Monday Night Combat tends to elicit a common response: “Is that a football game or something?” The assumption isn’t totally preposterous, given the name, and MNC is very much teamwork-oriented.
In the distant future, a new kind of sport reigns supreme over all other forms of entertainment. Participants called ‘Pros’ duke it out against each other and deadly robots, for money and glory.
MNC is a class-based tower defense shooter not unlike Team Fortress 2. The principles are similar, and the visuals for both games share an uncanny resemblance. Each of the six playable classes boast unique character designs, cartoony yet stylish.
You’ll also hear an announcer during every match, but the guy is much more enthusiastic than the madam in TF2, and he’s a constant source of hilarity. Not to mention the fake advertisements for imaginary products.
Make no mistake; Monday Night Combat isn’t a Team Fortress clone, even though one may remind you of the other. Here, the name of the game is capture-the-flag where the proverbial flag doesn’t move. Each team is in possession of a ‘Money Ball,’ which floats at the back of each team’s base, protected by its own shields and turret stations. Throughout the match, money earned can go toward building and upgrading turrets all around your team’s base, or you can put that cash toward your own Pro.
Every class has four unique skills upgradable with the same cash used for turrets, and players will often need to choose between themselves or the team whenever they have the money. In fact, most of my money went toward upping the team’s defenses, and I’d upgrade only two skills every few rounds. This is completely dependant on your strategy, of course, as I’m certain many players in my shoes would have simply spent the money on themselves. Luckily, everyone earns their own spending money, so you won’t be getting into any arguments about a teammate using up the communal stash.
Money is received each time you shoot or kill anything that doesn’t wear your team’s colors. For you Support players out there, money is also rewarded for assisted kills. Every few rounds, a pudgy MNC mascot will drop down and run around the map, letting you shoot him for cash, juice boxes (for health), and temporary speed boosts.
I’ve only mentioned Support up until now, haven’t I? Rest assured the other five classes were just as interesting despite my class preferences, with four upgradable passive skills and three other skills usable in combat. From Gunner to Assault, Assassin to Sniper, players will find a class to suit their play styles. The Assault man is a pretty balanced character, capable of dishing out damage with a combination of assault rifle and grenade launcher, while the much slower Gunner carries a mini-gun along with superior defenses. The Assassin and Sniper may sound redundant, but the first is most effective up close and personal. She has daggers and shurikens, while her ranged counterpart can do his job from far away, taking advantage of his armor penetration attribute and several thrown traps. Support (a cheery Italian dude) is a combination of medic and engineer, providing health and a teeny but effective little turret.
To mix things up, MNC adds bots to the mix. Tougher robots will spawn as you progress, until the overpowered Jackbot comes lumbering out, shaking the floor and shooting out energy blasts. In between, your team will face off against close-ranged Bouncers, the ever annoying stealth Gremlins, and other such Breach bots. These mechanical monstrosities spawn in waves, all with the intention of taking out your Money Ball, but your team will also have their very own A.I. bots to combat the opposition in single-player and the player-versus-player Crossfire mode. Blitz mode, on the other hand, is simply Pros versus bots. These are the only modes MNC offers, and all involve defending a Money Ball, though you are given several maps to choose from before going in.
Despite the lack of variety in game modes, it more than makes up for that lack by other means. Maps are fairly varied, with platforms, jump pads, and ejector traps. The Pros all fulfill specialized roles without sacrificing the all important fun factor. The graphics aren’t particularly exciting, but you probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t mentioned it. The visuals are so vibrant and the action so intense that the background just melts away. You simply cannot find a better shooter than Monday Night Combat on Xbox LIVE. Do yourself a favor and spend the 1200 Microsoft Points on this one, then convince your friends to do the same.
Final score: 9.0 / 10
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