☆ Review: Heavy Metal Machines "Imagine Rock N Roll Racing Online!" ☆ #GameDev

Heavy Metal Machines - PC

Developed by Hoplon which is a Brazilian company located in Florianópolis which is at the forefront of the Brazilian gaming industry. They have had success with their previous titles Taikodom and Apocalypse Party's over.

As soon as you start the game you get a feel of the heavy metal undertones with the soundtrack, overlook and feel of the game being almost demonic like. The menus look good and are easy to navigate around.

The game pits two teams of four players against each other with the aim of grabbing a bomb from the centre of the map and depositing it in the opponents end. All the while trying to avoid being destroyed by the other team. You start by choosing your class of character which will determine your role in the game. There are three class types to choose from Interceptor, Support and Transporter.

Interceptors have a strong push and good damage with their aim to take the bomb from the enemy and prevent the enemy from taking the bomb from your team. 
Transporters you guessed it are the guys who have the responsibility of delivering the bomb to the enemy’s base. They are helped in doing this by having good speed, agility and resistance.

Supports have the responsibility of protecting and if needed repairing the carriers while also disrupting the enemy if possible to help the carriers deliver the bomb to the enemy’s base.

At first, I thought the play was really frantic and I was just wandering around the map crashing into walls and generally being no use to my teammates. The controls I felt didn’t help, on the steam controller you use the right trackpad as direction and I felt it would be better suited to the analogue stick. The pad at first was much easier to use than the mouse and keyboard, but like anything the more you play the better you get. It is worth sticking it out with the mouse and keyboard as once you adjust to the controls it improves the all round experience of the game. 

It is fully compatible with the Xbox 360 controller which will probably improve the experience for some. When you start a game and before you set off, a rev counter comes onto the screen and you have to try and get this to be in the green when the match starts as it will give you a boost which can be the difference between reaching the bomb first or not. 

The game reminded me of rock and roll racing crossed with being a multiplayer battle online arena game, which isn’t a bad thing in the slightest and in fact, is a compliment on the game play. 

Heavy metal machines is a more frenzied game with a less linear track. You have a bird’s eye view of your vehicle on the track along with a helpful map showing where your allies and enemies are and if you are like me you will use this a lot!

Heavy Metal Machines has a few different modes to choose from. These are Play, Practice, Custom Match and Ranked Mode (this isn’t available yet but will be in the near future).

Custom Match allows you to create a custom match and give the access code out to friends or you can join games in which you have been given the access code.

Practice Mode allows you to practice the game with 3 computer controlled allies and against 4 computer controlled enemies. This is my preferred option as I felt really bad letting wave after wave of players down with my lacklustre performance!

Lastly, we have Play which allows you to join a team of online players to pit your wits against four other online players. 

There is a leader board which if you top gives you fame and the chance to win prizes such as a HyperXcloud stinger gaming headset. Like most games these days it also has daily missions to complete which rewards you in fame.

I haven’t played a round in this game where the pace hasn’t been fast and frantic so if you enjoy a leisurely stroll around a track then this isn’t the game for you. If you enjoy fast furious paced games it's great fun once you have worked the controls out. 

It will never become a game you invest time in to become the best at it but it is a great fun game especially if you have a limit on your gaming time. There is plenty to keep you busy and striving for such as upgrading cars and weapons without becoming content heavy. It also has a good feature that if you are unresponsive for whatever reason the computer takes over your character so your team is not a man down.

Summary
Fun fast paced game with a few different modes that looks great and plays smoothly. It will be more enjoyable once they have introduced more maps to play as it can become a little stagnant and repetitive with their only being one map if you play it regularly. It is worth remembering that the game is still in early access so it will get better as it is further developed and it is also free with it only costing for the DLC. It is a good game to fill time if you want to play a game with not too much depth and want to just relax and have fun without having to get too serious. Although I don’t think it will become a favourite of mine I will keep a watchful eye over it as it develops as it has potential to become a very addictive game.

 

RATING: MELTING

Ratings Explained

ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)

MELTING (Just Falls Short Of Greatness)

MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase)

Game Link: Steam
Dev Link: Heavy Metal Machines

Review By Ben Steele

"STAY FROSTY!"