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MACH (Modified Air Combat Heroes) PSP Preview (Articles)

A few years ago Sony announced the PSP, and ever since the release of the handheld device there haven't really been that many games that have caught my attention - until now. This changed when M.A.C.H. (Modified Air Combat Heroes) was announced earlier this year, mainly because the PSP is crying out for an aerial combat/racing game. I believe my prayers were answered when Sierra and Kuju Entertainment inked a deal to develop and publish M.A.C.H. on Sony's PSP.

Locked On Target
M.A.C.H. or Modified Air Combat Heroes as it is known is due to be released towards of the end of March 2007. I've had the preview code spinning around my PSP for the past few months and I haven't really wanted or needed to play anything else on the PSP. You see, when I was a child I used to spend countless hours over at the arcade burning holes in my pockets by spending all of my pocket money on Afterburner and from those experiences I've always longed for a better, faster tactical flying game.

Since the early 90's, game developers have created flying games and some of them were good whilst others were not so good. Ubisoft has made a few attempts with this genre but after they released Blazing Angels, all of my future hopes quickly dissipated. This view has since changed, mainly because I learned of the upcoming release of M.A.C.H. on the PSP and I really couldn't wait to get my hands on the preview code.

High Altitude Manoeuvres
Kuju Entertainment has certainly done a good job with the game. M.A.C.H. is set in the year 2049 and unmanned flying combat jets are the tools of the world's governments. The super sonic jets of the day harness the latest weaponry and boast superior firepower. You can use either the analog stick or the thumb pad to control your jet while the top two buttons enable you to lock on to a target and with a press of the button, a volley of missiles are set loose to track down a target. M.A.C.H. contains numerous pickups throughout the game and these can range from missiles to supersonic speed, enabling your jet to speed ahead of rivals or blast them out of the sky!

Not only do you have the Career game to hone your flying combat skills but you also have access to Arcade, Challenge and Multiplayer game modes which will help you perfect your aerial agility. Each game mode is unique yet challenging. In the career game you can select from one of five different tiers. Each tier ranges in difficultly, with the Rookie tier being the easiest game type while the Hero tier is pretty tough. In order to reach other difficulty levels within the tier, you will have to complete each race, dog fighting before the other tiers and planes are unlocked. One of the cool things about M.A.C.H. is that when you win a race you earn cash, and the difficulty of the race will determine how much cash you actually win.

Show me the money!
The money earned from racing can be spent customising your plane. For example, you can buy parts for your jet such as wings, engines and guns which will enhance your jet's flying and combat capabilities. The neat thing about M.A.C.H. is the ability to change the appearance of your plane by changing the colour or adding body decals. The selection of logos and flags is vast and you'll end up spending hours racing into first place, mainly so you can win enough money to pay for the added performance or modifying your planes appearance.

M.A.C.H. is due out today so make sure fly down to your local store to pick up a copy and stay tuned for our full review!

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