<s>
MechAssault	B-Application
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
notable	O
for	O
being	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
to	O
support	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
online	O
multiplayer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developed	O
by	O
Day	O
1	O
Studios	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
MechAssault	B-Application
was	O
initiated	O
when	O
Denny	O
Thorley	O
of	O
Day	O
1	O
Studios	O
approached	O
Jon	O
Kimmich	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
about	O
developing	O
an	O
original	O
BattleTech	B-Application
game	O
built	O
from	O
the	O
ground	O
up	O
to	O
support	O
console	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
MechAssault	B-Application
"	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
,	O
MechAssault	B-Application
2	I-Application
:	I-Application
Lone	I-Application
Wolf	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
December	O
28	O
,	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
games	O
are	O
set	O
in	O
the	O
BattleTech	B-Application
fictional	O
universe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MechAssault	B-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
BattleTech	B-Application
universe	O
,	O
a	O
science-fiction	O
universe	O
that	O
often	O
revolves	O
around	O
pitched	O
battles	O
between	O
human-piloted	O
walking	O
,	O
heavily	O
armed	O
and	O
armored	O
machines	O
,	O
called	O
BattleMechs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MechAssault	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
to	O
feature	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
MechAssault	B-Application
"	O
included	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
basic	O
Live	O
services	O
that	O
are	O
now	O
considered	O
standard	O
on	O
any	O
Live-enabled	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
players	O
who	O
wanted	O
to	O
join	O
a	O
specific	O
type	O
of	O
online	O
session	O
of	O
MechAssault	B-Application
hosted	O
by	O
another	O
player	O
,	O
"	O
Optimatch	O
"	O
allowed	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
specify	O
the	O
criteria	O
for	O
the	O
session	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
join	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
could	O
also	O
create	O
and	O
host	O
an	O
online	O
session	O
of	O
MechAssault	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MechAssault	B-Application
had	O
several	O
modes	O
of	O
combat	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
could	O
engage	O
,	O
often	O
based	O
around	O
by-now-common	O
forms	O
of	O
online	O
competitive	O
gaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jeff	O
Gerstmann	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
If	O
you	O
're	O
going	O
to	O
buy	O
one	O
game	O
with	O
your	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
starter	O
kit	O
,	O
MechAssault	B-Application
is	O
the	O
one	O
to	O
get.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
July	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
sold	O
750,000	O
units	O
and	O
earned	O
$26	O
million	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
NextGen	O
ranked	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
85th	O
highest-selling	O
game	O
launched	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
Xbox	B-Application
or	O
GameCube	B-Application
between	O
January	O
2000	O
and	O
July	O
2006	O
in	O
that	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Combined	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
MechAssault	B-Application
series	O
reached	O
1.1	O
million	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
named	O
it	O
the	O
best	O
Xbox	B-Application
game	O
of	O
November	O
2002	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
presented	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
annual	O
awards	O
for	O
"	O
Best	O
Online	O
Game	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Application
"	O
,	O
"	O
Best	O
Shooter	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Application
"	O
,	O
and	O
overall	O
"	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
