Game Review: Main Assembly
Main Assembly is a game the same way that Lego® is a toy. Main Assembly is a game about building, and the only limitation is you. The player plays as a small spherical robot that can fly around the map, but the real action comes from being able to build vehicles that your robot can dock with and drive. The player starts out with very basic components: a control seat, engine, and wheels. These components can be mounted on a structure that the player can manipulate, consisting of joints, rods, and plates. The structures can be altered along three axis, as well as curved, to create whatever model the player wishes. Players are also given access to a rudimentary coding language, which can be manipulated to customize a vehicle’s controls such as how it can be steered or powered, but also using advanced components to create automatic behaviors or more advanced controls. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that someone with some creativity and experimentation could use proximity sensors and a speedometer to create a self driving car.
Play consists of several modes, including challenge mode, which allows the player to unlock more components to use by completing specific goals. Each challenge usually consists of 3 goals, and each goal awards a star. The more stars, the more parts unlocked. Alternatively, players can play in sand box mode, which provides a large variety of map types, and all parts start unlocked. There are no goals in sandbox mode, and it provides a good way for players to test out their ideas on new builds.
Vehicles are not limited to cars and trucks. There are enough parts that players can create walking vehicles, rolling vehicles, propeller airplanes and even jets. The only limitation is one’s imagination. And unfortunately, that is where this game suffers. There is a basic tutorial, but other than learning the basics of manipulating your builds into different shapes, and a quick guide to programming steering and acceleration into your on board computer, the player isn’t given much guidance and the learning curve is steep for those not familiar with design or programming. I was often frustrated trying to figure out why the car I designed didn’t operate in the way I wanted it to, and there wasn’t much help in having me figure out what the specific problem was. Trial and error seemed to be the only way to progress.
Overall, this game is good. It is well designed and performs how it should. For those who love to tinker with machines, code, or both, this is a must buy. For those like me who lack visual creativity, this might be a bit too advanced.
-The Clever Coyote