All about the fire sword
Written: Jan 26 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pretty graphics, cool swords, nice combos.
Cons: Atrocious last level. Almost non-existent jumping maneuverability.
The Bottom Line: If you can deal with a disappointing ending, and an absolutely horrific last level, the rest of the experience is worthwhile.
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| byonder's Full Review: Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 For Windows |
The Intro
I’m not sure how many people will read this, since the game has been out for a few years now, but I figure I might as well write about it anyway. I just finished the game. I had bought it over a year ago, but my system wasn’t all that great, and to play it with all the detail down would have made for a lame experience. Needless to say, I’m glad I waited.
The Graphics
FAKK 2 is a very pretty game, no doubt. The Quake 3 engine makes for some vibrant colors and beautiful effects, even by today’s standards. If you’ve got the power to play it at high resolutions with all the details up, it’s actually quite impressive. As is mentioned in other reviews there is a major clipping problem, which the patch doesn’t even fix. It also seems that certain textures that were intended to be transparent aren’t, which gets really confusing in the swamp levels where there are lots of hanging vine textures and such. These shouldn’t be enough to deter anyone from buying the game though, especially since it now frequents the bargain bin. Of course, as everyone knows, graphics aren’t everything when it comes to games…
The Gameplay
It’s your standard 3rd person fair. The camera is behind and slightly above your character, but otherwise the controls are identical to an FPS. Controls are good while you’re on the ground, but jumping is a real problem, and jumping and actually landing where you want is and even bigger problem. And due to the fact that the camera not only controls where Julie looks, but also controls which way she’s facing, can cause you to fall off things a lot, and it’s usually when precision is required. I really hate quicksavers, you know, the people who quicksave every three steps, or after every enemy they kill, but unfortunately if you don’t do that (to a degree) you’ll find yourself replaying a lot of areas just ‘cause Julie “looked” off the edge. So make sure you save before you leap.
The Combat
Combat is achieved through a large array of deadly looking weapons. Unfortunately the weapons look more deadly than they actually are, and in truth, you won’t even end up using that many of them. The chainsaw sword, while looking very cool, is awkward and clumsy. The same goes for the battleaxe. There are also your standard set of firearms, a pistol, a plasma shotgun, machine guns, a rocket launcher and a chain gun. But due to a limited amount of ammo, you really probably won’t use these too often either, or at least reserve them for the bosses. There are also a few slingshots, which are absolutely absurd. They’re slow, they’re imprecise, and they don’t even do much damage. What it comes down to is the fire sword. It’s quick, it’s powerful, it lights enemies on fire, and when used in conjunction with the small shield it has a sweet combo attack that will also shield you if you’re being fired at. I would recommend forgetting that the other weapons in the melee category even exist (aside from the lightning sword, which you get towards the end) and save the other weapons for bosses.
The Sound
Sound breaks down to three categories in games. There’s the really good sound, where you notice that everything sounds crisp and clean (Metal of Honor Allied Assault). There is the really bad sound, where everything sounds so tinny and canned that it’s a trial to even listen to (Resident Evil). Then there’s the mediocre sound, where you don’t even seem to notice the sounds. They’re not bad, but they aren’t particularly good either. This is the category into which FAKK 2 falls.
The Problem
Overall FAKK 2 is an enjoyable game. Unfortunately, the very last level contains the most aggravating, infuriating, inane jumping puzzle ever conceived. Ever. It will have you screaming at your computer, and coming close to smashing the CD into tiny bits and mailing it to Ritual. Taking into consideration what was said before about Julie having trouble staying on small surfaces, imagine an entire level that is composed completely of small surfaces from which you need to jump one to the next. Now imagine that while you’re trying to jump there are loads of enemies shooting at you and dive-bombing you. You will die. A lot. At least 50-100 times. No lie. You will have to save after almost every jump. This level came close to ruining the entire experience for me. Thankfully, this level was saved for the very end, if it had come sooner, there is no way I would have finished it. Oh yeah, and the ending is a real turd too.
The End
Despite the aggravation of the last level, the game was a good game. Since it is only about $10 now, I would recommend picking it up. It isn't groundbreaking, and you probably won't play it more than once, but it's a fun distraction nontheless.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
byonder
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Location: New Jersey, USA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Graphic design major, gamer, anime junkie (hate to admit it) and martial artist.
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