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There are a few things wrong with Heavy Metal: Geomatrix. The camera can be awkward, the hand-to-hand combat isn't great, and the players need to move faster. But at the end of the day it's all about fun, and Heavy Metal serves it up in spades. Heavy Metal is a deathmatch title first released in the arcades. Two arcade cabinets could be hooked together for a 4-player deathmatch, but the Dreamcast version has been sliced down to two.
Heavy Metal deathmatches are quick and fun. The title is based on a comic book so there's pleny of flavor to each of the 12 characters. Each carries a specific weapon and have varying attributes. Deathmatches can be 1-on-1, 1-on-2, or 2-on-1 [you and a friend vs. computer]. Weapons are laid out across the field and range from dinky guns to full-on missle launchers. The skycam missle actually changes your view to a birds-eye scope, where you can launch missles-a-plenty while your opponent runs for life. If your weapon runs out, you can beat 'em down with punches and kicks - though hand-to-hand combat is a little slower than it should be. There are a few elements to balance out gameplay in Heavy Metal. After players get hit they can pull of a quick recover flip in the air to get out of trouble. In co-op battles players can revive their partners after their death with a push of a button. There's a glide feature to dodge incoming weapons. Or you can pull off a plain jump and glide to get out of the way. There are few two player co-op titles around, but Heavy Metal lets you and a friend take on one or two computer players via a vertical split screen. The result is a quick and typically meniacle fight. As mentioned before, Heavy Metal isn't perfect. The camera can get stuck and give you the absolute worst viewing angle. You'll have to move your character around to adjust which can be a pain. Moving around can also prove tedious when it feels like your character isn't running to full capacity. The frame-rate can also drop way down in 2 player co-op matches. But for the most part it stays at that magic 60fps. Music and sound are quite good. Each weapon blast is loud and each character has catch phrases before and after each match. The music is of course heavy metal. Hits like "Moto Psycho" are a little off the wall, but it's good enough to get you pumped. If a few elements were improved Heavy Metal would be a surprise hit. The matches are quick and a fun way to get your deathmatch quick-fix. Plus at $19.99, you can't go wrong.
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