The only real downsides (outside of varying personal preferences) would be the unrefined side missions like vehicle / turret stages and a couple technical shortcomings, but it more than makes up for that with its sense of humor and charismatic personalities, the dozens of levels, the high yet usually fair difficulty and a rad soundtrack ( #1, #2, #3, #4, #5) alongside all of the above gameplay intricacies. ![]() Which you will, sometimes with amusing results: It's a surprisingly methodical game once you get down to it, one that doesn't hesitate to punish you if you screw up. Detach his weapons from his joints and he'll just be wandering around, though other specific robots can still repair 'em if you don't blow them off entirely. Shoot off one leg and his mobility (since he can also jump and subsequently groundpound) is drastically limited, allowing you to run away since at that point he can only hop. Shoot off his head and he won't be able to target you, but he'll still fire in any given direction. Absorbs a lot of hits even with some of your strongest gear whilst able to hit like a truck himself, in other words. The Titan for example comes to mind: armed with a rocket launcher on his shoulder and two gattling guns for arms, on top of being very sturdy with an energy shield later down the road to boot. Sometimes you'd simply not have the ammunition for it or you want to save it for a later section in a level, or you'd run the risk of taking too much damage. Robot limbs could be targeted individually and often it'd be recommended to disable a stronger enemy as opposed to killing them off entirely. Binary Domain was a step in the right direction and I thoroughly enjoyed that game too, but ultimately still wasn't as impactful as Metal Arms' way of executing it. More importantly though is Metal Arms' damage model is second-to-none to this day when comparing other (and newer) third-person shooters. There's a lot to like and toy around with. The ability to (eventually) hijack and control any non-boss enemy when meeting the right conditions. Hardly any handholding other than a general outline on what to do, a blessing or a curse depending on your viewpoint. Exploration actually matters and is rewarding the secret golden chips to open up more side content including multiplayer stages, occasional weapon or character upgrades (like HP containers), rare-ish ammunition, different kinds of temporary power-ups and so forth. Upgrades that in turn provide you even more functionality in the long run: the rocket launcher for instance would fire three rockets simultaneously (on top of now allowing you to slap a scope on it) and the bolt rifle upgrades itself with timed explosives. Multiple grenade types too (including one that converts enemies to fight by your side) that can also be combined with a slingshot for much longer throwing range. You can carry far more than just two weapon types at a time, and each firearm is designed around a specific utility. Ammo and health preservation is important no regeneration and ammunition - which varies on a level-to-level basis - doesn't come around easy on the higher difficulties. has its clever moments with some units being legitimately scary all things considering. Instead of being this glorified shooting gallery with push-overs for opposition, the enemy A.I. It oddly felt really refreshing too after becoming accustomed to how big-budget shooters devolved over time it obviously came from an era where mechanical depth was valued more than largely focusing on cinematic production values and demeaning linearity. Always had a soft spot for it ever since it came out, but having replayed a portion of it about two weeks ago, and outside of its heavily fluctuating performance it very much stands the test of time.
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