Coded Arms

"A solid start for FPS's on the PSP"

First thing's first. This game has been underrated by most magazine's/gaming sites. A lot of those reviewers can't seem to recognize that while the PSP is a powerful little system, right now developers are limited on how much of that power they can use. So they're expecting a FPS on par with recently released FPS's on the current generation of consoles. That right now, would be impossible. Plus there are quite a few complaints about the control with the lack of a second analog stick, which is really unfair because that's not the games fault at all. So yes, the game was underrated for the most part. HOWEVER, there are some legitimate complaints that those reviewers make. Lets take a closer look, shall we?

GRAPHICS -

Absolutely stunning, this has to be some of the best graphics that the PSP has to offer right now. The visual style is awesome, and the effects are really nice as well. The graphics will blow you away. The only gripe I have with them is that there is some slowdown from time to time when you're in a room filled with tons of enemies and lots of shooting/explosions going on. Other than that, it's amazing.

9/10

CONTROLS -

It's true that a second analog stick would have helped, but like I've said before, that's not the games fault. The developers have basically gone back to the days of the N64 with controls for moving around being one analog stick and four face buttons. It works quite well, and doesn't really hinder the game play at all. Plus, you can change the controls to fit whatever preference you may have.

The lock on could use some work though. Sometimes when you're in a fire fight it's hard to keep the target on the enemy. I know that that's customizable, but that doesn't change much, and just because you're locked on it doesn't mean that you'll hit the target all the time, hell, most of the time you'll miss unless you're really close. It still works though, just a little bit of a nuisance sometimes.

9/10

GAME PLAY -

You move through one room to another, shooting everything in your path. That's about it. Luckily, with a FPS that's meant to be played on the go, that's all you really NEED. It's quite fun to blast through a bunch of enemies, and trying to think up which guns will be best to put in your quick-select.

What's also cool is that you can upgrade your weapons as well, by collecting certain items that enemies drop when you kill them you can upgrade the weapon you currently have equipped. This adds a nice RPG touch to the game.

There are three bosses in the game. Each on provides it's own challenge. Although most are pretty easy to figure out, and just boil down to shooting the crap out of the boss.

One of the big things that was talked about before its release was the random level generator (RLG from now on). So that levels are created randomly, meaning that there will be different hallways, rooms, locations of elevators, etc. every time you go from level to level, or start a level over. This sounds like an interesting idea. But really, I would have much preferred them to have pre-rendered levels. That way the developers could have made sure that each level brought its own unique experience. For the most part the RLG doesn't provide very much refreshing experiences. There will always be elevators that lead to nowhere, hallways that have dead ends, and platforms that lead to nothing. The feel of it all gets really repetitive after a little while. I know that Sector 2 has some newer styles of levels, but it still just feels the same, and is usually pretty dull. So the RLG is a neat idea, but not one that I want to see too much of in future games.

6/10

STORY -

It's the future; computers are used for absolutely EVERYTHING. A training program was created by the military, but was shut down. However it kept growing and growing and is now an intense labyrinth. Some people have decided to hack into the program and get all sorts of new information and data and whatever, these people are called the 'Coded Ones'. You play as one of them.

That's the plot, and that's the plot in its entirety. Yes, I know, weak. Very weak. It's an interesting concept, but that's all it is, a concept, it doesn't go anywhere. The only cut scenes are brief ones of the bosses when you enter the room.

I wasn't expecting much of a plot, but I was at least expecting SOMETHING, anything at all that would make me interested in anything but the game play. I was sorely disappointed.

2/10

SOUND -

The sound effects are nice, the music isn't really all that interesting, but it serves a purpose. It lets you know when there are enemies around. No voices or anything recorded at all though, not even groans.

8/10

REPLAYABILTY -

Well, there's an infinity mode that is apparently ever lasting, with rooms constantly being randomly generated. So you can literally keep playing as long as you want, so long as you feel the motivation to that is.

I've already mentioned the upgrading system that may keep you playing to see how powerful you can become.

The only problem is, there not that much else to keep you playing. There are some new guns in infinity mode, but there's not much to say for unlockables.

7/10

OVERALL -

It's not a bad game by any means; it's a very solid FPS for the PSP. I had lots of fun playing it, but when it's all said and done, there's not a great deal of stuff there. It just gets too repetitive after a while. The RLG doesn't change enough to make it seems all that different. It's more a problem with the environments though. They're just too bland, even in the more interesting ones in sector 2. It's still the first FPS for the PSP and it's a very capable one. Just don't expect a console FPS experience. A promising start for FPS's on the PSP.

6.833333333333/10
Rounded up: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/05