Play M.A.X.: Mechanized Assault & Exploration Online

You start with a few rusty mechs on an alien planet, scrambling to mine resources while the AI flanks your harvesters—then suddenly you're orchestrating full-scale wars between walking tanks. That turn-based pacing lets you overthink every move, or you can crank the speed up and watch everything burn.

Developer: Interplay Productions, Inc.

Released: 1996

File size: 46.64 MB

Game Overview

M.A.X.: Mechanized Assault & Exploration came out in 1996 for MS-DOS, published by Interplay. It was part of that wave of deep, thoughtful strategy games that really made you plan instead of just clicking frantically. You don't see many like it anymore.

You command a mechanized force on an alien world, starting with just a constructor and a miner. Your goal is to establish a base, gather resources, and eliminate all enemy units and structures. Key mechanics include designing your own units by combining chassis and weapons, managing a detailed production queue, and navigating line-of-sight fog of war. The pacing is deliberate, almost chess-like, forcing you to anticipate enemy moves several turns ahead. It feels like conducting a slow, brutal symphony of metal and fire.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".