Loaded

"For being one of the first-generation Playstation titles, you really can't complain. If nothing else, it satisfies some blood-thirst."

Loaded is one of the Playstation's first oldies, and in my opinion, one of their first goodies as well. The graphics certainly don't impress anymore, the controls are a bit troublesome (well, really only the directionals), and the soundtrack probably won't awe you at all.

So what's good about this game? Essentially, everything, and yet nothing at all. You have to be able to look at this game in a historical video-gaming perspective to be able to appreciate it's achievements. When Loaded is looked at in the right light, there is an incredibly fun top-down shooter, with great atmosphere and characters at your disposal.

You can choose from a good assortment of anti-heroes, all completely insane and straight out of the asylum. You have your basic shoot and a special weapon, that differs with each character. For example, one of the characters has a special weapon that shoots out a multitude of teddy bears that take out your enemies...yeah.

As I mentioned before, this game has great atmosphere, and to give you a good example of this, I'll talk about the opening level of the game -- the asylum (not a big surprise, right?) It's dark, it's dank, it has lots of locked doors as well as crazy inmates and the asylum guards. Now, since you're FROM the asylum, you'd think that you'd just open up the doors and let the inmates run free, right? You know, a loyalty sort of thing? Well, not the case in Loaded -- the inmates are also your enemies, and they will go so far as to run up and kick at you through their restraints. Simply, you must have no mercy and you must blow them apart -- and this is the most satisfying part of the game.

The bloody splatters and moans of people as they are completely annihilated by your weapon of choice is truly, one of the most satisfying aspects of this game. Bloody outlines cover the floors, and stay there as a landmark of sorts -- to say that you've already cleaned out/investigated the room.

Investigation IS important, because your objectives always consist of getting the keycard to unlock a certain door, etc. A pretty tired gameplay mechanic, yes, but still not that bad.

You'll also need to investigate the rooms for health, because you'll certainly be losing a lot of it throughout the game. Even with the settings tweaked to their easiest, this game still puts up quite a fight. Mind you, I'm not saying this game is really hard, but it's easy to lose a lot of life and never really notice it, due to the fact that your character really makes no real attempt at alerting you regarding health loss.

I really have to add that I found a good majority of the soundtrack in this game to be fitting and interesting, if not innovative or spectacular. If you ever played the DEMO for Loaded, way back in the day, you might remember the tune for the first level, as it was certainly a great track and helped foster the atmosphere. I'd say the music definitely has a somewhat techno quality to it, not unusual in these types of games, although this was one of the first to utilize it.

Simply put, this game is great, especially for people who can appreciate a game regardless of it's weaknesses. If nothing else, the bloody splatters and interesting assortment of characters will interest you. But in my opinion, there is definitely more -- a simple shooter with great atmosphere. Pick this one up if you can. Highly recommended.

Price I found this game for: $2.99

--PROS--
1) the bloody splatters will satisfy the gorehound part of your brain
2) the music is pretty cool
3) the characters are, to say the least, interesting

--CONS--
1) another shooter...
2) controls have aged somewhat badly
3) keycards! NOOO!! not again!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/04