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Game Information

Release Date: February 1, 2000
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: DMA Design
Platform(s): Dreamcast
Genre: Action
Players: 1-2

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Synopsis

A tank-combat game which involves capturing power cores and defeating a variety of war machines. Players can engage the enemy solo or play against an opponent in split-screen head-to-head battle. There are five armored attack vehicles to choose from each with unique performance characteristics and 17 mechanical menaces to combat. Locate and capture the different power cores across three unique planetary surfaces: Tundra, Aztec Desert and the Red Planet! Wild Metal is a port of the PC game Wild Metal Country.

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Story

While it does have a story, the game itself is very poorly done and lacks in telling you the plot because there is no intro, no briefings, and no cut scenes. You have to read the instruction manual if you want to learn why you're in a tank and what you are supposed to do in each planet.

With that being said, this game takes places in the future on three different planets. Machines have taken over these planets and drove the humans out. However, the humans decide to finally fight back with specialized tanks they have created. It is their mission to destroy all these machines and collect all the power cores scattered throughout each planet. There is a power core for each color of the rainbow, wonderful isn't it?

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Gameplay

On each planet you will encounter numerous object that will make it near impossible to drive the tank and enemies with horribly perfect accuracy. Such objects include terribly designed terrain, random walls, mines everywhere, force fields you have to go around, and sentries that take a good five minutes to destroy, with it's perfect accuracy. Each planet is also very elevated on different levels. One moment you can be at the bottom and next you'll be at the top of the world making it very difficult to see where you are going.

In single player mode you start off on one side of the planet and you have to make your way through the other end finding all the power cores. Some of them will be out in the open, some guarded by numerous enemies, and some in just the most difficult spots to get into. They are all spotted on the map, however, so you won't have trouble finding them. Once you have collected them all, you have to return to where you started to finish the mission.

In multi-player mode, you can either do the story together or, battle against each other. There are six different tanks to choose from though none really differ from one another besides their exterior.

Very over-simple game that really has no replay value and multi-player that isn't that great considering all the problems.

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Graphics

The only thing that looks good in Wild Metal are the tanks. They are pretty well designed and look fairly decent. Everything else though, looks awful. The terrain is an ugly yellow-brown color that is boxy, the missile are very pixelated, the sky is just white or black depending on the mission, and each planet looks basically the same with ever power core in almost the exact same spot. The only difference you may notice in each mission is that some will be day and others night. You'll start to think you've just been playing one long mission for hours.

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Controls

Easily one of the most confusing control systems ever put into a game. The triggers control the movement of the tank, the buttons fire the weapon, and the analogs control the camera angle. With no aiming system and these types of controls, it is near impossible to be accurate and move where you want to go. It is very tedious and will get frustrating most of the time.

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Ratings

Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 6/10
Controls: 4/10
Overall: 6/10