Although the core gameplay is good, its what the delevopers didn't do that hurts it.
Gameplay What can I say, the game plays great. You have the standard Mech Assault game where you go around in a giant robot that shoots anything that moves (and a bit more), pick up powerups, and "neurohack" things. But, on the box it says that you can pilot over 20 vehicles, turrets, and mechs, which is really a inflated figure. There is a total 18 mechs in the game, which by itself, dosen't sound as bad as it is. What hurts is that each mech has an alternate version of itself, which really brings the mech count to a whopping.... 9 mechs. That and there is one tank to drive, whoop-de-do, along with one turret that you get to use in two missions, which , both times, you just fire one missle to destroy a bridge. And then you have the battlearmor which you use to neurohack, a very fun thing with the DS stylus by the way. I'm still annoyed that mechs don't move anywhere fast.
Graphics Great graphics for the DS, they all capture the main things that make Mech Assault what it is. But there is a couple of spots where the frame rate slows. Other than that not much to say.
Sound Same great sounds that all fit into the game very well, the only thing that any Battletech game will ever get right.
Value Extreme lack of value in this purchase is what hurts this game the most. For $30 dollars you recive great core gameplay that lasts for 4 hours, the lenght of the campaign. You could go around the game a second time with cheats, but I didn't feel any need to. If you wanted to play multiplayer, you would have to practially buy a copy for your DS-armed friend, cause you have already let him borrow it after you had it for a week. That and the lack of a online multiplayer, and even a single-card multiplayer, or even a skirmish mode, destroys every shred of replay value after those fun 4 hours with the campaign.
Tilt BATTLETECH FAN BEWARE! You are in for a large dissapointment. These people can make good looking models, but cannot (for some crazy reason) make an acurate one. The worst butchering of a model was the one of the Cougar, my favorite light mech, they put missle pods on the arms and laser mounts on the torso. The Uller just looks weird, so does the Atlas. But All the other models look good and are all great representations of the 'Mechs. The lack of mechs mentioned in the gameplay section comes out more if you are a battletech fan, as there are so many wonderful mechs that the delevopers could have used. I guess there is a reason that there wasn't the battletech seal on the back of the box.