It's pretty Fakking good
Written: Oct 31 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great levels; nice design and gorgeous Julie, I mean graphics.
Cons: Bad clipping; memory leakage; and heavy combat to puzzle ratio.
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| daedric's Full Review: Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 For Windows |
In the 70's, there was a marvellous European comic called Heavy Metal that was made into a movie. It's most notable feature was the advanced animation ..... oh and there was also the naked ladies and swearing too. Now, years later, film has a sequel that has been produced. In true tradition, the game has been released well before the film.
You take the part of the amazonian protector of the planet Eden. The eponymous Julie defeated some evil space dude some time ago and now has to once again take up arms, as her beautiful planet - which harbours the water of life - is once again under threat. Only the FAKK 2 (Federation Assigned Ketogenic Killzone) satellite, which apparently blows stuff real good or warns people away or whatever, can save you now. Then for no readily apparent reason your sister gets kidnapped. She's about to drop a sprog so it's even more desperate that you get her back. While this is going on the religion-corporation Gith comes closer, ever closer to finding Julie and her home planet Eden.
Ok, so that's the plot, so how does it play? Read on.
For starters it uses the Quake 3 engine, so unsurprisingly it's efficient, handles the big loads pretty well and the graphics are mainly smooth (except for a big clipping problem). However, it's the gameplay that really comes out. There is a feeling here of an inspired collision between mighty Quake 3 and, of course, Tomb Raider, with old Lara making her bosomy presence felt. But I also detect the strange camera angles and two-handed combat being rather influenced by the criminally underrated Shadowman.
There is a variety of leaps, rolls, jumps, sidling and all sorts of gymnastics to be performed. The camera system revolves around a mouse/keyboard interface. It's clever and makes for an interesting style of gameplay, but what's really needed is a way to somehow level out the view. It's not always convenient to stop and even up your camera, especially when running and fighting.
Using these moves is something of a pleasure in this huge world. It's pretty linear, I'll grant you but the levels are creatively designed - occasionally you just stop and check things out. And in a pleasant gaming flashback, there is a bunch of secret levels, power-ups and cool weapons to be found.
Of course, on must navigate a large amount of puzzles and trickery to get past a lot of these things. What is it about third-person action where designers get so caught up with one particular kind of puzzle? Soul Reaver had its endless bloody blocks. Tomb Raider had locked doors and FAKK has jumping puzzles. Loads of 'em. Thankfully, there are very few run like mad for the door that will open for a half a second two thirds of a map away.
Combat is, as mentioned, a two-handed affair, much like the camera control. Mainly it's a shield sword combo, but the use of explosives, pistols, slings, double-handed weapons, big guns and assorted instruments of destruction adds a pleasing amount of spice to the combat. And there is a lot of it indeed. Combat comes fast and thick in parts, yet while there are the occasional cool-ass beasts and level bosses, most often you'll be fighting bloody irritating hordes of bugs.
Fighting really does suffer from the non-localised camera control. Trying to juggle between two weapons at the same time as igniting two dozen space bastards while making view adjustments grows to be more frustrating than challenging. I'd also suggest that there is really not enough ammunition on the levels. Yes, the sword and shield combo is fun, but a few more rounds for the BFG-type death machines would certainly be welcome.
As for the luscious Julie, what could one say about her. Mega-drool. Enough said, but my last words on the matter are, Lara Croft, watch out!
Music is reasonably good. Occasionally some Euro beats comes on, so by and large you'll find yourself quietly paying attention to some interesting tunes.
Unfortunately, without a patch of some sort, the game will clip like a damn schooner. You won't know where you are or what the hell you are walking through. Then there is memory leakage. After about an hour the game becomes akin to watching a steam train pull out. The game should never have reached gold in this state.
FAKK 2 is not the most thought-provoking of games, but for those of you who dig on the genre and for those of you who have not found something that attracts you yet, it's definitely worth a look.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
daedric
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Member: Stephen Sumich
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 7 members
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