Metal Arms: Glitch in the system is a down to earth example of what sleeper-hit is. Every now and then games arise out of no where and go unnoticed, but to some like us, we take great pride and joy in such findings, as this game. Even with high scores in the many magazines, titles like these are destined to be overshadowed over by games such as Halo. And yet this game also succeeds in giving the highly acclaimed Halo a run for its money, in terms of gameplay.
"Now you are their last hope in gaining what they pursue the most, a Future."
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Presentation
The story that is presented in this game is not something we haven’t seen. In fact I believe that this is the weakest attribute of this game. The synopsis is the usual big evil guy sabotaging things, then a hero comes along and saves everyone type of style. Or if you prefer a more in depth into the game’s story: Iron Star is a planet inhabited by robots. These robots, known as Droids, run Iron Star; they go on about their daily lives living with safety and security. Improvement and modification of droidkind was not something new on Iron Star. Constantly they were being updated to improve efficiency in whatever aspect they could. But like all Droids their inner workings were to complex for even the most brilliant of scientist to understand. This prevented them from evolving into their max potential. Previous attempts to advance droidkind always ended in failure. Until one day a brilliant scientist named Dr. Exavolt, in an experiment to advance Droids everywhere, created an unstoppable, highly advanced, and a terrorizing menace named General Corrosive. An experiment to benefit all, gone terribly wrong and that only succeeded in creating evil. The General then went on a rampage destroying the labs and all scientists, and so on to take over the factories, producing an army of MilBots, and soon conquering Iron Star. Except for a small group of rebel Droids, who now dwell in a secret city, named Droid Town -- their only task, to fight for freedom. After recruiting all the Droids who were available, Droid Town went on a quest to seek for more functioning Droids. This is where Glitch, the main character comes into the picture. Being found ’ dead ’ you are brought back to life and informed of the current tasks at hand. Now you are their last hope in gaining what they pursue the most, a Future.
Graphics
You probably won’t be mind-boggled by the visuals, but they are quite well executed in their own way. The geographical features of levels are packed with realistic buildings, although at times they may seem more "polygon infested" than real.The levels which are in continuous bombardment actually change with accordance. Nicely rendered, and very little to no slowdown at all. Overall, the game is very well designed. It’s not the best, but enough to make you wonder. And so on…
Sound
Metal Arms features spectacular voice acting. Dialogue is nicely executed, and at times humorous. Many times though you’ll here the same line over and over again from the hurtling enemies... To finish everything off, the music is marvelous. While it’s not on par with games such as Final Fantasy, it flows nicely and flows accordingly with the action.
Gameplay
Campaign
What Metal Arms has is a new style and fresh properties we have yet to see in a game, until now. Filled with hilarious lines everywhere you venture. Many of the comedic situations are unexpected. You’ll find yourself laughing continuously throughout the game. Even the bad-mouth Krunk [a Character] with his bleeped out goodness causes a smirk here and there. The introduction itself sparks interest in anyone who watches, latching oneself to continue playing.
On one arm, Glitch can carry an impressive variety of different weapons from a good ole’ mining laser to rapid fire weapons, with each weapon being useful for the sole purpose of kicking Milbot-Ass. Most are also upgradeable. On his other arm Glitch is loaded with an array of grenades. Sometimes grenades prove useful when large amounts of Mils are on your high-tail, or when you just want to have fun. From Magma Bombs and even grenades that make Mils side with you--are provided in such missions when needed. With enormous environments Metal Arms will keep you searching for more enemies you can annihilate single handedly.
So far I’m very pleased how SAS [Swingin` Ape Studios, the devs of this game] managed to create 40+ solid levels of undignified fun. Each level is amazingly dazzling, featuring a wide variety of mission objectives and crazy frenzy rushing enemies that will keep you on your feet. There are even a few ’breather levels’ or a minute break from the guns that have taken you afar. They are full stages based on you driving the RATs [Rapid Armor Transits] across large territories. Additionally, every once in a while Glitch is assisted by other Droids, which surprisingly quite useful thanks to their intelligent AI. They actually help you out when you are in the midst of a battlefield. Another one of the game’s unique features is the control tether. This beauty let’s you take control of enemies [only those who are able to be controlled]. With it you can infiltrate parts and clear things up before Glitch himself advances any further--saving you the trouble of running down your own battery [life meter].
However, this game is not something we could blast our way through easily. Difficulty settings are Easy/Normal/Hard/Nuts of Steel. Although most of the time I had no trouble, the game runs on a trial and error basis. More than once you’ll go through a stage until you succeed in its completion.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is just as well planned out. The control tether is available to take control of NPC bots scattered throughout the stages. You are allowed to use tanks and RATS to assist you on destroying your fellow friends in head-to-head combat.
There are various Game-Type modes from which to chose from. Bot Brawl, King of the Hill, and Tag are just a few of these. If you ever get restless of repetitive play with the same combat modes, there’s even an option where you can make your own Mode. Although it’s not as flexible as your might want it to be. With 12 levels of being killed or killing, you and your friends will be busy for quite a while.
So far this game seems like it’s very well made, but most of the time everything is too good to be true. Or is it? If you’ve played many shooters, horrible controls usually affect how good you play in the game. In this game that is not the case. Shoot with the R button, jump with A, crosshair with C stick, and so on. It’s just your standard control scheme fit for another magnificent 3rd person shooter.
Lasting Appeal
The Replay value in Metal Arms is great. Each of the 42 levels lasts an average of 25 minutes, so no one can wrong here. Finding different ways to beat levels, even for the pure enjoyment that they produce is enough to go through it once more. Then again, another reason is to find ’secret chips’; which are used to unlock multiplayer levels and a rumored secret character. To find these, one must explore thoroughly or complete a level before a certain time, earning you a speed chip. Another great thing is that you can get just about everything on easy mode, except of course--the knowledge that you were one of the few, who accomplished the feat, of completing the game on Nuts of Steel.
Overall
There aren’t many ways that you can go wrong with this game, it’s just splendid. The gameplay is fun, solid, and very addicting. Throughout 42 levels of sheer excitement and a wide variety of weapons, you might find yourselves screaming along with enemies, or not. The makers of this game put all their heart into it, and currently they still await the green light to produce another sequel, and finally tie up the lose ends in the story. In which my opinion, will finally get the attention it deserves.
