Droid Town and an exploring group of small druids find an unknown and badly damaged deactivated machine lying in a heap of rubble. They return to the labs and though some of the memory chips are fried, the droid remembers its name – Glitch.

Glitch is reactivated into a world that is seemingly foreign to him, but a newsreel brings him up to date. On the planet Ironstar, Morbots were the dominant race but a race that lived well underground. Few saw them and to do so was tantamount to death. The name itself inspired fears of mutilation or deactivation.

A society of druids was created and one scientist, in trying to create a better droid, unwittingly unleashed the vile machine known as General Corrosive. Corrosive and his minions soon took over the peaceful droid race, enslaving them to work in the mines, but a small ragtag band of druids rose up in rebellion against Corrosive.

They established a final foothold in Droid Town, a small enclave that can be accessed by mines.

Glitch, moving about on his duties, suddenly hears a commotion. He heads for the great hall to find the leader of the resistance pontificating about how they must close down the tunnels to deny the advancing army access.  He calls for volunteers and as the lights go on, only two druids are standing there listening to him – druids known as Screwed and Hosed (ok, if the names don’t inspire confidence …)

“Is that it?” the military leader is aghast.

The rest are either in a firefight at the moment, or destroyed, remarks one of the two.

Glitch quickly steps forward and volunteers to help shut down the mines, but his comments receive a less than enthusiastic welcome. He reasons that they don’t have much choice, and though reluctant, his argument wins out, and is quickly tasked to go with Screwed and Hosed. 

So who is this mystery droid named Glitch? You are about to find out.

Vivendi Universal, Sierra, Swinging Ape Studios and Mass Media present Metal Arms: Glitch in the System for the PlayStation2 console system.

The game begins with Glitch and his two accomplices trying to seal the mine and rescue as many miners as possible. This is the tutorial. Hosed and Screwed will live up to their names as the actual game starts, but “no time for tears,” it is up to Glitch to venture forth alone and save the druids and rebellion from the onslaught.

One very nice feature of this game is that vocal acting really puts personality into the druids. This is a third-person adventure/shooter title, but the game is powered by the story and rounded out by the characters encountered. The developers have done a great job in this regard.

The game plays out in an arcade style with plenty of reflexive acrobatics, using the right thumbstick to target the enemy and the R1 button to use the cutting laser as a weapon. But Glitch is not just limited to the cutting laser. As the game progresses, you will be able to collect washers, which can be used to purchase weapons and upgrades from barter druids. There are 17 weapons one can collect and more than 40 total missions.

As you progress you can obtain secret chips and use them to unlock levels. The story is on an urgent pace and plays out relatively well, but the stars of this show are the graphical elements. The environmental texturing is superb and the animation is very well done. Players can commandeer vehicles during the game and even hijack enemy bots during the campaign mode of play. There are only two modes of gaming here - campaign and multiplayer

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is not overly involved, and the game levels do feature a mix of minor puzzles but a lot of action. This is the type of game that looks good and plays well. If there were any drawbacks, they would lay in that the game play is somewhat typical of the genre. There is not much that is innovative or new here.

This game is rated Teen for strong language and violence.

Gameplay: 8.2

The levels play out in an arcade style and move smoothly. Expect a fair amount of cutscenes to propel the story line. The levels are mostly a shooter style, and the style of game is fairly typical of the genre.

Graphics: 9
The three-dimensional environmental textures, lighting and animations are superb. The effects are also well done.

Sound: 8.7
The vocal acting is sprinkled with profanity (warning to parents), but overall this soundtrack does an excellent job of supporting the game play.

Difficulty: Medium
The controls are relatively straightforward and the game sports four difficulty settings – easy, normal, hard and Nuts of Steel. Most players should be able to find the game mode that suits them well.

Concept: 8
Most of this game is quite predictable. The only thing that truly sets it apart from a host of other titles is the environments and characters.

Multiplayer: 8.2

There are seven modes of play, including deathmatch. Nothing too innovative here.

Overall: 8.5

Somewhat linear, and an arcade shooter-adventure title, still Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a compelling title that stands up because of its sound and graphics. The game looks very good and while there is some adult language, the audio portion is also very well done. Those who are looking for a good third-person shooter title would do well to check out this fanciful little droid and his quest to put a ‘glitch’ in the plans of evil.