LucasArts's latest shooter, "Armed and Dangerous" is unusual in a few key ways. It's not "Star Wars"; it's got a whole cast of bizarre characters; and it's from Planet Moon Studios, the makers of the superb, yet under-appreciated game, "Giants." "X-Play" gawks at this British-flavored jaunt into comedic violence.
Armed and delirious
You are Roman, the leader of a small band of rogues called the Lionhearts. Set against a world ruled over by tyranny and idiocy, the Lionhearts are Robin Hood-type blokes who steal from the evil King Forge and give back to the people, because, well, they're really in it for the body count, not the money. While Roman is your usual dashing masked man, his buddies are a little different. There's Q1-11, an elitist, very British sounding eliminator droid who achieved self-awareness through copious amounts of tea. There's also Jonesy, the mole miner with a penchant for explosives. Then there's the utterly useless old blind coot, Rexus.
And what is this band of merry misfits after? The Book of Rule, currently held by Forge. The book holds the key to true power over the land, so the Lionhearts are out to make sure Forge and his moron son can't use it. It's a simple, not terribly original plot, but perfectly serviceable for levels that mainly serve as stomping grounds for excessive -- and often highly amusing -- carnage. Humor aside, "Armed and Dangerous" is, at heart, a fast-paced third-person shooter, and on that level, it's pretty good.
I'm funny, see?
"Armed and Dangerous" spends a lot of energy trying to be quirky and hilarious. In fact, most of its design focus seems bent on pointing out that very fact. It's unfortunately a case of the old "show, don't tell," though. Where "Giants" was genuinely creative, endearing, and downright bizarre, the caricatures in "A&D" are forced. Also, while the cinematics are often hilarious, they usually have little to do with the actual levels, and the in-game humor is hit or miss.
Character dialog during the action is strangely dry and low key. Most sources of amusement come from the enemy troops' reactions and the great weapons. Aside from bombs that make the enemy turn against each other, and another that makes gravity reverse itself, the landshark launcher is definitely one of the most creatively amusing weapons out there. While "A&D" has the usual weapons such as a sniper rifle, mortar and multihead rocket launcher, and the trusty machine gun, the landshark gun actually launches, well, a landshark. You'll see the "Jaws" fin homing in on an enemy and then, suddenly, a huge great white shark pops up from out of the ground and eats the poor sod, then goes on to hunt more enemies.
Nothing like a nice pint at the pub...
Unfortunately, that's probably the most creative and distinctive part of the game. Everything else is good, but not exceptional. The graphics are well done, and the 21 missions are full of buildings and enemies to destroy. The five different areas include snowy hillsides, green and rocky mountain ranges, dark woods, and watery zones. In all, the 3-D engine creates some incredibly textured and contoured landscapes.
You'll often have specific objectives such as rescuing commoners, destroying specific buildings, or protecting a particular person. Throughout the levels, you'll find gun turrets and missile launchers to take control of, boulders to upset until they roll over a cliff to cause certain havoc, and, of course, the local pub, where the resistance secretly holes up and stocks you with new weapons. The pub also acts as the game's save mechanism.
Dumb friends who sound good
The audio work is up to the usual LucasArts standards, with solid voice acting, great sound effects, and a suitably dramatic score. The British bent on the dialog gives the game its "Monty Python" overtones it seems desperate striving for, and the delivery is usually good.
What gamers aren't likely to find so good, however, is the complete lack of any multiplayer action. For an Xbox and PC-exclusive game, this is a big oversight, especially since cooperative play would have been perfect here.
Not having multiplayer is especially galling given how bad the AI of your two gun mates is. You can forgive the lack of AI in the mindless enemy grunts, but Roman really is on his own throughout this game. Q1-11 and Jonesy are good for nothing during heated combat. The lack of support makes the already hard missions even more challenging, and the game's team AI is in dire need of tweaking.
Lionhearts and sheep
As likeable as the good points of "Armed and Dangerous" are, and as fond of Planet Moon's style as we might be, the developer's second entry simply doesn't live up to its potential. There are glimpses of genius here for sure -- the landshark gun, the topsy-turvy mine, and some of the level design and humor come to mind -- but it doesn't add up to a complete game. The action is fun, the environments interesting, and the characters vaguely amusing, but "Armed and Dangerous" suffers from trying to be a lot more clever than it actually is.
"Armed and Dangerous" (Xbox)
