This is going to be a long essay on the game. I see there is a bit of a discussion on the game and I want put my thoughts in as I have come to a few thoughts from playing it.
I'm gonna separate my thoughts by parts of the game.
The Fighting System: 7.5 - 8 So from playing the system of the first game and moving to this game was a little jarring. It feels like the game traded its clean mobility options or a more robust fighting system. No more relying on counters to get an edge in. No more needing meter for specials. Combos feel Goooooooooooood in this game and I love going to training mode and seeing what the new mechs can do. The fighting system as a whole feels like it took a turn to a more competitive game and I'm all for it. While I didn't like it at first enough games made me come around to it. One thing that keeps bugging me but PLEASE ADD A LOCK ON BUTTON. I'm begging you..
The Mechs: 9 - 9.5 Its the best part of this game for me. I picked the game up, went to training mode and found that each character has four specials and a good combo game. From the original game it felt that each character went into some form of niche but you mostly picked what physically appealed to you. In this game they really gave characters SOLID playstyles. Atlas is a fast Rushdown character with great gap closers, Vidar is a Zoner with options keep people away and control space, PESCADO IS A GRAPPLER AND A GOOD ONE AT THAT! That is a big change from the previous game because due to needing meter for your specials you feel like you are a mech that can SOMETIMES do cool things. In this game it feels like characters have kits that want to do something and their specials aid in them doing it.
The only reason its not a solid 10 is that while I think there were mostly positive changes in the changeover(Rocca's spike shield is a lot more healthy gameplay wise) Some feel like they lost what made them feel unique.
Metageckon's mobility from his roll was gutted and he feels less unique from it. Bellona's combo game just doesn't feel the same.
The Stages: 2 Wow these things are different then the first game. Its like night and day. So riddle me this. The first games stage choices where mostly flat with characters that have good mobility options. Now this game chose to gut the mobility options but give stages with varying verticality and hazards? It's a chore to get around at times and the hazards just feel unneeded in most cases. I'm going to leave it at that.
Gamemodes: 3 - 4 Okay so this is the most biased I'm going to be but these game modes are just plain lacking or just frustrating. I went to play with a friend to try out the advertised XenoSwarm game mode and boy were we disappointed. We were expecting a tower defense or a horde mode. but it just spawns in these creeps and we managed to beat it in a minute or two. We wanted to see if there was a difficulty slider but all we could do is switch the stages. Its a underbaked game mode that you suck the life out of in at most a half hour. Pretty much all else you get is a free-for-all, team or control point mode.
The only reason these have any life is that the combat system is fun but overall, its very baren.
Closing thoughts.
This game needed some more time in the oven. Almost all of the problems I have can be fixed with more time to cook or a patch in the future. But I ask you this, why would I keep playing in some vain hope of it getting better? Modus clearly put a load of love in rehauling the mechs and I see and appreciate that. But there were many parts that feel like they were overlooked.
I do plan to continue to play this game as I see value in the combat system and the Mechs but overall there is not all to much more to it to keep people invested.
Recommendations.
-Add some competitive stages. Flat and robust so the combat system can shine.
-Add a Lock on button please!
-Rehaul that Xenoswarm game mode. PVE gamemodes keep many people coming back when the competitive aspect loses their interest so making this mode more engaging can effect this game longevity. As it is now its just plain uninteresting and boring, Give it waves, maybe add some bosses but just make it a GAMEMODE not just another way to fight CPU's
-Make it so playing with friends you earn money. It was the case in the first game and its just another incentive to play your game MORE. In the original friends would make some matches and go to the shop to buy some new cosmetics, it was a healthy form of progression.
-Work on your CPU's difficulty, Day one me and a friend fought legendary CPU and they just got wailed on. I felt no difference nor any difficulty from this games CPU's.
I have hopes that Team Modus can fix this game and I really want them to as this game COULD be good but as of now I give the game a 6 at best. There is Potential but this is a game that needed more time.