On the whole, yes, FAKK2 is great fun. The game lets you use different weapons in each hand which adds a lot to the game. You can use a shield and sword, shield and uzi, sword and pistol or just opt for a two-handed axe or chaingun. There are a number of different combinations and it's interesting playing around with them to see which works best in a given situation, or just for the sake of a change. Monster AI provides a decent challenge, side stepping the odd attack and effortlessly tearing chunks out of you in close combat on a regular basis. It isn't going to win any awards, but nor is it stupid and it works just fine considering the action-oriented nature of the game. The story always plays second fiddle to the action but it's still there and drawing from the Heavy Metal background means it's fairly strange (just wait till you meet the pipe-smoking Rastafarian swamp creature named Gruff) yet original. The biggest problem aside from the brevity of the title occurs if you spin Julie around near the edge of a cliff. Doing this will often move her over the edge of the cliff, sending her plummeting to her doom. Annoying as this can be, at least the near instant quick-load feature makes it less frustrating and you won't come across the problem very often.

Now, it has to be said that FAKK2 is hardly revolutionary. There are a number of neat touches such as the weapon system and creative enemies but nothing that's going to change the gaming world. But then, who cares? It looks fantastic throughout, is sheer fun to play and ever so slightly strange (in a good way) thanks to the Heavy Metal setting. Longevity is a weak point since it's a little short and has no multiplayer, although Ritual are hoping to add this in a later patch. With this patch they're hoping to do more than bolt on netcode so it should be pretty damn cool. Despite its few faults, fact is I really enjoyed Heavy Metal FAKK2. The only time the action lets up is when you have to solve a puzzle and they're never of the “find key, open door” variety so they don't get in the way of the action much at all. It's the best action shooter I've played in a good while, and if you're up for that style of gameplay I suggest you give it a go too.

By Pete Closs
Games Editor