Xbox

Armed and Dangerous

I think Planet Moon did a great job of taking a genre that could become repetitive and dull, and whip it up into a non-stop fun fest. All in all it’s big fun and you should give it a look if for nothing else one scene that I will never forget.

Planet Moon Studios (MDK, Giants: Citizen Kabuto) hits paydirt again with this eccentric sci-fi shooter that keeps its tongue firmly planted in cheek the whole way through. You play as Roman, one of four misfit criminals who are trying to heist the legendary Book of Rule amidst a brutal war, and who, after falling in with a small village, is recruited to protect their homes and rescue elderly peasants. With a little help from your ale-swilling partners, you contend with orcs, basket-weaving monks, and militant gardener druids armed with rifles, sticky bombs, micro black holes, subterranean sharks that gobble enemies from below, and a topsy-turvy weapon that must be seen to be believed.

Replayablility comes in the form of tokens which are used to unlock extras that must be found throughout the many levels. Also XBOX live support means that downloadable missions should keep the game play fresh for quite a while. The bottom line is, if you like to laugh while blowing stuff up, and who doesn't, then you will truly enjoy Armed and Dangerous.

What do you get when you cross a little Monty Python, a little Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a little Serious Sam, and a half-dozen fine English sheep? If you answered “an unholy stew of mutton and paper products”, half points. If, however, your first impulse was to say “the most flat-out hilarious game in years”, bingo, you take home the mystery prize.

Armed & Dangerous was a pleasant surprise. Despite the lack of intelligent AI that ruined any team-tactical strategy, the game is redeemed by its original gameplay and ongoing humor that is interwoven into every aspect of the game whether it be movies, gameplay, or even the weapons. Check your brain at the door, polish your reflexes, and prepare for the wildest, and most entertaining action shooter you can currently play on the Xbox.

Armed and Dangerous is a superb game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet it retains all the qualities that a good game needs to possess. I didn’t test any of the downloadable levels or secret ones, and even without those, this game was a joy, all the way through. This is a great game, that’s unique, funny, and a joy to play, and it’s sure to please anyone who enjoys comedy or just like shooting and blowing stuff up.

Armed and Dangerous is without a doubt one of the funniest games to come out last year. Its distinct humor is an asset nurtured to perfection by Planet Moon. Sometimes linear action is fully made up for with great humor and excellent voice acting. If you like either action or humor, A&D is almost certainly something for you to check out. My opinion is nicely expressed by one of the game characters himself, so like Q puts it; “It almost looks like a video game... a bloody good one.”

Armed and Dangerous is one of those games that doesn't look particularly great, has a number of flaws and rough edges, but yet manages to be entertaining enough that you can't help but want to spend time with it. It's a little like that friend of yours who could stand to lose a few pounds, doesn't always smell the best, and tends to be too loud, but who always buys the most rounds at the bar and always manages to get the best tickets for the game. This is the game that won't win any awards for manners, but is great fun just the same.

All in all, ARMED AND DANGEROUS is an exciting action game that features a plethora of shooting. While it does this aspect well, the main selling point is the fantastic sense of humor installed by Planet Moon. ARM yourself.

Xbox Live owners will have a little bonus with some downloadable content coming out soon. Add that to the list of good things about Armed and Dangerous. Just an overall solid title, which is what you expect from Lucasarts. Good look, but not fantastic. Great, pick-em-up controls and gameplay. And here's your strategy; if is moves, shoot it - if it doesn't move, blow it up. This game is definately worth at least a rental. It will have you rolling on the floor, then getting back up to throw mass amounts of lead. I'm having fun with it, so will you.

Armed and Dangerous is pure, unadulterated, shooting fun and offers a fresh coat of paint to a tired genre. If you're looking for anything more than a flat out action shooter, you're not going to find it here, but that's the beauty of the game and why it stands out above the plethora of shooters out there. The absence of co-operative and any online play is a serious let down, as it is so much fun and could have been even more-so online with friends.

Planet Moon, the developers behind Armed and Dangerous, haven't made very many games. In fact, they've only made one: Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Granted, Giants was an excellent game that combined beautiful imagery, innovative gameplay, and a wicked sense of humor to create a game that more than a few people - including us - named "Game of the Year," but we still weren't sure whether Planet Moon was a one-hit wonder, or a genuinely fine developer. Now we know. (The latter, mind you).

But while Armed and Dangerous biggest downfall might be that the title is limited in appeal and only really concentrates on bringing down waves of enemy attacks one after each other, it’s all been done with so much enthusiasm that it really doesn’t seem to matter. Time and time again we laughed at the story FMV, we laughed while we played and we just had to keep on playing and playing until we had completed the game and watched the final scenes. Can we say the same about the majority of games out there? We certainly can’t, and that’s why Armed and Dangerous (like Giants before) might play a little slow at times, but still manages to bring in a more than healthy portion of game play to open our eyes to what games should be like, having some honest fun. Smiling while your having fun is optional, but at least Planet Moon gave us that option.

There are many unlockable cheats in Armed & Dangerous that you will find scattered throughout the levels. It will take you more than one through to unlock them all. There are only about 10 hours of game here if you play only one time through. I say A&D is a very good rental, but questionable for a purchase.

Overall, a cleverly written story with fantastic dialogue which will make you laugh when watching. Too much game play for a rent, but enough to show you that it would be worth buying.

Still, Armed & Dangerous has its strategic moments, its hilarious but functional weapons galore and a humor that’s hard to beat on any platform. That’s all great stuff, from an entertainment perspective. But the abrupt "linearity" of the level objectives and an inconsistent scale of difficulty tend to interrupt the game just as things start to get good, which ultimately takes away from the "wow factor" we had back in May.

All in all, Armed and Dangerous is a fun game, but is more notable for its humor than its gameplay. A fun rental for sure, but a buy for only more hardcore of shooter fans.

There are lots of things out there in this crazy world of ours that don’t take themselves seriously such as prop comic Carrot Top, reality shows like Average Joe or The Simple Life, and Michael Jackson’s cosmetic surgeon. Few of these, however, really manage to entertain us beyond the initial shock value (except for Michael Jackson’s cosmetic surgeon – his work is downright hilarious). The same is true in the video game industry. Many developers have taken a shot at the humorous gross-out angle to sway the young demographic towards the market shelves with little success.

Anyone who's ever sat down for lunch with any development team knows that, as a rule, they're usually groups not known for comedy stylings. Talent, resourcefulness, toy collections, sure but humor? Not so much, which makes Planet Moon Studios the odd man out, as things go. Its Giants: Citizen Kabuto was a twisted stroll through what might have been a mutated set of alternate English Isles. Now with backing from LucasArts, the not quite follow-up is Armed & Dangerous, an action blast that salvages Giants' shortcomings with heaps of humor and style.

In the end, this game is campy, unrealistic, and rough around the edges, but it excels at what it?s supposed to be:, a twitch shooter that packs as much humor as it does bullets. The game might be a completely random assortment of mismatched themes, but it?s still fun nonetheless. There?s just something about having bagpipe music similar to Braveheart playing in the background as twenty enemies run at you, screaming and firing rifles. Don?t sweat the odds though, you?ve got your trusty Land Shark, and he?s hungry for dinner.

All in all Armed and Dangerous is just your average shooter. It doesn't really offer any innovation in the genre and the graphics and audio are rather plain. It is nice to see a game that uses humor as a focus of the story. It's been quite a while since I played a game this funny. If you are into mindless destruction, carnage, and humor this is a perfect game for you.

Armed & Dangerous is one of the best third-person shooters around, but it doesn’t do anything overly special. If you are looking for some mindless shooter action that will provide some good laughs along the way, you’ll definitely want to check out Armed & Dangerous.

The bar has been raised inordinately high for an adventure game that involves mostly shooting and has no multiplayer options. It has to have an interesting story, great graphics and be a lot fun to play through by yourself. Armed & Dangerous hits all those notes, with only a few disappointments in graphics and options. Whether you enjoy the story and characters is very subjective and will probably drive how much time you're willing to put into the game. For most with a sense of humor and a thirst for destruction, A&D is well worth the time. It's a shame it has to end.

Die Gegnertypen im Spiel unterscheiden sich leider kaum, in den späteren Levels treten lediglich mehr von ihnen auf einmal auf. Neben den Gegnermassen kann von Häusern über Geschütztürme und unschuldigen Schafen so ziemlich jedes Objekt im Spiel zerstört werden. Das Actionfeuerwerk erstreckt sich dabei über insgesamt 21 verschiedene Missionen, die auf fünf verschiedene Landschaften verteilt sind. Von Eiswüsten über Gebirgspässe bis hin zu dunklen Wäldern wird viel Abwechslung geboten. Aufgrund des immer gleichen Spielablaufs wird Armed and Dangerous aber leider recht schnell eintönig und es kommt Langeweile auf. Wer aber auf unkomplizierte Non Stop-Action steht, wird in den zehn Stunden, die man etwa für das einmalige Durchspielen des Spiels benötigt, definitiv auf seine Kosten kommen.

Armed and Dangerous is the latest game from Planet Moon Studios, the company behind the goofy, imaginative, and well-received PC and PS2 shooter, Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Humor in games can be a pretty hit-and-miss affair, and while not every single joke in Giants was laugh-out-loud funny, it still managed to be a funny game without feeling fake or forced. Armed and Dangerous features the same humorous spirit as Giants while it also produces a fairly good--though somewhat simplistic--mission-based third-person shooter.

Picked up on suspicion of being Armed & Dangerous, lengthy interrogation of these Lionhearts reveals their true criminal intent - falling short of their own lofty ambitions. Enough cutscene and Land Shark buffoonery accompanies their jaunt across Milola to cover the price of (one's) tagging along. Strip them away and the barenaked shooter still plays better than most. That it somehow feels disappointingly ordinary only serves to confirm the creative genius evident in the rest of the 'designer' garb.

Armed and Dangerous is a good game to play if you are seeking a no brainer killing spree game. The endless cannon fodder and weapons will keep you entertained whilst following the comedy storyline will make you laugh. However the simplistic nature of the game play makes it pale in contrast to its peers such as the previously mentioned Brute Force and Freedom Fighters. The lack of any multiplayer aspect is also a bad move. Had the game offered that little bit more or something unique other than its comedy, then Armed and Dangerous may have been more appealing to a wider audience of games players. As it stands you have here an average nice looking shooter laced with some good old fashioned wit. A rental for those who like something deeper and a blast for those who just don't give a dam.

Pourquoi est la question que l'on pourrait aisément se poser à la vue de ce jeu estampillé Lucas Arts. Pourquoi avoir si mal équilibré et réalisé le digne successeur (humoristiquement parlant) de Giants. Ce dernier disposait d'un gameplay fouillé, d'idées novatrices, d'un design estimable, tout le contraire de son petit-frère, sûrement abandonné à la naissance par des parents malveillants. Un jeu moyen qui sonne creux sous sa carapace richement ponctuée d'éclats de rire. Le conseil que l'on pourrait lui donner émane des Monty Python :"Bring out your dead !".