Video Game Retrospective 1: Loaded and RE-Loaded Part 1

Hello, and it took me long enough. A little background, I was going to review Without Warning first, but it was taking way too long. So was The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge. Both will be reviewed, though, I promise. So, to start, I went to a game that was easy to pick up and easy to put down... after waves of nausea subside: Loaded.

Before I start talking about Loaded, the series falls into an odd genre. It's a shooter, but with over head view. It falls into the same genre as the Gauntlet series did at first... but without the enemy spawn points, and Loaded is a key hunt. The world around you changes constantly (which is impressive for a Playstation 1 game). You also have a selection of six characters with more variety than the Gauntlet classes.

Loaded has a interesting story behind the game. The game's marketing gimmick was a 12 page comic that came with the game. The comic was written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Greg Staples and Les Spink. Staples also did the concept sketches and designs for the characters. Loaded was also one of the few games to have a licensed soundtrack; three songs are done by English Greebo band Pop Will Eat Itself. Who are they? Well: "Ich Bin EIn Auslander." But that's not on the game. "RSVP" and "Kick to Kill" were, and they're the only songs some American's may know. Even better, the band's insane nature fit with the plot of the game perfectly.

The game's plot revolves around six insane criminals: FWaNK, the psychotic clown with explosive teddy bears, Bounca, the doorman with a metal jaw and rocket launcher, Butch, a crossdresser, Mamma, a mammoth man-baby, Cap'n Hands, the robot pirate, and Vox, the foulmouthed DJ. Each character had their own weapons ranging from Uzis to Proton Blasters. They also had a mega bomb ranging from a black hole to screaming "fuck" really, really loud. Oh, did I mention that Loaded is one of the first (if not only) games on the PS1 to have someone say "fuck?" Yeah, the one female character, Vox, does as her mega "kill everything in sight" bomb.

It's also on of the sickest PS1 games ever made. In most games, when you kill someone, the fall over and may have a bullet hole. In Loaded, they turn into fleshy bloody mounds and splatter on the floor. Or, in Butch's case, ashes. When you die, you're nearly unrecognizable. There's even a cheat to play as a pile of gore. Yeah, and the Saw game was controversial.

This is just skimming the surface. Tune in next time for Loaded and RE-Loaded Part 2: The Loaded review. Until then, this is the Window Keeper signing off to clean the floors.

... I think that's a foot...