Thom and I are basically on the same wavelength about MechAssault, though I daresay I squeezed a little more enjoyment out of it than he did.

A game like MechAssault poses an interesting problem in terms of how it should be reviewed. The problem revolves around the dual nature of the game. MechAssault is a transition point in terms of console gaming, and it's a transition between a mainly single-player existence and the fairly recent addition of multiplayer action via an online connection. PC games have been forcing critics to deal with this question for quite a while, but this is a fairly new experience for console games. The question becomes what balance is given to the two experiences, and whether one or the other goes further in influencing the direction of the review. I've come to the conclusion that I can't worry too much about the balance between the two different modes of play and just try and talk about what makes up the nature of each and how that reflects on the game as a whole.