Coded Arms

"Coded Arms is the kind of game some people will fall in love with, and others see it for what it is."

Genre: FPS (First Person Shooter)

Coded Arms is one of the best, yet worst games out on the PSP, it is different from a generic shooter, but still highly entertaining to some people, but still odd enough to make some people put the game down in an hour or less.

Appeal: 6/10
If you take a fast liking to Coded Arms, you will certainly be playing for at least five hours. It will pull in most FPS fans, except for the few that are 'spoiled' on amazing graphics. The game is fast paced and has more than enough action to give many hours of enjoyment to people who like an action packed game. However, Coded Arms has a few major flaws that will make some people dislike the game, thus cutting it's appeal by a mile. Anyone who enjoys a game that is ever changing and gives you a feel accomplishment will be disappointed with this peticular title, though there are endless levels to play on, they become repetitive rather fast. Though people who love a good challenge will love this, most people, who like to feel like they did something will not enjoy Coded Arms in the least.

Gameplay: 6/10
The best, yet worst part about Coded Arms, is the gameplay. It is fast paced, has tons of weapons to choose from. The enemies get harder as the game goes on. And, best of all, the levels are randomly generated. The way the game plays out may seem perfect to some. More than worthy of a ten for the people who truly love the game. For an FPS fan this could be a dream come true, there are infinite levels and more than triple the amount of weapons the average game has, this gives you something to work for. You can save at any time during the game. And even the Multie player is well done, because of the amount of weapons you can choose to fight your opponents with. Your weapons range from, rockets launchers that explode into, fire, lightning, poison, or a regular blast. You can tons of different grenades, from grenades that explode and throw smaller bombs, to ones that make a dummy version of yourself to fool enemies. You can even get two types of sniper rifles, assorted machine guns, and other odd ball weapons like a flame thrower. And has massive bosses that are highly challenging but still fun. Now, you may be thinking this sounds too good to be true, well, sadly it is. Though Coded Arms has all of that good stuff, it has a few, massive flaws that will keep most people from enjoying the game. The main flaw is the fact, that almost all of the levels are repetitive. Though they all have different settings, they all seem to have the same type of layout. Also, the controls aren't smooth, though you can lock on, they don't allow for accurate firing or easy aiming while jumping. Overall Coded Arms is great for people who enjoy games of the FPS genre, but most people will be disappointed.

Level-Layout: 6/10
There are three main styles of level, ruins, city, and base. The city stages usually have a "cramped and over populated future" feel, the base stages have the feel of a factory crossed with typical 'futuristic' military base. And the ruins tend to feel like typical ruin stages in most games. Though there are different settings, they are almost all have the same setup. You have, ramps, elevators, and level floors. Thats all. Though the set up of the levels vary between missions, they are too similar to be fun. At times you will end up wondering around hallways and giant rooms searching for your target, and other times it will feel more linear than House of The Dead. Another flaw is the fact that the levels have no outdoors areas.

Controls: 6/10
Coded Arms control setup is one of it's biggest down falls. You look around with the main button pad (X, O, Square, and Triangle) and move with the joystick-thing. To jump, you press the L trigger, and to shoot you press the R trigger. Though it may sound like a decent set up, it's the actual way it controls that it the flaw. When your looking around, the camera skips positions, it moves about half a centimeter when you look around, even if you tap a button, the camera snaps over. This makes it extremely hard to aim accurately, meaning you will have to use the auto-lock to hit enemies, and even then, it's nearly impossible to aim while jumping. Other than the poor aiming movements your forced to make, Coded Arms has smooth controls.

Multie Player: 8/10
Though the one player missions are repetitive, the multi player maps have more than ten, entirely unique levels that can appear. You can have up to four players in a match, you can choose the size and type of the area that will appear, though there are only about ten main set ups that appear, the random parts of the level that appear keep people from abusing portions of the map. Best of all. The multi player matches are fast paced, and since you have plenty of weapons to choose from, and have a good amount of health. You will have very intense matches, that are sure to please even those who didn't enjoy the one player mode.

Entertainment: 7/10
The main game is highly entertaining at times, at some points in the game you will completely forget the world around you. But other times, you will feel like your forcing yourself to play the game, or like your mindlessly wasting time. Though, if you really take to the game, the times of frustration and boredom will be outweighed by the times of entrust and enjoyment. The boss fights can be annoying at times, but for the most part they are just hard enough to keep you on edge, but easy enough that you won't die again and again. Though sometimes, during 'infinity mode' the bosses become insanely hard, and will make you want to throw your PSP out the window. If you like, but don't love Coded Arms you'll get maybe four hours out of it, if you love it you'll get over ten. And if you hate it, well, you'll try to get a refund before you leave the store parking lot.

Graphics: 8/10
The look of your weapons has a great 3D look, the weapons and areas are detailed down the metal grating on the ground. The weapon fire looks good too. The only down fall, is that when your looking around the camera jerks, so it's hard to really appreciate the backgrounds. Also, when you look around there is a large amount of motion blur and the frame rate drops down to like 60FPS (i.e. it gets really skipy). Other than that, Coded Arms is one of the best looking PSP games out there.

Sound effects / Music: 9/10
The one thing that makes Coded Arms stand out above even most console games is the extremely detailed sound effects. The type of ground your on changes the sound of your foot steps, you can hear gun shots echoing into the distance, and you can even hear your enemies foot steps. Back ground items, like small waterfalls will also make very realistic sounds. The music is the only downfall to the sound, it may be well made, but it is very repetitive and there are not too many different songs that play.

Replay Value: 8/10
People who don't like the game might not even beat it. But for those who do enjoy it, the games entertainment will last far beyond the end of the game. There are plenty of weapons that you don't find during the game. So you'll have to play infinite mode to get them all. And if you like the multi player, getting weapons will be a huge reward.

Overview: 6/10
Coded Arms is the kind of game that about 75% of people hate and the other 25% love or like it. The game is fast paced, but is repetitive. The areas are detailed but when looking around things get blurry. Though the sound effects are superb, the music lacks. Overall if your going to like Coded Arms, it will depend on who you are and what kind of game you like. The main flaw is the games lack of appeal. It deserves a nine for those who love it, but nothing more than a 4 for those who hate it. It deserves a solid, six out of ten.

Rent or Buy?
If you love the FPS genre buy, if not rent before you buy.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/05