PDA

View Full Version : metal arms?


Red_Hex
03-14-2004, 04:09 PM
metal arms: glitch in the system, to give it the full monty

its a little-hyped game that i didnt know about at all until i saw a screenshot of a tank. since halo ive been waiting for tanks. so i read up on it. its a multi-platform console shooter. pc diehards can forget this.

one of those games we all have our own examples of, that rule but which do surprisingly badly. obviously i dont have sales figures but i just know it is.

its like a cross between halo and ratchet and clank. you play glitch, a droid bot on the planet ironstar. its currently in the grip of a rogue experimental upgraded droid, who has installed himself as dictator, enslaved the rest of the droids and built his own army. you are discovered on a scrapheap and recruited into the droid rebellion. so far so normal. the storyline is fairly predictable. what sets this game above the rest is the execution of the story, and obviously the gameplay.

the cutscenes are rife with bad language and decent lines, completely tongue in cheek, and not naff at any point. very worthwhile, and for simpsons fans, dan castellenata (or however its spelt) voices some of the characters. gameplaywise, the weapons are all there and do what youd expect. the vehicles handle similar to halo's but kick more ass, if you dont include extreme warthog jumping. some sections are pretty damn hairy, and others are pant-wetting. owing to its robotty theme, you have a few weapons that add a lot to the game through posession and recruitment of enemies using control tethers and reprogramming grenades... sometimes i hide in a corner while the small army ive turned to my side deal with the rest.

multiplayer stands out. gameplay tends to revolve around aforementioned control tethers and recruitment grenades, because its a handy thing to have a 3 story high bot wading into the fray alongside you, and even better if youre the one driving it, and best of all if youre the guy who sees it enter the room and then recruits it himself.

im not prone to posting reviews. i felt compelled to publcise this game though, because it should by rights be big, and it is small, and thats a story that every one of us here knows off by heart. so console owners, go buy it.

jessica00
03-14-2004, 04:12 PM
:up:

GrandpaTrout
03-14-2004, 07:08 PM
Hey, one of those screen shots looks like you can blast holes in walls or doors.

Red_Hex
03-15-2004, 06:22 PM
... what screenshots? i neglected to link any. you looked them up yourself? intarweb savvy points to you sir

you can blow holes in stuff at certain predetermined points like any game.

yesterday i unlocked a new map on it. every map has a gimmick - giant turrets, or bots, or whatever, and this one, the gimmick wasnt clear so i had everyone over for a blast. while we were testing it out i found a pink thing to stand on. i told everyone to come into that room and look what happened when i did it... turns out it makes the floor disappear and everyone on it fall to their deaths. three free kills for me.

the developers are called swinging ape studios. i never heard of them before, but metal arms is of such quality im assuming they must have a history. does anyone know other games they made?

Nightwatch
03-16-2004, 05:50 PM
You'll find that a lot of studios are basicly development houses thrown together to make that particular game. It would be far more revealing to have a look at the develpoers (ie the people) and look them up to see if they have done anything.