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Override: Mech City Brawl beta was chaotic fun

by: Eric -
More On: Override: Mech City Brawl

I spent some time with the Override: Mech City Brawl beta over the weekend, and came away pretty impressed with what I saw. Override, developed by Modus Games, is a mech brawler that has giant robots duking it out in enclosed arenas that have been plopped into the middle of populated areas all around the world. The robots are big enough that they squash skyscrapers beneath their feet, causing a lot of chaotic collateral damage as the bots send each other flying across the map.

The beta consisted of a few different multiplayer modes, but there were clearly a lot of other modes that had been gated off for this event. Locally, up to four players could engage in free-for-all battles on four different maps. You could also hop online for four player battles, and spend your time getting smoked by strangers.

No stat tracking or progression was present in the beta, so the battles were pretty much one-and-done. But with a game like this, progression is the frosting on the delicious cake that is combat. Modus let their entire stable of twelve mechs out to play, and it is clear that a lot of time was spent making each character feel unique. All twelve mechs have their own unique set of powers and specials, including a devastating ultimate that can be unleashed when health is low.

After a brief dalliance with Metageckon, a MechaGodzilla type that I eventually decided was too slow for my taste, I finally settled on Cocada as my main. Cocada is a lizard/bug robot that for some reason put me in the mind of Lucio, one of my favorite Overwatch characters. He has a couple of great special moves, including one where he launches six heat seeking missiles from his back. His ultimate has him spinning to the point where he creates a giant tornado that can then sweep across the map, catching other players in its destructive wake. With Cocada, I faired decently against my sons, who locked in on Crystal (an anime pixie-looking thing) and Vintage (a weird 80’s looking robot with a monitor for a head).

The brawling is fast and furious, with different melee and projectile weapons spawning around the map to add to the cacophony of carnage. I became especially fond of a combo I created, where I would grab a bear trap and throw it in someone’s path, toss a grenade at them, and then unleash my rocket special move. Most satisfying.

Of course, being a beta, there was a fair amount of clunkiness on display. For some reason, only Player One could see their health bar when playing locally, which led to a lot of bitter complaining and unexpected death. And with four local players (we recruited a cousin), the framerate really chugged when the explosions start lighting up the screen (we were playing on PS4). When playing online, I didn’t see a way to jump out of a battle after being defeated, instead being trapped in spectator mode for up to five minutes while the remaining contestants circled around each other endlessly. But honestly, these are all issues that can be smoothed out before the game’s final release.

Even with those qualms, we all agreed that Override is well on its way to being a very fun and satisfying multiplayer game. The battles are flat-out fun, and the characters are varied enough that combat goes spiraling in some really unexpected ways. If Override runs another beta before release, I would highly recommend jumping in to check it out, especially if Modus decides to let players check out some of the other modes. And if the fun I had this weekend was any indication, Override has “sleeper hit” written all over it.

The final release will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on December 4, 2018 in a $39.99 Super Charged Mega Edition (available physically in retail stores) and the $29.99 digital only Standard Edition.