PAX: ‘AirMech’ Preview – More Action Please!

Transforming robots are just cool. AirMech is an action-RTS game that puts you in the cockpit of a transforming robot (think Robotech) in a mix of twin-stick shooter action and real time strategy gameplay.

The game is currently in “alpha” but the game seemed more like a beta to me. The controls for your robot are really tight and the graphics look fantastic for a browser game. AirMech already features unlockable mechs, skins, DLC, virtual currency and has fully featured multiplayer. The game clearly stood out as one of the most polished and richly featured games at PAX.

Personally, I found AirMech‘s RTS elements incredibly annoying. The action in AirMech is, for lack of a more fitting word, awesome. I loved trying out different mechs and transforming on the fly from helicopter/jet/UFO to hulking robot. Blowing things up is always fun. What’s not fun is having to pick up and drop off every unit that you build. In this game, it seems that your airmech makes a much bigger difference in battle by chaffeuring units around the battlefield rather than actually attacking the enemy. It’s a huge design mistake to require the player to pick up every unit that they build.

The RTS and building mechanics could have easily supplemented the core action within the game, yet I didn’t feel that was the case. You can queue up units to be built, but sadly units cannot walk out the front door of your base; they must be picked up by your mech. For me this mechanic felt like a huge chore and I am a fan of the RTS genre in general – if just felt out of place here.

The good news is that Carbon Games seem very dedicated to continually refining the game and listening to fan feedback. The action is hectic and is already loads of fun so hopefully they can streamline and improve on the building and RTS elements to really make the multiplayer mayhem shine.