Auto Assault or how dreams come to an end

There comes a time where every one of us thinks about that significant other, maybe the one that got away. You may dream about it when the night is cold and you seek shelter from the outside world within your fantasies, yet sometime we're not talking about THE girl. Such is life that I came across a moment just like that, and it's actually about a game.

Auto Assault, I never got around to revel in its magnificence. Honestly, for a hardcore gone casual gamer, there is always the temptation of starting anew, especially when it comes to Multiplayer Online Games. Auto Assault was my fantasy, not as epic as World of Warcraft, not as technical and cold as Eve Online, yet somewhere in between, on the fast track of Sci-Fi. I often feel we have way too many medieval oriented MMOs so, this was a promise, a breath of fresh air which as all gone now. Yes, my curious friend, MMOs are born, grow in power and eventually die. With Auto Assault it was sooner than later, because only 16 months after its launch, the servers shutdown for the last time, never to be restarted again.

It was a money issue, said the NCSoft owners, the same guys that keep Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Lineage and Tabula Rasa alive. They always wanted to promote a different kind of MMO to the market, be it like Guild Wars, where you can play on an official server with steady maintenance yet you wouldn't have to pay for it a monthly fee, or the comic-based City of Heroes. Auto Assault had its own unique elements, starting with the whole concept of battling automotives, in the vein of the old Carmageddon insanity, only this time around there were real players you could tamper with.

As a newcomer to the Wasteland you could either join the Humans, Mutants or Biomek. This race suggestion would then dictate your class and then the world would be yours. This means you get to interact with other players in cities, then leave the comfort of the garage for some solo or convoy teamed action while blasting away through NPC machinery. While PvP was fairly limited in the early stages, it would only go all out, in a free for all PvP environment called Ground Zero, once you reached the maximum level. It's all about questing and tactical encounters in a type of game that appealed both to casual and hardcore gamers, due to its lack of time limitations.

Unfortunately the game wasn't promoted enough, saw no expansions and it just collapsed unto itself. There are worse games out there still living the good life. I couldn't really say who is to blame, since developers did their best and there were regular weekend bonuses for casual players, along with catchy events and collaborations. Even 1UP.com joined to help at some point last year, with major Easter eggs and special vehicle customization to give you bragging rights for a life time. There are worse games out there still living the good life and Auto Assault didn’t deserve this fate.

And so it came to pass that on 27 August, players and developers alike played a gruesome monster bash, with instant power leveling, group battles and free end-game weapons being handed to whoever would crave for them. In a sense they kept this dreamy image I had alive, since I can't really remember the last time when game masters were so benevolent in a MMO game. Four days later servers shut down permanently. It was a death to remember! So rest in peace Auto Assault and may your memory spawn progeny in the following years. Who could resist a vehicle based MMO, blasting away your enemies with your front weapon and bashing them with melee at 150 mph?

If you were a part of this Wasteland community and you'd like to share your thoughts with us, you are more than welcome to do so in our comment section. But until then, let’s take a look at what Auto Assault had to offer, the juicy piece of pie you and me will never get to taste.

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