Metal Arms: Glitch in the System

"Easily wins the award for sleeper hit of 2003"

When I first picked up this game, my first impression was “this looks really stupid.” To me it looked like just another game about robots shooting each other. Let me say this, the box does NOT do this game justice. While I was still watching the opening scene, I realized that my thoughts toward the game were completely wrong. Now, after playing the single player game 5 times, and multiplayer mode countless hours, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is easily one of my favorite games ever.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are…well…graphics. They're not drop-dead gorgeous like Resident Evil 4 or Doom 3, but they're definitely not bad *coughTurokEvolutioncough*. A lot of detail has been put into the characters and environments. The lighting and shadows seem a bit off though. Oh well, graphics aren't what makes a game, right?…..right?

Sound: 9/10
I'll be honest with you, when playing a game, sound is not something that I generally pay attention to. Usually I have the volume down anyway, so I don't really care. It takes a lot for a game to capture me with its sound effects. Metal Arms did that to me. The soundtrack, the dialogue, the SFX, they all were amazing. The music is mostly (if not all) techno. I don't get the soundtracks for many games, and this was one of them. The music isn't what captured me, however. It was the dialogue. If I were to describe it in one word it would be this: “hilarious.” Everything from the double entendres to the insults the grunts yell at you during the firefights had me laughing. There were several famous people doing the voice acting too, including Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson).

Story: 8/10
Long story short, the Droids created a flourishing society of the metal planet Iron Star. Then an evil, militaristic robot called General Corrosive brought his army of Mils and took over, creating a regime which oppressed the Droids. Some of the Droids fought back. In the game you play as Glitch, as mysterious Droid who was found in a junk pile. He is taken to Droid Town, HQ for the Droid rebellion. Before long, Droid Town is invaded and Glitch must join the fight against the Mils. Your adventure starts here. The plot was decent, but got confusing at points. There were a few times when I was thinking “Why am I doing this again?” Overall, they didn't detract from the experience though.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is where Metal Arms really shines. The game is a third-person shooter with a few platforming elements. It felt like what you would get if you took Halo and Ratchet and Clank, and put them in a blender together. Your fight against the Mils lasts a whopping 42 levels. That makes for a lot of play time. You'll love every second of it though. Glitch can be equipped with a wide variety of weapons, everything from a laser to a machine gun to a gun that shoots exploding arrows. Each of these weapons can be upgraded by finding or purchasing upgrade kits. One of the most innovative things about Metal Arms is the control tether. This device allows you to hijack an enemy and take over their body. This single item added so much to the game, I can't imagine what it would've been like without it. The AI is amazing. The enemies will do everything from taking cover to using grenades to flush you out of hiding. I've even seen them dive out of the way of an explosion. This game easily has some of the best AI I've seen this generation.

Multiplayer: 9/10
The only reason the multiplayer doesn't get a ten here is because there is no online support. Every other thing about it was perfect. The levels are large, but small enough so that you don't find yourself wandering aimlessly just to find your opponent. You can take control of vehicles or tether disabled Mils to use against your friends. You can even use recruiter grenades to create a mini-army. The recruiters and tether add a whole new level to multiplayer deathmatch. Besides deathmatch, there are several other options you can choose, such as Tag or King of the Hill.

Replay Value: 8/10
Metal Arms has over 100 secret chips that you can find to unlock new multiplayer levels. If you never play multiplayer, then this will be completely useless to you. Also scattered throughout the game are several weapon upgrade kits. These increase the destructive power of your weapons immensely. Even after I got all these things, I still found myself coming back to the game.

Difficulty
This is a very hard game. And that's when you're playing on the easiest setting! If you're one of those people that just runs in guns blazing, you'll never make it past the second level. Strategy is a must if you are to beat the game. Use every weapon at your disposal. There are four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard, and nuts of steel. Nuts of steel is insane. It will take every ounce of skill in you to beat it at that level. That's just more incentive to play it again though!

Overall, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a very good game. It easily wins the award for sleeper hit of 2003. Everything from Mil grunts running around with their arms dislocated to Krunk's badmouthing is incredible. If you own a GameCube, Xbox, or PS2, then you owe it to yourself to go out and buy this game right now……..well, are you going yet?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/05