''Loaded'' (released as ''Blood Factory''
in
Japan) is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
-themed
top-down multidirectional shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
developed by
Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...
and published by
Interplay Productions
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
. ''Loaded'' was released on December 12, 1995 on the
PlayStation, and was ported to the
Sega Saturn the following year. The game had origins in
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
as well as the more adult-orientated
Vertigo Comics
Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug us ...
, and there was a small
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
based on the game. The six
playable characters
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
of the game are a combination of villains, anti-heroes, psychopaths, perverts, mutants, and flamboyant murderers. They are, however, the best hope to stop the intergalactic
supervillain nicknamed F.U.B. and save the universe. The characters were created and designed with contributions from
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...
of
Vertigo Comics
Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug us ...
and
Greg Staples
Greg Staples (born 27 May 1970 in Sheffield) is an English comic book artist.
Biography
Greg Staples' first job on leaving school was as a trainee draftsman in an architects office in Sheffield.
He also spent time working in a comic and film ...
of
2000AD.
''Loaded'' includes macabre humor, over-the-top violence and gore, and lighting effects, but was often criticized for repetitive gameplay. Later in the same year a sequel was released with mildly improved graphics: ''
Re-Loaded''.
Plot
F.U.B. was once a catering officer with the Sector Marines. F.U.B. (which stands "Fat Ugly Boy") was once on a barren desert front during one of the relatively obscure skirmishes of the last 40 years. Not wanting to let "the boys" down and unable to find any
meat, F.U.B., cooked his own legs and served them up in a rich broth. Despite it being the best dish he had ever created, F.U.B. was given an unconditional discharge and asked never to show his face again. F.U.B. replaces his legs with, hydraulic-powered replacements. He undertakes a radical appearance; wearing
furry dice, smoking
Havana cigars and
painting a target on his portly belly.
The six
playable characters
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
have notable differences and derangements, but what they have in common is that they are all
psychotic
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...
criminals who have been
setup by F.U.B. and are now serving
sentence on an inhospitable prison planet, the planet Raulf. F.U.B. has even taken on a new identity, working his way up the ladder by murder, and is now the warden of Raulf.
The player (or two of the game's six characters, in two player mode) must escape Raulf, chase F.U.B. and engage on a bloody odyssey across the strange worlds of the galaxy to exact revenge on F.U.B. The
supervillain, however, sees it as a challenge, and to this end he creates a machine that can toy with the very fabric of the universe, manipulate matter, and even open doorways to other dimensions. With this machine, F.U.B. plans to hold the universe for ransom and sets up a prison break on Raulf to set things in motion. If he can defeat a group of the most feared individuals in the galaxy who are armed to the teeth and wanting revenge, he figures he can defeat anyone.
Playable Characters
Mamma: A very large psychologically disturbed man with the mind of an infant. He wears a diaper, bonnet and bunny slippers and can only say "mamma". Mamma's weapon is the plasma gun and his bomb is the Ripple Grenade, used when Mamma creates a wave through the ground that instantly kills a large amount of foes around him. This attack can travel through walls and doors.
Fwank: Featured on the cover of the game, Fwank is a man donning a bank bag over his face with the bag painted, making him resemble a clown. He carries around his teddy bear and a mood-shifting balloon (Green for "Chuckly", Yellow for "I Need Space", and Red for "I Wouldn't Ask If I Were You"). Fwank's weapon of choice is a cannon that fires Neutron Spheres, and his bombs are Homing Teddies, a floating armada of teddy bears that eviscerate nearby foes. This attack can kill enemies stationed directly behind a door, but can not travel through walls and doors. However, the teddies can follow Fwank and stay in use longer to attack incoming enemies.
Bounca: A former bouncer turned mercenary. He is about as large as Mamma, wearing a muzzle and a tuxedo. His weapon is a missile launcher and his bomb is the Frag Missile, a randomly-moving burst of shrapnel. This attack can not travel through walls and doors.
Vox: A female DJ that uses sound and music technology to kill foes in the game. She is the only female character in the game. Her weapon is the Hail Flail and her ultra bomb is the Sonic Blast, a burst of lethal sound waves. This attack can travel through walls and doors.
Butch: A homely man that wears ladies' dresses in combat and dislikes those that find it funny. Butch's weapon is a flamethrower and his bomb is the Explosive Ring, the release of fireballs in all directions. This attack can travel through walls and doors. Instead of splattering enemies into a bloody heap, the flamethrower and the Explosive Ring actually chars enemies' bodies on contact.
Cap'n Hands: A pirate-like character with freakishly large hands and forearms, but an exposed ribcage. His head is human, he is a bounty hunter with a cyborgnetic body that is old and out of date he chooses to keep it for unknown reason. His weapons are a pair of flintlocks and his bomb is the Vortex Bomb, a curtain of dark energy that shreds enemies to pieces. This attack can travel through walls and doors.
Gameplay
The game features levels across fifteen different worlds and has six playable characters: Mamma, Fwank, Bounca, Vox, Butch and Cap'n Hands. Two characters may be selected in co-operative mode to complete the game. A mission briefing plays at the start of every mission, aided by a
full motion video sequence. ''Loaded's'' gameplay is almost identical to that of ''
Gauntlet'', which requires the player to move room to room killing everything in sight, everything of which will try to kill the player also. Score can be increased by looting the bloodied remains of enemies. There are some puzzle and exploration elements, and power-ups and ammo can be found. The levels progress by collecting keycards capable of unlocking doors. The player can zoom in to their character by pressing R2, or zoom out by pressing L2. At the end of each level, the game tallies the player's greed factor, accuracy and body count on a 0–100% scale in order to give the player's career prospects (ranging from as low as "social worker" to as high as "genocidal maniac", etc.) and final score.
Development and marketing
''Loaded'' was developed by
Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...
, a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
software house
A software company is a company whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry.
Types
There are a number of different types of softw ...
based in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
which had previously had a successful run in developing games. ''Loaded'' and its sequel ''Re-Loaded'' would be among the last games developed by Gremlin Interactive, before it was acquired by French giant
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...
for £24 million, and the studio in Sheffield closed. Development took place over less than a year.
The game was published in North America by
US-based
Interplay.
A
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
of ''Loaded'' was included on a demo disc bundled with the PlayStation in Europe.
The main character design and graphics were done by a host of
comic book illustrator
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...
s like
Les Spink and
Greg Staples
Greg Staples (born 27 May 1970 in Sheffield) is an English comic book artist.
Biography
Greg Staples' first job on leaving school was as a trainee draftsman in an architects office in Sheffield.
He also spent time working in a comic and film ...
(of 2000AD fame). Interplay collaborated with
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
to create a 12-page
novella illustrated with the game's artwork to promote it and introduce the characters and the game premise. The book was published bundled with DC's works at the time and DC signed adult-orientated
Vertigo Comics
Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug us ...
star
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...
to write it. The novella is now considered a
collector's item
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
.
The game was released for the Sega Saturn over a year after the PlayStation version appeared. Asked to explain this delay, Interplay producer Jeremy Airey stated, "A year ago, we were worried if the Saturn was even going to do well. As of late,
aturn saleshave picked up. Also, when we started doing ''Loaded''
or the
Or or OR may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H
* Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew)
Music
* ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...
Saturn, it looked horrible. With the new Sega libraries, ''Loaded'' looks and plays good."
Soundtrack
''Loaded'' features 21 compositions by
Neil Biggin, plus 2 tracks by
Patrick (Pat) Phelan and 2 more by
Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...
(Kick to Kill and RSVP). The game was specially designed so that it could be placed inside a CD player and used as an audio CD (skipping Track 1 which contained the code for the game). This would then enable the listener to play the full soundtrack - including many hidden tracks and two of which were complete tracks from the
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...
version of
Zool 2
''Zool 2'' is a Side-scrolling video game, side-scrolling Platform game, platform video game originally developed by The Warp Factory and published by Gremlin Interactive, Gremlin Graphics for the Amiga in November 1993. It is the sequel to the or ...
(Mount Ices and Mental Block's house), another game by Gremlin. There are 25 audio tracks in total on the CD, the hidden tracks were brief demos and were never used in-game.
Reception
The original release for PlayStation met with mostly positive reviews. The four reviewers of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' compared it favorably to ''
Smash TV
''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a dual-stick shooter (one for moving and the other for firing) in the same vein as 1982's ''Robotron: 2084'' (co-created b ...
'' and cited the multiplayer mode as the game's most enjoyable feature.
Major Mike of ''
GamePro'' deemed it "a simple premise taken to absurd heights: From the wacky characters to the overblown carnage, the game is generally a blast to play. While it lacks some of the strategy of similar-minded titles like ''
Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher
* ...
'', the action hardly ever lets up." He also extensively praised the graphics, particularly noting the strong details, zoom feature, and light sourcing effects. While they complimented the animated environments and four-player option, ''Maximum'' had an overall subdued reaction to the game, saying it is much more repetitive than similar games such as ''
Alien Breed
''Alien Breed'' is a series of top-down science fiction shoot 'em up video games developed by Team17 primarily for the Amiga in the 1990s, heavily inspired by the ''Alien'' films and featuring game play reminiscent of the classic arcade game Ga ...
'' and ''
The Chaos Engine''.
A reviewer for ''
Next Generation'' also commented on the repetitiveness, saying that the 15 levels look different but all play the same. However, the review was generally complimentary, commenting on the "blistering pace" of the gameplay, smooth and detailed graphics, light-sourcing effects, and soundtrack which "is among the best we've heard in years".
Most critics commented that the Saturn version successfully replicated the graphical effects and other technical aspects of the PlayStation version,
with a notable exception in Tommy Glide of ''GamePro'', who said the graphics are not as smooth and do not zoom as easily. However, ''Next Generation'' and Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' said that ''Loaded'' was not as good as it seemed in the wake of its original release on the PlayStation, and that the game's graphics, soundtrack, and shock value were not enough to keep the mindless gameplay from quickly becoming boring.
In a reassessment roughly a year after the PlayStation version's release, ''Next Generation'' lowered its score to three out of five stars (the same as the Saturn version). Hugh Sterbakov of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' and Rad Automatic of ''
Sega Saturn Magazine
''Sega Saturn Magazine'' was a monthly UK magazine covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, ''Sega Flash'', which included ...
'' agreed that the game is mindless and repetitive, but held that in the field of simplistic shooters it is a success.
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' editors named the Saturn version a runner-up for Best Music of 1996 (behind ''
Wipeout XL
''Wipeout 2097'' (released as ''Wipeout XL'' in North America and Japan) is a futuristic racing game developed and published by Psygnosis. It is the second installment released in the ''Wipeout (video game series), Wipeout series'' and the direct ...
'').
''Loaded'' was a commercial success, with the PlayStation version shipping 250,000 copies the week of its release. In the USA alone, the PlayStation version sold over 140,000 copies.
Legacy
Less than a year after the original game was released, a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
was released also for the
PlayStation and
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
entitled ''
Re-Loaded'', developed and published by the same companies.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loaded (Video Game)
1995 video games
Gremlin Interactive games
Multidirectional shooters
PlayStation (console) games
Sega Saturn games
Science fiction video games
Top-down video games
Video games adapted into comics
Video games scored by Patrick Phelan
Video games developed in the United Kingdom