iMech Online Preview

Is there anything cooler than giant fighting robots? I say no! And soon, iOS gamers will be able to enjoy their own unique slice of that fusion-powered battlefield behemoth pie with iMech Online, the upcoming sequel to the 2009 App Store hit iMech.

Whatever you’re thinking of right now, being inside a giant mech is better

iMech Online is a competitive multiplayer shooter that will allow players to choose from more than a dozen towering, heavily-armed mechs, each with “major functional differences” and a unique custom ability that will help keep the battlefield an unpredictable place. Players will square off with an arsenal that includes guns, flamethrowers, missiles and lasers, and everything is upgradable through a “tech tree” that provides an even greater degree of customization, and nasty surprises for the unwary.

As you’d expect from an online PvP shooter, iMech Online will support competitive match-making and online ranking and stats. It also looks very impressive, with graphics that are considerably improved over the original iMech, destructible buildings and “interactive environments.” The action will be free-to-play, with some mechs available at no charge while others will carry a price tag, and it will be universal, although the developers warned that it probably won’t play on anything less than a 3GS.

The game is still very early in development – “pre-alpha” is how the team at Mobula put it – so we won’t be stomping across the virtual battlefields of the future anytime soon, but even at this point it looks pretty hot. If you like giant fighting robots – and come on, who doesn’t like giant fighting robots? – iMech Online definitely a game to keep an eye on.

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Long-time PC gamer and shorter-time freelance writer, with work at Gamezebo, The Escapist, PC Gamer, Joystiq and parts unknown. Owner of many cats, drinker of fine beers, eater of too much. A steadfast javelin in a flaccid world.