Post by Brian-RN on Apr 17, 2005 15:42:05 GMT -5
Metal Arms was never a huge hit, although it was a great game, and still is. It was hailed by many as the most underrated multiplatform game on the market today. The game was developed by Swingin’ Ape, a newcomer in the business, but good none the less. Of course, this isn’t about Swingin’ Ape, or the popularity status of the game, but more of the game itself.
First off, Metal Arms is not your normal under-the-radar game. The game packs a whopping 42 levels, and enough multiplayer to keep anyone occupied for days on end. The game is massive, although most of the levels average out to about five minutes. The storyline is very cliché for a shooter game. Although while the entire game is based around robots, it’s nothing you won’t find in Halo or Bond. You are Glitch, a custom built bot made by a group of miners and the military. You must fight against another group of evil robots called the Mil Bots. The Mils are run by General Corrosive, and your two armies are fighting for control for your planet, Ironstar. Although the story is fairly basic, the entire game is filled with some humor that will make your stomach hurt. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you’ll hear a Mil Bot fart, which is rather out of the ordinary, especially for a shooter. Also, you enemies will know when they are outmatched or defeated and will run away screaming. Occasionally, they’ll yell “Holy S**t†but most of the time, they run away saying “Sound the Alarm!†or “Retreat!†This can add up to a really good time, especially with friends.
Metal Arms is pretty straightforward. The controls are fairly simple, and the guns explain themselves. You rarely find yourself wondering where to go or what to do next. No part of the level looks the same as another, and if it does there’s almost no way to get them confused. But don’t think you won’t be seeing those same sections over again, because you will. Even those playing through for a second time will find themselves dying and failing the mission over and over again. This game is hard, hands down. That’s what makes this game so fun. You’ll be playing through the same level for the 15th time, on your 6th Wavebird, when you’ll finally reach that section of the level you’ve died so many times while trying to get to. You’ll then set down your Wavebird, do a little dance, then get back to the game feeling good about yourself until six seconds later when the next swarm of rocket launcher Mil Bots arrive and kill blow you to smithereens, sending you to the last checkpoint.
To only add to the difficulty, it seems that the Mil Bots have somewhat of an unfair advantage. Most of them are faster than you, and have pretty good accuracy. These are no normal AI. They know when they’re in danger and will run and hide to avoid dying at any costs. They won’t just stand there waiting to get shot. They’ll jump around and over obstacles or try to hide while still in sight of you. Although they do have their dumb moments. While reloading, they’ll just stand there like an open target, and occasionally they’ll all herd together, just asking for a nice grenade to be thrown at them. Of course, these small, dumb Mils aren’t the only type on enemies throughout the game. There are Mil Elites that are excruciating hard to kill, and can take a lot of ammo. Although, this is just one of the reasons why Metal Arms is so much fun, which is rather odd because no one likes to be killed over and over again.
Of course, the Mils aren’t the only ones doing the killing. Metal Arm has a large range of weapons, most of which can be upgraded 2-3 times (a la Ratchet and Clank). The weapons range to the standard machine gun to a bow/gun mix that shoots exploding arrows that will stick into enemies and do a hefty amount of damage. Although these are just two of the many weapons you can acquire, the rest will still do the same job; kill the Mils. Of course, what shooter game is complete without grenades? Metal Arms puts other games to shame with its large, creative amounts of different explosives. Of course there’s the normal grenade, but there’s also grenades that set a line of lava down on the floor, or another that shuts down the Mils for a few seconds giving you some free shots.
Each of the two weapon categories has a “jacking†type weapon where you can make someone else do your dirty work for you. You can either use this web type gun that shoots out a wire to jack a bot which you control with your controller. You take their perspective and can walk past the other Mils, while they’re none the wiser. That is, of course, until you shoot another Mil. This is a great strategy to clear out a crowded room without getting a single scratch. Also, you can throw a grenade that will “jack†anything within a wide range, and have them fight along your side.
Although, sometimes fighting enemies can be somewhat tough, especially on low ammo. A great strategy during this situation would be to shoot with a stronger gun, as you can “de-limb†enemies by shooting them. This can lead to a fun time, as you can save a lot of ammo by disarming them or just shooting their torsos right off. You can de-limb any enemy, which is rather funny, as you’ll sometimes encounter a farting, headless Mil, running around like a madman. It’s rather amazing what can be destroyed in Metal Arms. On certain levels there are bridges or planks held up by skinny red wires. This is where you whip out the Ripper (a weapon that shoots out saw blades) and cut these wires to release the bridge to reach the other side of a trench or drop a large amount of enemies into their grave below.
Although Metal Arms may seem like your regular Halo type shooter, it’s actually part action game. Every couple levels there will be some type of boss, or a vehicle level. You’ll fight against the Milbot King, and eventually General Corrosive himself (twice.) Also, you’ll do certain missions in the RAT, which is the military’s version of a tank. You’ll have someone in the back to do all the shooting so you can concentrate on getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. The controls are really simple, and during some points you can get in and out whenever you like. If you get bored of Glitch, Metal Arms lets you play as other characters through certain levels, such as foul-mouthed Krunk. You can use their special attributes (huge size, control tether, etc) to take advantage of the poor Mils.
First off, Metal Arms is not your normal under-the-radar game. The game packs a whopping 42 levels, and enough multiplayer to keep anyone occupied for days on end. The game is massive, although most of the levels average out to about five minutes. The storyline is very cliché for a shooter game. Although while the entire game is based around robots, it’s nothing you won’t find in Halo or Bond. You are Glitch, a custom built bot made by a group of miners and the military. You must fight against another group of evil robots called the Mil Bots. The Mils are run by General Corrosive, and your two armies are fighting for control for your planet, Ironstar. Although the story is fairly basic, the entire game is filled with some humor that will make your stomach hurt. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you’ll hear a Mil Bot fart, which is rather out of the ordinary, especially for a shooter. Also, you enemies will know when they are outmatched or defeated and will run away screaming. Occasionally, they’ll yell “Holy S**t†but most of the time, they run away saying “Sound the Alarm!†or “Retreat!†This can add up to a really good time, especially with friends.
Metal Arms is pretty straightforward. The controls are fairly simple, and the guns explain themselves. You rarely find yourself wondering where to go or what to do next. No part of the level looks the same as another, and if it does there’s almost no way to get them confused. But don’t think you won’t be seeing those same sections over again, because you will. Even those playing through for a second time will find themselves dying and failing the mission over and over again. This game is hard, hands down. That’s what makes this game so fun. You’ll be playing through the same level for the 15th time, on your 6th Wavebird, when you’ll finally reach that section of the level you’ve died so many times while trying to get to. You’ll then set down your Wavebird, do a little dance, then get back to the game feeling good about yourself until six seconds later when the next swarm of rocket launcher Mil Bots arrive and kill blow you to smithereens, sending you to the last checkpoint.
To only add to the difficulty, it seems that the Mil Bots have somewhat of an unfair advantage. Most of them are faster than you, and have pretty good accuracy. These are no normal AI. They know when they’re in danger and will run and hide to avoid dying at any costs. They won’t just stand there waiting to get shot. They’ll jump around and over obstacles or try to hide while still in sight of you. Although they do have their dumb moments. While reloading, they’ll just stand there like an open target, and occasionally they’ll all herd together, just asking for a nice grenade to be thrown at them. Of course, these small, dumb Mils aren’t the only type on enemies throughout the game. There are Mil Elites that are excruciating hard to kill, and can take a lot of ammo. Although, this is just one of the reasons why Metal Arms is so much fun, which is rather odd because no one likes to be killed over and over again.
Of course, the Mils aren’t the only ones doing the killing. Metal Arm has a large range of weapons, most of which can be upgraded 2-3 times (a la Ratchet and Clank). The weapons range to the standard machine gun to a bow/gun mix that shoots exploding arrows that will stick into enemies and do a hefty amount of damage. Although these are just two of the many weapons you can acquire, the rest will still do the same job; kill the Mils. Of course, what shooter game is complete without grenades? Metal Arms puts other games to shame with its large, creative amounts of different explosives. Of course there’s the normal grenade, but there’s also grenades that set a line of lava down on the floor, or another that shuts down the Mils for a few seconds giving you some free shots.
Each of the two weapon categories has a “jacking†type weapon where you can make someone else do your dirty work for you. You can either use this web type gun that shoots out a wire to jack a bot which you control with your controller. You take their perspective and can walk past the other Mils, while they’re none the wiser. That is, of course, until you shoot another Mil. This is a great strategy to clear out a crowded room without getting a single scratch. Also, you can throw a grenade that will “jack†anything within a wide range, and have them fight along your side.
Although, sometimes fighting enemies can be somewhat tough, especially on low ammo. A great strategy during this situation would be to shoot with a stronger gun, as you can “de-limb†enemies by shooting them. This can lead to a fun time, as you can save a lot of ammo by disarming them or just shooting their torsos right off. You can de-limb any enemy, which is rather funny, as you’ll sometimes encounter a farting, headless Mil, running around like a madman. It’s rather amazing what can be destroyed in Metal Arms. On certain levels there are bridges or planks held up by skinny red wires. This is where you whip out the Ripper (a weapon that shoots out saw blades) and cut these wires to release the bridge to reach the other side of a trench or drop a large amount of enemies into their grave below.
Although Metal Arms may seem like your regular Halo type shooter, it’s actually part action game. Every couple levels there will be some type of boss, or a vehicle level. You’ll fight against the Milbot King, and eventually General Corrosive himself (twice.) Also, you’ll do certain missions in the RAT, which is the military’s version of a tank. You’ll have someone in the back to do all the shooting so you can concentrate on getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. The controls are really simple, and during some points you can get in and out whenever you like. If you get bored of Glitch, Metal Arms lets you play as other characters through certain levels, such as foul-mouthed Krunk. You can use their special attributes (huge size, control tether, etc) to take advantage of the poor Mils.