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Heavy Metal: FAKK2 June 7, 2002 Price: $10 (full retail packaging)
Having never seen the "sexploitation" comic magazines nor the Heavy Metal films of 1981 and 2000 (the second of which evidently parallels the events of this game) it took some effort to discover what the title acronym "FAKK2" meant without having to sit through the long winded opening of the game. I have hence learned that it stands for "Federation Assigned Ketogenic Killzone" and a bleeping level-two one at that. The "FAKK2" is announced by a specialized space buoy that warns space travelers that the planet it orbits is in a state of quarantine and must be avoided at all costs. This, however, is merely a ruse. The planet contains the fountain
of youth which grants humans (and apparently mosquitoes) immortality--though
the ruse might have been a bit more effective had they changed the
planets name to something other than "Eden," like perhaps,
" Planet of the Immortal Killer Mosquitoes." Naturally,
the evil supreme enemy guy arrives wanting to harness the benefits
of the fountain all to himself and gratuitous violence and soft-core
porn ensues.
Or, that is what the franchise would have you believe. Truthfully, the game world of Heavy Metal: FAKK2 is quite rustic and is little more than a retread of Star Trek: Insurrection, right down to the jumpsuits. Though the title character (modeled and named after one Julie Strain) often has her own blue jumpsuit torn and altered in a fashion that some men might smugly deem "strategic" (thinking themselves clever in that they were able to use a euphemism despite their state of horniness) none of the other inhabitants of Eden seem to notice the protagonist's appearance is notable or out of the ordinary, let alone sexy. For a game that is banking on sexism as its appeal to the gaming
public, the more scandalous elements seem to be added as an after
thought, such as all the female characters delivering their voice
lines in an inappropriately sultry manner--as the words themselves
contains little or no innuendo. In fact, the game's sexuality seems
largely conservative, as Heavy Metal: FAKK2 might be the first
game to feature a 3D model of a pregnant woman. While the intention
might have been to play Julie's more liberal "tendencies"
(see, I can do euphemisms too) against that of the rest of the populace,
that does not take place as they just accept her for who she is and
let her go about her business of saving their lives without commenting
on her wardrobe; somewhat akin to Lara Croft before Eidos discovered
they could have her take showers.
Heavy Metal: FAKK2 was the first game released to take advantage of what the Quake III engine had to offer, and despite being first on the block, the team at Ritual was able to craft a game that took the engine in a new direction, offering a third person view-point and no multi-player modes at all. Nearly all of the contemporary reviewers seemed to enjoy the game but noted that the level design seemed to become more rudimentary as the game progressed and ran out of steam all together in a rather sudden ending--providing only about 10 hours of game play that while fun, was not worth the price of admission. At a bargain bin price, however, such a game can seem remarkably attractive. Even so, the design flaws of Heavy Metal: FAKK2 still stand out. Why make the player sit through an extended expository scene and tutorial to learn how to make Julie perform acrobatic moves and use weapons such as sling shots that are only useful once in the game, if at all, after that point? Why spend the effort programming in the ability to climb fences and swing on monkey bars if those feats are not going to be duplicated in the level design?
It is regrettable that the more innovative features of the game are overshadowed by this sense of incompleteness. Among them, is the ability for players to mix and match their weapons, selecting different ones for each hand (using both mouse buttons)--allowing Julie to wield a machinegun in one hand and a rather creative combination sword/chainsaw in the other. Level bosses are also rather imposing, inspired by those that plague console gamers, complete with colored "health bars" (something that Ritual will also be including in its upcoming sequel to Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force). The world of Eden is also hauntingly rendered with vivid pastels; at least for the first few hours until the player is sucked down into the obligatory sewer sequence. For $10, Heavy Metal: FAKK2 will provide a rather entertaining
and succinct diversion that gamers can enjoy without the fear that
their money is paving the way to an even more gratuitous and sexually
explicit sequel--because this horse is dead. by Richard Leader |
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