Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2

The Good
Thirty years before the game, Julie (voiced by and modeled after actress Julie Strain) defeated the evil Tyler and founded the sanctuary planet Eden. Preserved by Eden’s waters, neither Julie nor her fellow colonists have aged (meaning Julie still has bounce in her bosom). But all is not well. Strange meteorites have been pounding Eden’s shields and where they break through, the local flora and fauna is hideously mutated. It’s up to Julie to take up sword and shield and detonators and rocket launchers and uzis to solve this mystery.

The game begins with an excellent tutorial explaining Julie’s wide variety of moves. Julie can use monkey-bars, swing on ropes, edge along a narrow path and much more. She also has excellent sword combat moves that can be connected into a combination attack. Although Eden seems calm at first, it doesn’t take long for mutant mosquitoes to harass the livestock. As the game builds, Julie encounters an alien menace that seems plucked from Oddworld and there’s an insinuation that the evil Tyler might not be dead.

Heavy Metal FAKK2 is a short game, perhaps there are no more than ten levels, but the levels take you through the colony on Eden, Eden’s sewers, swamps and then several dimensions reminiscent of Undying or Half-Life. It’s played in the third person, which helps with the amount of acrobatics Julie must perform. The game’s story isn’t well developed but it held my interest and while there aren’t too many monster types, you meet several interesting characters along the way.

There are many weapons including several types of swords and guns. While you have to keep your eye on the health bar, there is also a water bar. The water of Eden acts like a shield, so attacks diminish your water supply before your life. Water also empowers weapons, causing your fire sword to flame and your lightning sword to electrify. Finally water increases your athletic ability. When your water is at it’s highest level, Julie can run faster and jump higher.

Graphically, this game is beautiful, sounds are great although the music is something less than “Heavy Metal,” and voice acting is good.

The Bad
I actually don’t think Heavy Metal is way too short but the game could have easily been expanded in to a much longer game with more development and attention to the characters. Julie’s biggest asset is her physique, complemented by at least three costume changes, but Julie Strain’s voice work is very good and it seems like her character has some depth to it. You also encounter several interesting characters but cannot interact with them on any real level.

Also, with a game this short do you really need three swords? The option to use one uzi or one in each hand? Do you need to end the game on a cliff hanger, especially since it’s unlikely we’ll see a sequel?

This is a great game overshadowed by what could have been.

The Bottom Line
Let’s see: we have a scantly clad woman running, jumping, swinging, and blasting baddies with a wide variety of weaponry… and it’s not Tomb Raider… even better, although similar to Tomb Raider, it’s fresh and exciting… and then it ends.