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> Results: MACH: Modified Air Combat Heroes
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The ESRB Says
Violence:GamerDad won more than one race with a well timed missile. I love when a game leaves me thinking - more, more, I want MORE! However, it isn't so satisfying when you get that feeling after a few hours and realize you've done pretty much everything the game has to offer. That is the quandary I faced after completing MACH - I had a blast, but there was just too little content. There are two fundamental things you do in MACH - races and dogfights. Dogfights are all-out shoot-em-ups in an outdoor arena-style setting with plenty of powerups and tight areas to lead pursuers and hide from targets. Your success is tied to your tactical abilities as well as your flight skills. Races are about more than just being the fastest, because there are a number of weapon pickups located at strategic positions around each course. You will often find that the difference between first and fourth is a well timed missile just before the end of the race. There are three basic game modes - Arcade, Career and Multiplayer. Career mode is the meat of the game. This is where you start with a rookie pilot and a basic plane and work your way through a variety of events in order to advance. Advancement means gaining cash to modify your jet, and if you win all of the rounds of an event you will win a new plane that you can use in any game mode. Winning all events for a level advances you in rank, culminating at Hero. Once you have reached and completed the events at Hero level the game still has a few tricks left - Hero level special events. These include a high-powered dogfight mode where you get to use the same laser weaponry you occasionally earn in regular dogfights. There are also coin-collecting mini-games, a 'king of the hill' dogfight more and a few timed race modes. Multiplayer is unfortunately local wireless, and consists of the exact same stuff you find in the arcade mode, except that you can play against friends. The good side of multiplayer is that MACH offers 'game sharing' which allows you to transfer a demo copy to friends who have a PSP but not a copy of MACH of their own, letting them to join multiplayer battles you host on your PSP. Everything about MACH is pretty good, and the races and dogfights a blistering fast and loads of fun. But you will conquer the whole game in just a couple of short sessions - it is really so short that it significantly detracts from the game. The other game modes add a bit, but very soon you are thinking - wow, I can't believe I have done everything there is to do here. Yet it is a charming game that is a blast for short sessions - it is one of those things you can put in your game storage and bring out every few months to play again.  
MACH is a pretty standard racing game in most ways, but also a combat-heavy dogfight arena battle contest. The racing portion includes missiles and rockets as pickups around the tracks, much like items found in Mario Kart. But the dogfight modes are much more combat heavy and all about kill or be killed, which is what earned the game a T rating. The visuals are very realistic, but there is no real human element since everyone simply respawns after they die. I am recommending an Age Seal of 10+ based on the one-on-one violence in realistic scenarios and vehicles. I had no issues with my 9 and 10 year old taking a few rounds, nor did they respond in any way that would suggest that saw anything other than an arcade action game. Many younger kids would probably be just fine with every part of the game, but use your discretion as always.
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