Line #50 VideoGame/AutoAssault


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Auto_Assault_cover_9158.jpg]]
2
3	->''"The road to hell is paved with good intentions. What road will you take?"''
4
5	''Auto Assault'' was a VehicularCombat {{MMORPG}} developed by NetDevil and published by Creator/NCSoft for the PC in April of 2006.
6
7	[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In 2030]], alien craft drop [[{{Terraforming}} terraformation pods]] on Earth, unleashing [[TheCorruption horrific contamination]] that kills untold millions, [[{{Mutants}} but changes a rare few.]]
8
9	[[FantasticRacism The Mutants are regarded as a plague]] [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything and herded into internment camps.]] Scientists harness some of the technology behind the alien pods, creating DeflectorShields and other devices. In the face of expanding mutant populations and widespread breakdown in law and order, [[OneWorldOrder the world's governments combine in order to preserve their power and society,]] eventually becoming a massive corporate entity called [[MegaCorp Hestia Corp.]] They create [[{{Cyborg}} biomechanical armies]], immune to contamination, to combat the growing Mutant threat. The "Biomeks" are effective against the Mutants, now united under a single banner, in the short term, but Hestia ultimately deems them a failure and enacts a final solution. They put a select few scientists, military officials and other [=VIPs=] in [[TheArk underground arks]] and seal themselves underground, [[MoralEventHorizon while simultaneously unleashing every]] [[NukeEm nuclear,]] [[ApocalypseHow biological and chemical weapon they have on the surface]] [[ResetButton in the hopes of totally sterilizing it.]]
10
11	[[GoneHorriblyWrong Of course, things didn't go as planned.]] 800 years later, humanity reemerges from underground exile expecting a parking lot and instead finds a nightmare. The Mutants have survived, as have the Biomeks, who were extremely resentful about being abandoned and nuked. Countless other rogue groups and independent individuals are out there too, as are scattered alien forces and nasty mutated wildlife. [[MeleeATrois Open war breaks out between the three major factions]] but soon settles into unstable peace broken up by small-scale skirmishes involving super-tough [[WeaponizedCar Weaponized cars, trucks, motorcycles,]] [[TankGoodness and the occasional tank.]]
12
13	Player characters took the role of a freelance operative from one of these three factions, fighting against the other two and the various hostile elements inhabiting the "Central Wasteland", as it was called. As the player progressed through the game and moved closer towards Ground Zero, more of the BackStory was revealed, along with the truth behind the aliens and their arrival on earth.
14
15	Due to "insufficient numbers of subscribers" (Rumor had it that less than a hundred people were playing at the time), [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames the game shut down]] in 2007. [[ExecutiveMeddling Attempts by various parties to pick up the slack were denied, as were NetDevil's attempts to buy the rights back from NCSoft.]] Efforts by some players to revive the game with a private server continue.
16	----
17	!!Auto Assault provides examples of:
18
19	* AIIsACrapshoot: TemperNET, a massive security network designed alongside the Biomeks to maintain civil order while the Biomeks combated the Mutant threat militarily. [[MechanicalEvolution It grew and evolved of its own accord,]] eventually deciding that the only way to ensure order was to [[OmnicidalManiac exterminate all organic life.]] The system assimilates all technology it comes across with [[Franchise/StarTrek Borg-like]] efficiency.
20	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: The Riders of the Apocalypse gang, albeit with much more advanced bikes.
21	* AlliterativeTitle: A game of VehicularCombat.
22	* AttackDrone: Used liberally by Humans and Biomeks, but also some NPC groups like TemperNET.
23	* {{BFG}}
24	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The head of INC.
25	* CarFu: Oh, so very much. Aided by the fact that you could equip your car with a "melee" weapon, namely, spiked bumpers or something similar.
26	* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Not everyone is receptive to Biomek augmentations. Some of those that weren't had [[MindRape their minds reject the augmentations, turning them into burnt-out husks]] the Biomeks called "Derelicts", suitable for only the most rudimentary tasks and largely kept out of the way so they didn't hurt anyone.
27	* {{Cyborg}}: The Biomeks, of course.
28	* DamageSpongeBoss: Biomek cars didn't have anything fancy like DeflectorShields or a HealingFactor. They just had stupidly large amounts of health. More to the point of the trope, a lot of the bosses were like this.
29	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: There was literally ''no'' penalty for getting your car blown up except the time you spent sitting on a repair pad waiting to get back into the action. [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Which was often.]]
30	* DeflectorShields: Found on all human vehicles, structures and even personal armor, part of what kept them free of contamination. In-game, Human players had an extra, regenerating layer of [[HitPoint hit-points]] on top of their car's base health.
31	* DirtyCop: The forces of ''THE LAW''
32	* DreadlockRasta: The Zendigs, a bunch of dreadlock-wearing wasteland hippies who rejected Human authority and had a close-to-earth way of life, involving making colorful dyes and really tasty burgers. They were nonetheless very friendly to Human players.
33	* TheEngineer: The Human [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Engineer class, obviously,]] but also the Mutant Shaman and Biomek Constructor. Each tended to drive utility vehicles like vans or semis. They also acted as TheMedic, having various abilities that healed other vehicles.
34	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Biomeks convert you, Mutants transform you, and Humans enslave you. Which side sounds more merciful?
35	* HealingFactor: Mutant cars could regenerate their health.
36	* HollywoodCB: The entire CB'er faction.
37	* LimitBreak: "Hazard Mode", obtained at level 40. After dishing out or taking a sufficient level of damage, Biomek vehicles could transform into a HumongousMecha, Mutant vehicles could project a contaminated "[[OurGhostsAreDifferent Phase Ghost]]", and Human vehicles could ReversePolarity on their shields and [[KillSat call down an ion blast]] on their position. Originally only the Biomeks had a Hazard Mode, but response from testers was so postitive that an equivalent ability was given to the other two factions.
38	* MegaCorp: Hestia Corp, which as of the game's setting represents what's left of the old order. Also INC, a neutral group that provides transportation and rescue services to all three factions via their ubiquitous yellow VTOL aircraft in exchange for being left alone.
39	* MilitaryMashupMachine: TemperNET often sent these after players.
40	%% * MightyGlacier: The tank classes, namely the Human Commando, Mutant Champion and Biomek {{Franchise/Terminator}}. They usually drove heavy vehicles, such as Hummer-like trucks or [[TankGoodness tanks.]]
41	* TheMinionMaster: The "officer" classes, being the Human Lieutenant, Mutant Archon and Biomek Mastermind. Archons could summon a variety of mutant beasts while Masterminds and Lieutenants used [[AttackDrone Attack Drones.]]
42	* {{Mutants}}: Take a wild guess. Besides them, there were numerous nasty mutant creatures and plants out in the wastes.
43	* {{Nanomachines}}: A key component of Biomek technology.
44	* OrganicTechnology: Mutant cars are built of contaminated materials and are at least partially alive. They even have a "heart" as a power source.
45	* PeopleJars: Biomeks are grown in vats, awash in [[{{Nanomachines}} nanites]] from birth and then fitted with the requisite [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetics]] before being allowed out of the Biomek capital city.
46	* PsychicPowers: Humans developed these [[MagicGenetics as a side-effect]] of [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke the genetic engineering]] employed to help prevent mutation. [[MegaCorp Hestia Corp. bigwigs]] tout them as "proof of the superiority of the human genome".
47	* TheRemnant: Many groups, such as The Corps, a bunch of hard-nosed, AxCrazy military types.
48	* RuinsOfTheModernAge: All over the place. Thanks to WreakingHavok, it could all be flattened in minutes to seconds, and then re-spawned in time for the next auto-combatant to come tearing through.
49	* RuleOfFun: Each of the starting zones included a large "accelerator tube" that served no real purpose other than [[RampJump launching cars into the air.]]
50	* ScavengerWorld: What life was like for anyone who wasn't part of the big three factions, especially the ubiquitous [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Scavs]], [[GoddamnedBats who served both as common enemies]] and [=NPCs=].
51	* ShoutOut: One boss is a certain "[[Film/MadMax Mad Mozak]]", who drives a souped up police cruiser.
52	** The Biomek's heavy combat/tank class? The Terminator, of course!
53	* StuffBlowingUp: Often.
54	* SquishyWizard: The "officer" classes, Each drove sleek, sports car-like vehicles and used a variety of support powers, [[TheMinionMaster such as pets]] and [[StatusBuff status buffs]].
55	* TronLines: Found on all Human constructions. [[PowerGlows They serve as visual shorthand]] for DeflectorShields at work.
56	* VehicularCombat
57	* WeaponizedCar

Context VideoGame / AutoAssault