Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 Hands On

Ritual's Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 is even more colorful, detailed, and bizarre than... it was when we saw it last year. The game is set for release this Fall; to coincide with the movie release this summer. The game's main character, Julie, has gotten something of a makeover; she's changed her ponytail (which may have made her resemble another third-person action heroine a bit too closely) and put her hair up; she's also traded in her tan shirt and breeches for a few different outfits, including a skimpy red-and-black outfit and a form-fitting sky-blue bodysuit. But there've been more changes to the game than just Julie's hair and outfit. The demo we saw included a number of different levels, including the bright, colorful planet of Eden2, Julie's home world. We had a look at the way Julie interacts with other characters; each character uses skeletal animation and animated facial textures, which helps make them seem a bit more expressive.

We also got to see Julie get into a few fights. Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 will have over twenty different weapons, and with the exception of certain one-handed swords (which Julie tends to wield in her right hand) and two-handed weapons (such as the enormous chain-sword), Julie can wield any of them in either hand. Julie not only has swords and axes, she's got semi-automatics, rocket launchers, a sling (which she can use to toss stones to distract enemies) and a shield - which she'll need against some of the game's bigger enemies (who otherwise pack a nasty punch).

There will be many different enemies in F.A.K.K. 2. All of the game's enemies will look, sound, and act bizarre. Some of the enemies we saw included a group of short, horned critters wearing smiling masks; these and other enemies will exhibit different sorts of behavior. Kill off a few, and they'll become scared, scatter, and later regroup. If you happen to knock off the smiling mask from one of them, it'll become enraged and attack relentlessly.

F.A.K.K. 2 will also have "multi-stage" boss monsters - big mean monsters who must be destroyed piece by piece (but tend to get angrier as you do so). We had a look at one of the game's earlier bosses, a huge insect queen with rather poor eyesight; since conventional weapons wouldn't work on her, Julie had to use her sling to toss a stone and distract the monster, then sneak forwards and plant explosives near her legs.

The folks at Ritual assured us that F.A.K.K. 2 won't get boring quickly, not only because of its colorful characters and over-the-top two-weapon combat, but also because of a conscious design decision to make sure that the game's different missions (arranged into three chapters) aren't repetitive. One set of missions might be combat intensive, but the next will focus more on exploration than anything else - the designers wanted to make sure that you don't keep doing the same thing over and over.