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Surprise hit of the year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 25
Date: August 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I spent some time with this game at this years E3 and there is no question this is going to be one of those surprise hits no one sees coming. That's a good thing too, because in a year without Halo 2 Xbox is going to need something to kick it in the pants.

The graphics are some of the tightest the system has seen, each world is just beautifully rendered in 3D awaiting to be demolished by your weapons. I had a blast just picking away at enemies limbs, the way they pop and squirm as you shoot them is just awesome, you really need to see it in action. This game really pulled me in from the moment I picked up the controller.

No serious gamer can pass this up and it won't take much convincing of an average joe to get hooked.

fun fun fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: January 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Wow, there's a lot of misinformation in the other reviews about Metal Arms. First off, you can have a whole bunch of profiles in your save games, so you can have as many games in progress as you want. Second, there's a review that rants about the difficulty of one of the bosses. It's not that hard. Not anywhere near that hard. Is it challenging? Sure - the whole game's challenging. Maybe the character design is misleading, but this is a game for experienced gamers, not for people who have no experience with shooters. I know that sounds obnoxious, but there's not really any way around it. The level of difficulty on "normal" is somewhere between "normal" and "hard" in Halo, if that helps.

The game is basically a third person shooter - much more action than story, much more shooting than puzzle solving. The bosses are often puzzle-y, and there is some switch hunting, but nothing that really upsets the pace of the action, which is pretty incredible.

The "feel" of the game is spot-on. The weapons feel powerful, the sound effects give them a proper weight, the explosion effects are excellent, and the bots you destroy explode in a burst of parts and fire that is really cathartic. The levels are open without being directionless, linear without being overly restrictive. Basically, you have upgradeable weapons, one in each hand (each hand has a different set of weapons), so you might have a chaingun in one hand, and EMP grenades in the other.

The weapons are pretty well varied - you get your standard machine gun, rocket launcher, etc., but you also get grenades that reprogram your enemies to become your allies, a weapon that fires something similar to circular saw blates (very useful for dismembering your foes), and a gun that fires exploding, firey rivets. Fun stuff, and suited for the varied situations you'll find yourself in.

There's also other innovative things, like a control tether that allows you to control other robots, little consoles where you can control big armored ships, and a whole mess of other things. The game has a wicked sense of humor, and really memorable and endearing characters.

The only problem I have with the game is that there is a vsync issue - if you watch the game, the screen "tears" horizontally when you move quickly. This can be distracting to a person watching the game (this same graphics bug plagues Jak II, for the PS2), but when playing it, it's not an impediment.

This is the kind of really excellent game that gets overlooked because the character design and the content of the game aren't necessarily congruent. That's a shame - the game as a whole comes together really well as a perfect mix of insane action, and a great setting.

HALO fans will love this game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

An outstanding Third Person Shooter with excellent graphics, sound , and gameplay! It truly feels like playing a light-hearted version of HALO, complete with awesome vehicle use and melee attacks! Also it has a great story with excellent voice work.

I try very hard to take shooters on their own merits, but the similarites to HALO are uncanny. This game is chalked full of spastic running and gunning against various butt-kicking, smart enemy A.I. that works together well. But don't worry because you'll have help from friendly A.I. fighting beside you. However you must either keep yourself as a fast moving target or use the cover provided by the large, beautiful levels (or maybe alittle of both) to stay alive. The vehicles are original and handle well. This is a very challenging and entertaining shooter. The multi-player format (like HALO) provides for hours of replay. For it's bargain price you really don't have a good reason to, at the very least, not rent or buy this game. Metal Arms is one of the most enjoyable shooters I have ever played!

Hearing enemy robots scream never gets old

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a 3D action-shooter that's been called a combination of Halo and Ratchet & Clank. High praise for an unlicensed game from a small developer. But Swingin' Ape Studios has delivered a fantastic, fun, lengthy, and challenging game that deserves all the status of higher-profile titles.

You control Glitch, a mysterious robot found by a rebel force on the planet of Iron Star. General Corrosive and his army of Mil mechs are overrunning the planet, and it's up to you and your arsenal to take em out. OK, so the story isn't the most original ever written. However, the dialogue is well-written and hilarious, and the voice-acting is very well done.

The gameplay is what matters here. Glitch's right arm can be outfitted with any of 15+ weapons, ranging from a machine gun and rocket launcher to a rivet gun and mining laser. His left arm is used for support items, like grenades, but some items can be combined with his equipped weapon (use a scope with a compatible weapon and you can snipe from a distance). Weapons can be upgraded, as can Glitch's own servos, which enable him to reload faster. Destroyed enemies leave ammo, as well as washers, which act as the game's currency, letting you purchase extra life, grenades, or weapons. The game controls like Halo - left stick to move, right stick to aim - but is in third-person. Left trigger is for Glitch's left arm, right trigger fires his weapon.

Pretty basic stuff. But there's more. Glitch can use a weapon called a control tether, which can be used to hack into enemy droids, giving you complete control over them. You can use this to scout ahead, sneak into heavily guarded areas, or hack a huge armored mech to lay waste to everything. And I mean everything. Destroyed bots fly apart into pieces (often with a funny death wail). Bridges collapse. Doors are blown inward. Buildings crumble. There's a lot of interactivity in Metal Arms, and you'll need it, because the game can be tough in spots. However, you've often got several strategies to try. Come across an area with too many enemies? Shoot out the grate beneath their feet and send em into burning lava. Use the razor gun to sever an enemy's arms so he can't use weapons against you. There are also gun turrets to man and vehicles to use (one level has you fleeing across a desert canyon in a jeep much like Halo's Warthog). Once you've wasted all enemies in an area, exploration can net you extra ammo, new weapons, or golden computer chips (which unlock new levels for multiplayer).

Metal Arms looks great. The levels range from labs to robot cities to underground mines to open deserts - there are over forty in the single-player game. Characters are well-animated, and the sound effects are about as perfect as you could ask for.
Music is appropriate without being distracting, and as already mentioned, the voice-acting adds a lot of character.

There are eight multiplayer modes for up to four people on splitscreen. One mode limits everyone to control tethers only, so it's a mad dash to jack into the strongest bots. There is also the option to create your own type of game. It doesn't support LAN like Halo does, but the splitscreen is almost as fun - the inclusion of CPU-controlled bots is a nice addition.

The only thing negative you could say about Metal Arms is that it's being released in the time of year when multiple high-profile titles are coming out every week. It's sure to get lost in the holiday shuffle, a fate it certainly does not deserve. Swingin' Ape are a talented bunch, and this delightful, diverse, and rewarding game is a very welcome surprise.

Blast your favorite robot and watch it scream! Yay!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game! It has a lot of levels and a good range of weaponry. You can have machine guns, scatterguns, and, my favorite, rivet guns. The rivet guns are kind of like a needler from Halo mixed with a sniper rifle, and it blows limbs off easily. That is what I liked the best about this game, you can blast off any limb and knock limbs loose so they flail around uselessly. It seems like the creators of this game where greatly influenced by Halo. It has a fast vehicle like the Warthog. It has a tank like the Scorpion Battletank. It has Zombiebots that seem like Flood which take several kills to actually kill them. And they have Swarmers that seem like Infection Forms. Though this game may not have a really creative storyline and may have things that remind you a lot of other games, this is a great game and it was most fun. Go try this one. Hearing robots scream was worth it enough for me.

metal arms:the best game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: July 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this game was one of my favorites because cool weapons good graphics and not just one of those simple to beat games. i think everyone should buy this game because if you liked halo you are definitly going to like this game

Hard, But Fun......

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

How I describe this game is hard, but fun....
It has 17 Weapons, all upgradable (I think)
More than 50 levels (40+ in Single Player 10+ in multiplayer)
Very intense firefights,
Beautiful graphics,
and "Hillarious" dialouge that is accually funny, and Dan Castellenta (The voice of Homer Simpson) does the voice of three of the characters in the game,

But I warn you, the game is very tough to finish, not scream and break your controller and throw the disc out the window hard, just a intense challenge, but the rewards are great,

DO NOT PASS THIS UP, I SURE DIDN'T! :D

TiE

Incredibly detailed, innovative gameplay is Metal Arms

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a great game. If you've played Ratchet & Clank or Halo and liked it, this is a definite buy for you. It blends simple controls, complex graphics and incredibly surprising gameplay/action. It controls like Halo, only that it is Third-Person, alowing you to see more. It has a wide veriaty of weapons, many upgradeable for faster and cooler explosions.

The graphics are incredible. The envirnment seems like it is real.The enemy bots look like they've been actually made, and they rust and loose their limbs as you deal damage to them. Now you, you are incredibly detailed. You loose limbs and rust, like the other bots, and you blend great effects with great graphics.

The gameplay is incredible.Dificullty can be easy-hard. It handles like Halo and the controlls are easy to get used to. The action is great, just like everything else. When you shoot your enemies, they loose their limbs and rust until they explode. To do this, you have 2 weapon sets: First and secondary. The first contains machine guns, rocket luanchers,shotguns, ect., each upgradeable. The secondary contains things like grenades,scopes, ect., only secondary weapons cannot be upgraded.There are 17 weapons in all.

The sound is incredible.The enemy bots taunt you and scream in agony when you start to blow them up. Voiceovers are good, and music is nice. Weapons also sound realistic. Only thing is that you cannot play your own soundtracks.

The multiplayer is fun. up to 4 players, and unlockable areas mean for fun multiplayer.

*This game lacks online play*

The Official Xbox Magazine gave it a 9.0 out of 10.0, earning it an Editors choice award. Personally, I give it a 10.0 out of 10.0

The best game in a long time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game was the biggest surprise for me in a long time. Great levels, weapons, enemies, upgrades, vehicles, graphics, challenge, game length, and overall fun. It's one of those games that always seems to offer something new each level you start. It has varied gameplay spanning 42 levels (and they all are different with no annoying repetition) in single player and is a great length for this type of game with about 14 levels of multiplayer that offers more replay value.
Unfortunately, this is one of those games that has not gotten as much hype as the others that were released and many people may not have played it which is a shame given that it does so many things right and offers so much.
Difficulty is tough but the games levels dictate strategy as much as just running and shooting. At first a level may seem impossible, but after trying a different approach, it actually could become very easy depending on different techniques (tethering, recruiting enemies to help you, which weapon to use and when, etc.). It never made me want to put it down (even when I had to repeatedly keep trying to pass certain points) due to there was always a way.
I know they recently dropped the price and this game is really worth the money at full price, so I have no idea what people are waiting for. If you like shooters/platformers type games, this one is a must buy. It's that good.

This game is insane!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System has to be one of the best shooters around. Its got brutal fighting with lots of varied levels and gameplay, making this one of the most unique and fun games I've ever played. It has a large arsenal of great weapons and they're all upgradeable so they change throughout the game. Each class of enemy robots have their own weaknesses, so you can switch guns in mid battle to make sure you have the most efficient killing machine on hand for the next group of bots making their way over to attack you. Sometimes you'll find yourself quickly backing away to keep your distance from a charging, slashing, shrieking enemy while you switch over to a better weapon and reaload it before blasting the crazy dinosaur-animal bot to pieces. These quick monsters attack anything in sight, even other enemy robots, and only add to the already ferocious and frantic mechanical slaughter in this game.

Metal Arms is tough all-out warfare with heavy machine guns blasting, missles whizzing by, and robots exploding with limbs and parts thrown everywhere. But it's also smart and tactical with special grenades that have various effects, the tether enemy takeover weapon, and long range scoped sniper weapons, it just depends on how you play it. There are so many options to killing these bots it's crazy. Robot torture is my favorite. You can shoot a saw blade at an enemy's gun arm and make it totally unable to protect itself, with the useless weapon just hanging there and twisting around firing at the ground as the defenseless bot itself is screaming in panic because it can see you switching to the shotgun and aiming at its head. Maybe it's wrong to treat these poor little guys like this, but I don't care this is the coolest video game I've played in years.

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