A game that deserves a shot, as it takes a shot at some new variations on the FPS theme.

User Rating: 7.4 | Coded Arms PSP
By Cyander | Review Date:
Coded Arms brings you into a world where nothing is real, not even the bone-shattering you dish out in randomized levels gathering equipment to use later on. As you start playing, it treats you to a short CGI sequence introducing the premise of the game (not a story). Then it drops you into a mandatory tutorial, which thankfully is pretty short, simple, and doesn't get too much in your way. It is a good opportunity for you to get used to the controls, as you will need to do that. The game even makes sure you know that the controls are customizable and is the first thing it tells you in the tutorial to look at. As for the customizable controls, everything is remappable, and the analog stick is treated like a hatswitch if you want to do things like map jump to up on the stick, it is possible. However, most comfortable schemes will require that you use the analog stick for aiming or moving, or a combination of the two. The gameplay itself is straight-forward... enter a level... shoot things, collect guns and ammo for the next level, and don't get killed. The game will mix things up by introducing rooms that will lock when you enter and throw 3 rounds of enemies at you which can spell trouble if you are low on ammunition. It will also introduce levels with 3 minute time-limits, requiring you to usually ingore possible pick-ups in the level and rush like mad for the exit. What redeems the gameplay is that since levels are random, you don't know when or where this will happen (unless you are retrying the level because you died in one), making it always a surprise, even if it is unpleasant to get mobbed by a half-dozen bugs wanting to hug your face and explode. Bosses at the end of the second half of the major segment of the game also add new things as they have complex patterns that change through a fight, and have enough variety among them that you might find yourself wanting to challenge them again. What hurts the gameplay is that the weapons cover every single base to the point where while you will have 33 at your disposal after collecting them all, you will likely stick to a set of 5-7 that you like. It also hurts that the levels impair the use of the sniper weapons to a small extent... if the room you are in doesn't have a good sniping position, don't bother bringing out the scope. The good news is that the AI is a mix of dumb AI, patterned AI, and reactionary AI which give varying levels of pain. I have been taken from behind in a fight more times than I care to mention by a second or third soldier who decided to run around an obstacle to get to me. Multiplayer is a worthwhile boost, and the nice thing about it is that while it lacks online play (hurting its value... thanks Sony, for not releasing the SDK to your devs outside SCEJ!), the multitude of weapons and the fact that you can only bring 5 with you into the arena means that each player will usually carry different styles of weaponry and armor in with them, and you can actually add a little bit of strategy and meta-game into multiplayer action thanks to attributes on weapons such as physical, light, electric and viral, and armors that are extra-useful against those types of weapons. The fact that you can re-enter map codes for random levels is a very good thing. Once you find a couple you like that are nice and complex, you can save them for later use. The graphics are almost there. The biggest flaw is that each level is like older games in that they are collections of boxes that form rooms (although rooms can be made up of multiple boxes, and lots of materials in them) and corridors. The interiors can be quite complex, and I have seen some that have 3-4 floors within them, with alcoves in the corners to boot. The textures and models are very good though, and the game is very crisp. The drawback here is that you will notice some polygon 'tearing' in places, similar to Metal Gear Acid's floor tiles. The game uses about 9 total 'skins' (3 each in the City, Base, Ruins groups) to generate the look for levels. Once you get into infinite mode (a reward for beating all three bosses at the end of the game), the game will start blending these skins together such as using wall tiles from one, elevators from another, and doors from a third to try to keep the experience fresh. It works to an extent and is worthwhile to have in the game. Sound is excellent, the music goes well with the theme, kicking in when enemies are around trying to make you go away or hug your face. Ambient noise is present at other times, which matches quite nicely with the atmosphere of a particular level. The quality of the samples are quite good as you can hear the crisp noises of the guns, alien shouts... and the default sound levels are quite well picked as nothing drowns out the other noises, allowing you to hear everything the game has to offer... unfortunately the sounds tend to be somewhat generic in places, and it would be nice if the alien soldiers had slightly more variety than 3 types of grunts, plus a couple death sounds. Overall, everything is a nice cohesive whole. The lack of story and the boxy nature of the random level generator do hurt, although they are minor in comparison to the good things the game can provide. This is a game you can enjoy if you can get past these flaws, which are minor in this reviewer's opinion. If you enjoyed the original Unreal Tournament or Quake III, you will have no problems enjoying Coded Arms, which provides a unique experience from these two, which while a little dated in style, is a very solid FPS, and worthy of being the first FPS on the PSP.

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