Gun Metal

"Well, at least it has guns in it."

In my wait for the releases of what may be one of the greatest mech games to ever hit a home console (Steel Battalion), I decided to fill the void with a little known game from Rage Software under the unassuming title of GunMetal. I wasn't expecting much from the game and all the little bit of research I did into the title a month before its release (which is when I first heard of it) revealed that you were in control of a giant, transformable mech. Hmm. Well, at least it could transform, I thought. So what the hell, I gave it a go.

Er…I know there was a story here somewhere, but the game forgets to actually tell you much of anything once you get started. The plot foes something like this- sometime in Earth's future, mankind has used up almost all of its resources due to overpopulation, so explorers are sent to distant solar systems to find a new planet to rape. Once one is found, huge teleportation gates are built, linking the two planets together for easier transportation of the new planets resources. However, the two factions that make up the Earth's population begin to fight over the newly discovered world and a devastating war breaks out. One faction (the side your with) packs up, goes through the gate, and destroys it from the other side (think StarGate). A new civilization is built and all appears to be well. However, one day, many years later, the gate mysteriously reopens and the enemy's army begins pouring out. That's where you come in as pilot of the Havoc Suit- an experimental weapon that is to turn the tide of war…That's it. Enjoy what little bit you know now because that's all your going to get except for the obligatory 'Congratulations, you've won the war!' speech.

Graphically, GunMetal is an above average looking game. Nice, sharp textures wrapped around clean polygons. The bright, vibrant colors stand out well and make for some interesting weapons' effects (though actual light sourcing is nearly non-existent). Animation is good (particularly the transformation sequence- you can see the various parts of your mech actually fold up and tuck neatly away as the jet form cocoons it) and the frame rate only seems to drop when you destroy a large mothership. Another cool thing about this game is the scale- you can actually see little soldiers running around on the ground as they attempt to attack you. And yes, you can stomp them which produces a satisfying cloud of fine, red mist. Unfortunately, the blood produced seems to be a bit more than what the average human body should hold, but I guess the programmers wanted to make sure you could see the carnage. It also would have been nice to include an in-mission map, but the radar serves the same service in a more limited fashion. It's too bad the draw distance is so damn close, which causing many of the game's enemies to almost appear out of thin air.

Typically, the musical score isn't enough to actually carry the game. The tunes are descent enough, but nothing you'll remember five minutes after shutting off your Xbox. It's a good thing Rage decided to include the option to use your own custom soundtrack; nothing like blasting through a game in a giant robot while Iron Man blares in the background. The sound effects are pretty good, but some sound a tad out of place in context to the associated action. For example, there are some guns which sound less powerful than they actually are.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how well GunMetal controlled. The triggers control primary and secondary weapon fire, while the face buttons handles the factions of jump, transform, ect. Using the directional pad changes your secondary weapon and the analog stick control movement (including strafing). I had no problems controlling GunMetal in either mode (the controls adjust ever so slightly) so switching between the two was actually enjoyable, even in the heat of battle. In fact, the only thing that detracts from the otherwise excellent handling of your war machine is the delay between pushing the button and actually transforming. One of my favorite tactics was to fly right up to a mothership, transform in mid-air and let the momentum carry me to a landing spot on it's back (where the least amount of guns are), then tear into it with my heaviest of weapons. When I finally fall the behemoth, I transform before it crashes to make my escape. At least, that's the plan. What ends up happening is I push the button just as the enemy ship explodes and as the burnt out shell falls to the earth, GunMetal waits and changes into a jet roughly one in-game inch from the ground. That complaint aside, it's a fairly solid control scheme.

I'm sure on paper, the idea of GunMetal seemed great and many design sessions immediately proceeded. Unfortunately, it seems much of the design brainstorming went into mech and weapon concepts and little else. Sure, the menus look slick and the load times are covered by the mission briefs, but the actual stages themselves are almost laughable in their scale. While I can't be completely sure of this, I'm almost certain Rogue Squadron had larger levels. I'm not talking about the recent title mind you, I speak of the hardware pushing N64 version. And why even bother to come up with a plot if you're not going to actually use it to tell the story. There are no story cut-scenes of any kind, so all of your story information is gathered from mission briefings. The final insult comes in the form of game length- 14 missions that span a total (yes, I said total) of two hours. Two hours?!? Don't get me wrong, they've built a fairly solid foundation for a game, but a little more time would've have gone a long way.

Too bad Rage didn't see fit to include any extras for your efforts. Nothing new (like a different mech or hidden weapons) opens up for you to use when you beat the game, giving you no reason to play through the game a second time. In fact, aside from a 30 second CG ending and some snaps of conceptual art, you might even know you've beaten the game until the main menu comes back up. It's a shame too- at least giving you the option to customize your mech with a different paint job or custom decals would have been a nice feature. Oh well; maybe in GunMetal 2.

The decision to buy this game really amounts to how much of fan you are of mechs. I myself am a huge fan so I enjoyed this title a lot more that the average gamer. The nice thing is, the game quickly went to bargain bin status, which makes it a little easier on your wallet if your unsure of its worth. More than likely you'll want to give it a rental and then decide if you want to own GunMetal.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/09

Game Release: Gun Metal (US, 07/30/02)