Born for Wii: Metal Arms (page 2)
Metal Arms takes place on the planet Iron Star, where a beleaguered Droid rebellion is struggling against General Corrosive and his vast army of Milbots. The last remaining hope for Droidmanity resides in the hands of
Colonel Alloy, leader of the rebellion. Think of Alloy as Metal Arms' Morpheus, while Droid Town is its Zion. Of course, that begs the ever-important question: who's Neo? Why, that'd be Glitch.
The game begins with Glitch being discovered in a pile of debris, but he's soon repaired and brought up to speed on Droid Town's plight and enlisted to help defend the besieged city. Things soon snowball, and before you know it you'll be caught up in an epic adventure to defeat the evil General Corrosive and save the Droid people.
One of the things that immediately startled me when I began Metal Arms was just how cleverly it was put together. From the get go, the voice acting is fantastically cartoony and the dialogue is well-written. Those of you who grew up in the Toon Disney era may recognize certain voices -- Rob Paulsen, Dan Castellaneta, and Patrick Warburton are some big name stars who really bring the characters in Glitch in the System alive. Within two minutes of the game's opening you'll be exposed to a fantastically cranky robot dropping the f-bomb (bleeped out, of course) and a 50s-style black-and-white informative video fleshing out the history of Iron Star. And that's before you get to shoot Mils and watch them comically run in circles before exploding.
The robotic theme permeates every aspect of Metal Arms, which really helps give the world character. You'll collect washers to buy weapons and upgrades, batteries to expand your lifebar, and various chips to accomplish objectives or unlock secrets. Both of Glitch's arms can be customized to hold either a primary or a secondary weapon, and there are quite a few. You'll find your traditional machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and shotguns here, but Metal Arms also features the Control Tether, which can be used to take over enemy bots and use them against their comrades. A host of grenades and other secondary weapons complement the base set of guns, and finding the right combinations is a crucial element of survival. Certain weapons are far more effective against certain enemies, so experimentation is key. On top of the more than substantial inventory, Swingin' Ape decided to make most of the weapons upgradeable, upping their damage and making them super effective.
The gameplay lives up to the variety of the armory. Metal Arms is long for a shooter, and platforming fans will find a little to love in the game, too. There are also some genuinely fun vehicle segments and plenty of different enemies to tackle. Your garden-variety Milbots are entertaining and not much of a threat, but they come in all shapes and sizes -- the Titans, especially, will send a chill down your spine.
