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Armed & Dangerous Review Roundup 03 Dec, 2003 / Comments: 10


Armed & Dangerous is, as far as we know, now available in stores for you to buy. Assuming we break our recent tradition of doing nothing, we should have our own review of Armed & Dangerous up in the coming days, or weeks, or months. For now, check out these sites' perspectives on the game...<:MORENEWS:>

  • IGN Xbox gives the game an 8.2/10. They say, "Yes, it's all about shooting and blowing things up, but when did that become stale? In our minds, it hasn't. Of course, there are some games where shooting is very boring. Luckily, Armed and Dangerous, believe it or not, is a smart shooter that actually requires some brain activity and/or superhuman reflexes. We also really loved the humor in the game. Without it, the game would still be a good shooter - just not as fun."

  • GameSpot gives it an alright 7.3/10, saying "Armed and Dangerous is a good game, but toward the end of it, you'll likely be far more interested in seeing how the story ends--and the jokes it tells along the way--than in its gameplay. For fans of frantic shooters, this is a game worth renting, but its gameplay isn't remarkable enough to recommend as a purchase."

  • 1up.com gives the game a respectable 8/10, saying "You can tell the designers were snickering at themselves the entire time they were making this game -- it's a decent shooter in itself, but to this base they've added a vibrant set of eccentric cutscenes and weapons that make A&D a must-play for anyone with a decent sense of humor."

  • Games Domain gives it a 5/5, saying, "What pushes this little ditty into the realm of extraordinary is the sheer amount of brilliant humor that has been poured into the title. No, this isn't potty humor, so don't go expecting Conker-style grade school laughs; rather, the game takes pot shots at everything from Star Wars, to the Arthurian Legends to race relations and vegetarians."

  • The sometimes questionable GamePro gives the game a 4.5/5, and they say "But despite its technical achievements, the real star of Armed and Dangerous is the exhilarating and thoroughly challenging gameplay. You have the choice to go against relentless swarms of foes with barrels blazing or pick off enemies methodically while using the level layouts to your advantage. Some levels require multiple tries, but the gameplay is so tight and well executed that you won?t care."

  • In the print magazines, Armed & Dangerous received a 7.1/10 in EGM, 9 out of 10 in Official XBox Magazine, and an "A" from Play Magazine. Additionally, the game is currently receiving an average of 98% (from 2 PC scores), and 89% (from 5 XBox scores) on Game Rankings.

    Overall, the game seems to have run the review gauntlet and come out pretty unscathed despite a couple 7/10's. Hopefully one of us will be formally weighing in on the game sometime soon. Hopefully.
  • 10 Comments

    • Remi O on 03 Dec, 2003, 11:42…
      From what I understand it won't be in stores until Thursday. Damn them all.
    • Remi O on 03 Dec, 2003, 12:01…
      Also!

      "For fans of frantic shooters, this is a game worth renting, but its gameplay isn't remarkable enough to recommend as a purchase." <== This is a very strange statement for a game that receives a "7.3 - Good" rating.
    • tabacco on 03 Dec, 2003, 13:23…
      That sort of thing just reinforces my own opinion: Don't trust critics :)
    • Zomantic on 03 Dec, 2003, 14:14…
      But then, who will tell us what to do?
    • Remi O on 03 Dec, 2003, 14:25…
      I will. ;-*
    • Marek on 03 Dec, 2003, 07:33…
      "you'll likely be far more interested in seeing how the story ends--and the jokes it tells along the way--than in its gameplay"
      Sounds like they reviewed the game with wrong expectations?
    • telarium on 03 Dec, 2003, 12:28…
      Yes, god forbid there be a game where the player is actually interested in the storytelling.
    • tabacco on 03 Dec, 2003, 13:22…
      The horror! The horror!
    • Trunks on 03 Dec, 2003, 13:32…
      Depends on the game. If the gameplay's bad enough the best story in the world won't help at all, seeing as how noone would bother playing long enough to get to the cutscenes.
    • tabacco on 03 Dec, 2003, 14:47…
      Yeah, but the gameplay is fine in A&D. At least, I thought it was pretty cool :)