Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2

"I like it! I'll play it all day lo... Hey It's over!!!"

Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 is Action\Shooter developed by Ritual Software. This is a great example of a certain kind of games that always disappoints all gamers. A typical victim of extremely rushed development and the result, a game that is like a sneak preview of something much better.

Story: 5/10

The story revolves around Julie Strain the heroin of the Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 franchise and her latest struggle against an evil would-be-God who have come to gain possession of a powerful artifact that resides somewhere in this planet. So far so good but as I've said Heavy Metal is a rushed product and that affects the story too. While it is obvious that the developers didn't intended to make this game story based I think they could do a much better work by enhancing the dialogues adding some more cutscenes, some characters and generally create some mystery around the plot.

Graphics: 8.8/10

The game uses the Quake 3 engine and uses it very, very, very well. If there is something most people agree about this game is that it looks wonderful. Staying faithful to the atmosphere of the comic everything is quite colorful and full of details. Julie is has good design and very good animation whether she runs, jumps or just slicing enemies. Enemies have the same great quality and are quite original in their design. Excellent textures in every possible surface making each area look unique instead of using a boring pattern. The levels are simply magnificent, I just couldn't leave the game only because all areas where very promising and atmospheric. You'll travel through hi-tech sewers and facilities, great deep canyons full of color, gloomy swamps with carnivorous plants and ancient structures full of mystery. Overall it is a great looking game…

Sound: 7/10

Like the movie the music in the game has its own style, something like a mixture of hard rock and electronic music that although isn't something special does the job well and gives the right feeling. I particularly enjoyed the more soothing themes usually heard in the first large outdoor stages. The sound effects are once again quite good without something special, gunshots, enemies and dialogues sound good and won't irritate you or something…

Gameplay: 5/10

If the story was the only problem there would be no problem at all, but unfortunately the gameplay seriously lacks too. The game combines sword fighting, shooting and a lot of platform parts ala Tomb Raider, (but much easier and more action-like). You'll find a lot of guns in the game like, dual Uzis, shotguns, machineguns, energy bows and bazookas, (and some of them have a secondary attack mode), but you know what? All these will probably be used just for the fun of it since most of the time you'll be using the sword and shield fighting style, since it is better, (stronger, faster, doesn't use ammo and you can defend yourself). One interesting feature is the fact that you can hold different things on each hand, meaning that instead of a shield you can hold a crossbow something that results in different kind of combos, but once again 90% of the game is sword and shield and the rest are there just to keep you interested… Another thing the game has is the Eden water meter, which is a second life gauge that affects your agility and defense, but it is so difficult to keep it full that most of the time you won't even bother filling it up.

I mentioned a bit of Tomb Raider style platforming but don't worry, it isn't something sophisticated and hard to do, you'll just have to pull of some precision jumps, avoid traps and swing in jungle vines like a female tarzan… nothing too complicated. Also there is a bit of the typical pull that lever to open the door, push the button to lower the elevator and boring stuff like that.

Enemies, even the hardest ones are easy to deal with and most of them can be killed with the simple combo-defend-combo way. Bosses although need more hits to go down and a bit of strategy, once you figure out what you'll have to do they'll go down in a minute. And now time for my biggest complaint… I've mentioned that the game seems like a sample of an even better one, haven't I? Well this is something I can cope with since the game, although not perfect is quite good… so what is the problem??? It is TOO-DAMN-SHORT!!!!!! I finished it in one go and although I had lost a couple of times, had spent some time wondering around and gazing the wonderful scenery and generally killing time the game was over!!! That is the thing that ultimately destroys the game, as if it wasn't incomplete in terms of gameplay is short too?!?


Positives:
-Excellent atmospheric graphics with beautiful level design
-Good mixture of fighting and platform gameplay

Negatives:
-Short, short, short, short, short, short, short, short, short, short…
-Although you can fight in certain ways you'll end up using your sword all over again
-The plot could be better

Also Play:
BloodRayne 1-2 (PC & PS2)
Devil May Cry 1-4 (PC, PS2, PS3 & X360)
Prince Of Persia : The Sands Of Time (PC & PS2)
Prince Of Persia : The Two Thrones (PC & PS2)
Prince Of Persia : Warrior Within (PC & PS2)
Rune (PC)

Overall: 6.4/10

I think that all I've I explained myself in the previous sections… the game although lacks in many areas is quite good, but I just can't forgive the fact that it is too damn short…

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/08

Game Release: Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 (US, 08/06/00)