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

"It was all right while it lasted."

Heavy Metal FAKK 2 is the video game incarnation of the sequel to the cult classic Heavy Metal that happens to be based on an updated Quake 3 engine. So this games rocks right? Well, yes and no. The game rocks while it lasts, that is one of my major complaints about FAKK2, it is just too short. But, while you are in the mix of the game, it will seem very Tomb Raider-esque without all the pixelation. This game really pushes the limits of graphics and manages, IMO, to raise the bar. Another problem with the game is its stability. The game crashes. Constantly. This is what happens when developers were forced to get the game out near the release of the movie, the game is just too unstable. Lots of slowdown, and yes crashes so save often.

GAMEPLAY: 6/10
While the game play is solid, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. Having to make too many perfect jumps just takes away all the fun out of playing. The variety, or lack thereof, enemies leaves something to be desired, you'll soon get bored of the same 10 enemies and unoriginal bosses.

GRAPHICS/SOUND: 8/10
Like I already said the graphics are killer, but unless you have a high end video card, you'll need to lower the resolution and texture detail, which totally negates the pretty factor of the game. The sound effects were very good as was the voice acting, but the music was not to my liking.

STORY: 4/10
Apparently the story was just a leftover, it just serves to move the stages along, not to enhance gameplay. Since the voice acting was so good I was hoping for deep dialogue between characters, but sadly the main character Julie never feels the need to converse with the townspeople at length.

REPLAYABILITY: 5/10
Because the game is so short, you'll run through it in about a week, tops. So don't get to giddy about replaying it. The cheats serve to liven up gameplay, but that too soon grows old. The complete lack of a multiplayer feature whatsoever baffles me.

RENT OR BUY?: Until this drops to <$30 don't bother.

OVERALL: 6/10
Average, that pretty much describes it. If some more time had been taken making the game longer, more stable, and just plain better it could rely on some other factor, beside graphics, to hold itself up.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/00, Updated 11/14/00