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Armed and Dangerous (video game)
Encyclopedia
Armed and Dangerous, often shortened to AnD, is a video game created by Planet Moon Studios
and released by LucasArts
. It is a third-person
Action/Adventure Comedy shooter which parodies
both other games and several other media such as The Lord of the Rings
, Star Wars
and Monty Python and the Holy Grail
, using humorous in-game dialogue and cutscene
s. The game features known actor
s and voice actors such as Brian George
as main hero Roman, Jeff Bennett
, John Mariano
and Pat Fraley
as his sidekicks Jonesy, Rexus and Q (respectively) and Tony Jay
as villain King Forge.
action game, the camera hovering behind Roman, the player character, at all times. The game is played mostly on foot, with most levels incorporating usable gun emplacements, although there are some base defense levels where the player is inside a movable gun turret mounted on rails on top of a defensive wall; these levels are played in first-person
.
Playable weaponry and equipment in Armed and Dangerous is a mix of shooter staples, including bolt-action and sniper rifle
s, submachine gun
s and rocket launchers, but also more unusual fare like the 'Land Shark Gun', which fires into the ground a rapidly-maturing infant Land Shark
, a creature that 'swims' through the earth, seeking out and devouring enemies. Other unusual devices include a miniature black hole
, a gas grenade that turns enemies against each other and a device that temporarily reverses gravity, causing enemies to 'fall' into the sky and Literally turns the World Upside Down, before the device shuts down, returning gravity to normal and returning affected enemies to earth, the fall killing them.
Apart from weaponry, some of the later levels equip the player with a jet pack
, allowing flight over moderate distances.
(December 3, 2003)http://pc.ign.com/objects/562/562207.html. It received a press average score of 7.6. The Xbox
version of Armed and Dangerous scored 8.2 out of 10 with IGN
(December 2, 2003)http://xbox.ign.com/articles/442/442707p1.html. It received a press average review score of 8.3.
GMR
s James Mielke awarded the game a 9 out of 10 and called it a "stellar third-person shooter". He praised its humor, controls, open-ended level design and destructible environments, but noted its linearity.
Planet Moon Studios
Planet Moon Studios is a game development studio based in San Francisco, California founded by ex-Shiny Entertainment developers Nick Bruty and Bob Stevenson in 1997...
and released by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. It is a third-person
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
Action/Adventure Comedy shooter which parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
both other games and several other media such as The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
, using humorous in-game dialogue and cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s. The game features known actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s and voice actors such as Brian George
Brian George
Brian George is a British-Israeli actor and voice actor for Indian accents, who typically plays guest roles for characters of South Asian descent. Perhaps his most famous role is as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt on Seinfeld.-Early life:...
as main hero Roman, Jeff Bennett
Jeff Bennett
Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...
, John Mariano
John Mariano
John Mariano is an Emmy Award winning American actor whose worked in film, television, animation and nightclubs. He is known for playing tough guys with a comic edge. His ability of physical comedy has been compared to Jerry Lewis and Buster Keaton. Keaton's late wife Eleanor was quoted as saying;...
and Pat Fraley
Pat Fraley
Patrick "Pat" Fraley is an American voice actor, who is best known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones and numerous other characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
as his sidekicks Jonesy, Rexus and Q (respectively) and Tony Jay
Tony Jay
Tony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...
as villain King Forge.
Gameplay
Armed and Dangerous is a third-person shooterThird-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
action game, the camera hovering behind Roman, the player character, at all times. The game is played mostly on foot, with most levels incorporating usable gun emplacements, although there are some base defense levels where the player is inside a movable gun turret mounted on rails on top of a defensive wall; these levels are played in first-person
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
.
Playable weaponry and equipment in Armed and Dangerous is a mix of shooter staples, including bolt-action and sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
s, submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s and rocket launchers, but also more unusual fare like the 'Land Shark Gun', which fires into the ground a rapidly-maturing infant Land Shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
, a creature that 'swims' through the earth, seeking out and devouring enemies. Other unusual devices include a miniature black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
, a gas grenade that turns enemies against each other and a device that temporarily reverses gravity, causing enemies to 'fall' into the sky and Literally turns the World Upside Down, before the device shuts down, returning gravity to normal and returning affected enemies to earth, the fall killing them.
Apart from weaponry, some of the later levels equip the player with a jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
, allowing flight over moderate distances.
Reception
The PC version of Armed and Dangerous scored 8.3 out of 10 with IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
(December 3, 2003)http://pc.ign.com/objects/562/562207.html. It received a press average score of 7.6. The Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
version of Armed and Dangerous scored 8.2 out of 10 with IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
(December 2, 2003)http://xbox.ign.com/articles/442/442707p1.html. It received a press average review score of 8.3.
GMR
GMR (magazine)
GMR was a monthly magazine on video games that was published by Ziff-Davis — the publisher of such magazines as PC Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Computer Gaming World . GMR was launched in February 2003, being sold in only the Electronics Boutique chain of video game stores...
s James Mielke awarded the game a 9 out of 10 and called it a "stellar third-person shooter". He praised its humor, controls, open-ended level design and destructible environments, but noted its linearity.