M.A.C.H. is an arcade racing/flying game reminiscent of both Ridge Racer
in its colorful and physics-free presentation of racing, and the old arcade
Afterburner game in its non-aerobatic flying and shooting. Although the
planes handle more like ground effect vehicles with their limited altitude
and restricted pitch and roll, the game is fun, just leave your brain parked
outside the door.
The game modes are Career, where you earn money and unlock planes through
tournaments; Arcade, where you can practice a single race or dogfight; and
Challenge, where you complete stunts such as hot laps, collecting coins,
capture the flag, fly through rings, etc. Career mode is the meat of the
game, and since enhancements for planes are incredibly expensive in game
money, it's necessary to pick a single plane to upgrade that will be
competitive for a number of levels.
Planes are non-licensed, like the cars in Ridge Racer, so you can't pick a
plane by its real-world reputation. Starting statistics of unlocked planes are
minimal, so you will want to upgrade as quickly as possible to to be
competitive. Statistics are speed, agility, and power (offensive capability).
Since tournaments are comprised of various combinations of races and battles,
your plane needs to be capable of winning both types of contest. Races require
speed and agility (machine guns are locked out in races but missile power-ups
can be used), while dogfights require agility and power. Adding to the
difficulty in dogfighting mode is that machine guns quickly overheat
and can't be used again until they cool, thus power to quickly knock down
an opponent's plane in the fight is vital to making progress in the game.
Afterburner energy is charged by flying low. In later races, judicious use of
afterburners is necessary, even with a fast and well-equipped plane, because AI
planes will be as fast or faster. There is no penalty for flying low, gravity
is nonexistent in the game, so flying into the ground is not a problem. On the
other hand, flying into canyon or cave walls, dams, bridges, hills, or the
invisible margins of the course will slow you down or cause a re-spawn. There
is no damage modeling, and you have infinite re-spawns.
Maneuvering:
Dogfights occur in a restricted arena with a total of eight planes that re-spawn
when shot down. Air Combat Maneuvering tactics don't really apply in an arcade
game where the maximum altitude is a few hundred feet, gravity and drag are not
factors, and pitch and roll are limited. This means that attacks can be
nose-on, pursuit, crossing, or turning duels.
Nose-to-nose duels do not work nearly as well as in Ace Combat, partly due to
your machine gun fire being limited by your guns overheating, and the likelihood
that your opponent has more attack power than you do.
Pursuit attacks work relatively well, in the small arena no chase can be a long
chase, but it is difficult to accurately judge the direction an opposing plane
is flying.
High deflection crossing attacks work well, provided you have sufficient attack
power to finish your opponent off before they fly out of range.
Turning duels are not particularly productive, as you cannot use aerobatics to
cut the circle, nor does use of air brakes appreciably tighten your turning
radius.
Since you will need to shoot down 10 to 15 planes in two minutes to win, attack
power is key, with agility important to quickly target enemy planes and keep
your guns on them for a kill. if you can kill five planes without being shot
down yourself, you enter Rampage mode, where you have a few seconds use of a
line-of-sight, one-shot-kill laser like the tactical laser weapon of the Falken
in Ace Combat X.
In races, speed is vital to keep up with the other planes, while winning will
require staying low to charge your afterburner, and flying through turns and
restricted spaces in afterburner without crashing. Diving into the ground,
hitting a canyon or cave wall, flying "out of bounds" (crashing into invisible
walls that define the racecourse), or being scragged by a missile all carry
the same penalty, you will re-spawn, losing several places depending on the
difficulty level. Learning the courses is important, as is keeping
afterburners charged and using them whenever possible.
Missile power-ups can be useful in knocking down opponents, but are a real
annoyance when used against you by other planes. You need to honor the threat
when a missile warning is displayed, but initiating a barrel roll to avoid a
missile will often send you careening into an obstacle, with the same
result: re-spawning and losing position. Evasive maneuvering is rarely
successful, even when you duck behind an obstacle.
Game Controls:
The game controls are relatively simple:
X accelerate (double tap for afterburner)
square brake
triangle target camera
O evasive barrel roll
L shoulder lock on
R shoulder fire weapon
analog nub maneuver
D pad maneuver
Aircraft Upgrades:
Aircraft enhancements fall in six categories:
Wings: Wing enhancements add to agility
Canards: Canard enhancements add to agility and power
Tail: Tail enhancements add to speed and agility
Fin: Fin enhancements add to speed and power
Engine: Engine enhancements add to speed
Gun: Gun enhancements add to power
There are three basic classes of aircraft which I'll define as
beginning, intermediate, and advanced. Beginning aircraft (Codec,
Grease monkey, Runner) are unlocked at the Rookie level of play,
intermediate aircraft (Spitfire, Carver, Bear, Loki) are unlocked
in the Pro and Ace levels, and Advanced aircraft (Mayday, Phoenix,
Serpent) at higher levels. The cost of upgrades depends on the
class of aircraft. Enhancements are rated Rookie, Pro, and Ace.
Rookie is the beginning enhancement level of unlocked aircraft,
so two additional levels of upgrade can be purchased.
Wings: beginning aircraft: Pro $6,000 Ace $37,500
intermediate: Pro $37,500 Ace $225,000
advanced Pro $225,000 Ace $1,500,000
Canards: beginning: Pro $1,000 Ace $6,250
intermediate Pro $6,250 Ace $37,500
advanced Pro $37,500 Ace $250,000
Tail: beginning: Pro $2,000 Ace $12,500
intermediate Pro $12,500 Ace $75,000
advanced: Pro $75,000 Ace $500,000
Fin: beginning: Pro $1,000 Ace $6,250
intermediate Pro $6,250 Ace $37,500
advanced Pro $37,500 Ace $250,000
Engine: beginning: Pro $8,000 Ace $50,000
intermediate Pro $50,000 Ace $300,000
advanced Pro $300,000 Ace $2,000,000
Gun: beginning: Pro $2,000 Ace $12,500
intermediate Pro $12,500 Ace $75,000
advanced Pro $75,000 Ace $500,000
It should be noted that enhancements rapidly become quite expensive
in terms of the game economy. The highest level Rookie tournament
has a $10,000 prize, the highest Pro tournament a $40,000 prize, and
the highest Ace tournament a $200,000 prize. Unlike the Ace Combat
series, unlocked planes do not have to be purchased, and are
immediately available for play. On the other hand, unlocked planes
start with minimal statistics and are not particularly usable until
upgraded. Unlike the Ace Combat series, it's not practical to develop
a large stable of planes. It's necessary to concentrate on upgrading
a single plane that will be capable of winning a number of tournaments.
The Pro level of upgrades is considerably more affordable in the game
economy, but money spent on these upgrades does not count toward the
cost of the Ace level upgrade, so it ends up as money wasted. The only
time I would recommend a Pro upgrade is when first starting the game,
to get a slight edge in speed and power with one of the starting planes
make earning money for further upgrades a little easier. Buying the
maximum enhancements piecemeal as you can afford them gives the best
bang for the buck.
The Ace level of Canard and Fin enhancements are relatively cheap in
terms of worthwhile upgrades and add to agility, speed, and power. Tail
and Gun enhancements are the next thing to upgrade, twice as expensive
as Canards or Fins, but much less expensive than upgrading Wings or
Engines.
So, which planes give the maximum benefits when upgrading? A list of
planes with their starting and their maximum statistics is below.
List of Planes:
Plane/
game description speed agility power total cost
for upgrade
Beginning planes:
Codec
"good in any situation" 25/60 25/60 25/60 $125,000
Note: The starter plane. It has very weak starting statistics, but it's
capable of winning the Rookie Cumulus tournament with little difficulty,
unlocking the Grease monkey.
Note: Probably the most useful plane at this level, easily upgraded. A
$6,250 fin upgrade gives an immediately useful boost in speed and power, and
continuing upgrades will make this plane competitive up to the Ace level.
Runner 10/50 25/70 25/70 $125,000
"strong and relentless"
In interesting plane, it reminds me of a cross between the drop ship from
"Aliens" and a C-130. Lackluster statistics make it less useful than the
Grease monkey.
Another useful plane. It's a toss-up whether this or the Carver is the best
value to upgrade at this level. The Spitfire has a slight edge in speed and
power, while the Carver has a slight edge in agility.
My favorite plane at this level. Good stats when upgraded, outstanding in
agility, useful both in races and dogfights.
Bear 40/80 20/60 20/60 $750,000
"unstoppable"
Good speed, but less useful that the Spitfire or Carver. If there were any
tournaments that were race-only, this would be a good choice, but there
aren't.
Loki 35/75 40/80 15/60 $750,000
"delta glider"
Interesting dual engine pod design resembling a cross between an SR-71 and a
Beau fighter! Decent speed and agility, but gives away too much in power. Like
the Runner, fun to look at and to experiment with if you have extra money for
upgrades.
Serpent 70/100 60/100 40/80 $5,000,000
"fast and elusive"
Planes with high level stats. Possibly the Serpent has the advantage, with
two areas of maximum stats.
Ultimate plane:
Baron 100 100 100 not upgradeable
"a secret design"
Concluding Notes:
I hope this is helpful. My strategy is win the first tournament with the
starting Codec, then start upgrading the Grease monkey, a plane that is
relatively economical to upgrade, and with maximum statistics is useful into
the the Ace difficulty level. I used money earned with the Grease monkey to
upgrade the Carver, although some might prefer the Spitfire which has a slight
edge in speed and power at a slight cost in agility.
M.A.C.H. is a fun game, although luck-based to a degree that can become
frustrating. Even with an outstandingly speedy plane, you will never have a
sufficiently commanding lead that an opponent will not snipe you from behind.
Evasive rolls are hit or miss (no pun intended) and even if successful can
send you careening into a wall. Dogfighting also depends on how quickly
you can bring an opponent into gun range without being shot down yourself.
Still, Choosing and upgrading a plane to effective statistics in speed,
agility, and offensive power can help stack the odds in your favor.
