that, etc, are all nice to keep it less monotonous. Sometimes though these missions can be too short. I appreciate that the series is going for that arcade feel, but I feel the levels could've benefited from better design choices and overall longer play time. Still, other mission tend to get really hard, really quick. The true challenge lies in getting the right mech to do the job. This can be frustrating and rewarding.
I wish I could tell you how it is playing this online, but as of now, I can't find anyone to play it with. No one plays this anymore, but I'm sure it would be similar to playing in the simulation mode, which are 1 on 1 battles. These are quick and intense, requiring good timing, precision, and taking a lot of other thing into account.
Again, a lot of strategy comes into play when designing the mech, rather than the actual gameplay. This kind of thing is not for everyone. But for 15 bucks now, this thing is totally worth checking out.