Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²
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| Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² | |
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| Developer(s) | Ritual Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Gathering of Developers |
| Engine | Quake III engine |
| Release date(s) | August 2, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | Mac (Mac OS, Mac OS X), PC (Linux, Windows) |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² (FAKK2) is a third-person shooter computer game made by Ritual Entertainment in 2000. A sequel to the Heavy Metal 2000 animated movie, the game stars Julie in her quest to save her home planet of Eden from GITH, an ancient entity seeking to conquer the universe. Using a variety of weapons, Julie must now fight off GITH's forces while at the same time uncovering a secret hidden deep within the planet.
FAKK2 allows players to pair up and use two weapons at the same time depending on the situation - for example, sword and shield for maximum defense, sword and UZI for both range and melee capability, or dual-wield UZIs for maximum firepower. Players can also block enemy attacks and execute powerful combo moves to deal even deadlier blows to their enemies. The game uses the Quake III game engine and combines action with puzzle-solving.
[edit] Back story
F.A.K.K.² stands for Federation Assigned Ketogenic Killzone to the second level, and is the alias both of the heroine, Julie, and also her homeworld. Before the game begins, we are told that Julie has previously fought a 'would-be God' named Tyler, and brought the remnant of her people to a planet called Eden. This planet is camouflaged by a FAKK2 beacon and made to look like a biohazard-strewn wasteland in the hope that it will remain hidden from Tyler and his master Gith, who are still at large. Gith himself, who appears only as a disembodied head in the final cut scene, runs a hyper-corporation called Gith Industries whose 'employees' are little more than slaves. He scavenges the universe in a ship composed of three-quarters of a planet, and is headed for a place called Na'ChThraThull, or the 'place of the soft machines'. This will turn out to be Eden.
Meanwhile the people of Eden have made a startling discovery: the waters of the planet have strange properties, and they have restored the youth and prolonged the lives of the survivors. 'Water' is an important resource on the planet and one of the objectives of the game is to collect as much of it as possible. The survivors on Eden live in a semi-rural paradise, pasturing 'creepers' (large hippopottamus-like creatures) and peacefully going about their business.
Then a series of explosive asteroids take the planet's shield down, and a number of nasties invade the planet. These include huge mosquitoes and their creator, a large, bug-like animal called the Vymish Mama, skinless bearlike Grawlix, plants that shoot poison darts, huge flesh-eating lilylike plants, Fleshbinders and Soul Harvesters. Julie crawls through the sewers of Eden to reset the shield, in vain as it turns out, then journeys through the swamps to find a character called Gruff, who unlocks the path to the Temple of the We for her. She then overcomes the four challenges of the We before entering the final temple where the Heart of the We is kept. However, Gith is waiting for her, and he steals the Heart and uses it to bring Tyler back to life. Julie fights and kills Tyler and wins the Heart back, but her pregnant sister is kidnapped by Gith, thus leaving room for a sequel.
The game does not provide the unrelenting action of most third person shooters, but it weaves narrative and action together quite innovatively, and creates a number of memorable characters, such as Otto and Gruff. There are also various references to Goddess-cults. Much of the imagery surrounding Gith satirises ad campaigns (the Recruiter who spawns Swarmers in the game periodically exhorts his victims in a cheery voice to 'Join us' and claims to promote 'Peace' and 'Love'). The Fleshbinders are cyborgs who communicate by radio and have various weapons integral to their bodies. Furthermore, if Julie wounds any Eden citizen she automatically fails in her mission. The environments of Eden are carefully crafted, while the characters speak realistically and their interactions are imaginatively scripted. The game is somewhat more narrative-driven and less strident than some of Heavy Metal's other creations or associated works.
The heroine, Julie, was inspired by Julie Strain, who provided the voice for the heroine in the movie.
