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What The Hell Is Metal Wolf Chaos?
Before the days of the stoic Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software was a niche developer nestled between regular releases of the mecha-action series Armored Core and the occasional oddball side project. Fifteen years ago, the developer released a game that blended its talents for mech combat and off-the-wall humor: Metal Wolf Chaos. Developed for the original Xbox, this action satire puts you in the role of the 47th President of the United States, Michael Wilson, who embarks on a high-octane trip across America fighting mech, soldier, and other machines of war following a coup led by vice president Richard Hawk.
Essentially a pastiche of action films, Saturday morning cartoons, and Japanese mecha anime, Metal Wolf Chaos pokes a lot of fun at American culture, embodied by the lead character who also happens to the leader of the free world. It’s a setup that seemed like it would have made for a decent third-person shooter for the North American audience–however, it would never arrive in the West. The original Metal Wolf Chaos for the Xbox was a Japan-only release, positioned as a hardcore action game intended to attract new players to the system. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t make much of a dent in the market, and its release came and went. Now in 2019, From Software and Devolver Digital have released Metal Wolf Chaos XD, a revival of the forgotten game for modern platforms. Out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, it’s not often to see a game that has lived a second life as an internet meme return for a third with a remaster.
What makes the circumstances surrounding Metal Wolf Chaos’ original release so strange was that the intended audience for its ridiculous satire of American culture was, ironically, unable to play the game. From Software never provided an official reason as to why Metal Wolf Chaos never made it to the West. However, publishers at the time were already in the transitional phase for the upcoming Xbox 360, and the game’s satire of terrorism and American culture on soon-to-be outdated hardware likely made it a tough sell. Developed on a budget and in under a year by 30 developers, Metal Wolf Chaos keeps things simple, leaning heavily on the over-the-top mech action with its revolving set of weaponry. President Wilson’s trek across the country to restore the so-called American way of life is emphasized with his mantra of “believing in your own justice,” which puts a certain gravitas behind the game.
In an interview with Destructoid, From Software producer Masanori Takeuchi described their approach to interpreting American culture, and how it was intended to attract both Western and Japanese audiences.
“It is America as perceived by the Japanese. It’s completely fictional, but at the time, it was our idea of this ideology of American culture and comic book heroes, and we pieced that together and it became the president piloting the mech,” Takeuchi said. “We think that when Japanese look at it that way, from the American point of view, it’s almost like how they imagine a Japanese ninja, and sort of the same ideologies, the same kind of fantasy, so it goes two ways.”
To put things into proper perspective, Metal Wolf Chaos is a political game–even when it focuses on fun. Its original release came during the height of Bush-era jingoism following the events of September 11, 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The style and tone of Metal Wolf Chaos are all about America, and the main plot often comes across like a Hollywood fantasy. The lead character, the strongwilled and capable US president, takes matters into his own hands to fight back against the invasion of the country, taking advantage of America’s ease of access to guns to do so. The game opens with the president of the United States piloting his mech, shouting “Let’s Party!” as he faces off against Hawk’s homegrown militia. From this intro alone, you know you’re in for something of a farce. To play Metal Wolf Chaos is to contend with a barrage of one-liners, melodrama, and cheesy platitudes of what it means to be an American–and it does everything with the utmost sincerity. It’s essentially a Japanese anime honed through an American fetishized lense crafted by Michael Bay.
Though North America missed out on the full game, some western players had the chance to try a short demo of the game thanks to the Official Xbox Magazine. With every issue, readers also received a complimentary demo disc. This particular disc featured a hidden demo for Metal Wolf Chaos, allowing players to jump into the game’s early levels set in San Francisco. Unless you owned an imported Japanese Xbox or modified your system to play games region-free, this would be the only way for Western players to experience the game.
In the years since its release, Metal Wolf Chaos garnered a cult following in the West. This was due to the game receiving something of a revival in YouTube Let’s Play videos and internet memes highlighting select moments. But in 2016, indie publisher Devovler Digital–who’s past works included Hotline Miami and the Shadow Warrior reboot–reached out to From Software on Twitter, offering to get the game released in the West. Devolver even used the hashtag #FreeMetalWolf in their offer to the developer. After the tweet went viral, Devolver Digital and From Software began their collaboration on a remaster for modern consoles.
When compared to the original, Metal Wolf Chaos XD keeps things faithful to the original–low polycount and all. Some notable changes, however, include the upgraded resolution to play at 4K, along with a new save system, removing the original’s notoriously taxing process. Metal Wolf Chaos is a pure action game, leaving most of its main story beats for mission bookends. It’s a very low-budget game, and it shows. In a way, though, the low budget ends up creating an aesthetic that offers some added charm to Metal Wolf Chaos’s ridiculous plot and mostly straightforward, objective-driven gameplay. In that regard, it fills that similar “so bizarre, it’s good” space that Swery65’s Deadly Premonition inhabited.
Playing through the game now, however, it’s hard not to draw parallels with the events and storytelling tropes of the game and today’s political climate. With homegrown terrorism, fascism, and propaganda on the rise, it can make some of the events of the game feel eerie–even when its story is totally absurd. Between levels, you’re treated to breaking news segments from major news channels where your battles against the Hawk’s militia are intentionally misconstrued and repackaged as propaganda. Essentially, fake news.
That’s not to say Metal Wolf Chaos is prophetic. But rather, From Software had an awareness of the inherent ridiculousness of American jingoism in 2004 and the absurd results that it could foster. Though we don’t have mechs in 2019, the level of overt patriotism on display in Metal Wolf Chaos isn’t that foreign. Playing through this satire of American culture can be a fun trip down memory lane circa 2004. Yet, there’s an interesting topic of discussion to be found in this game. In many ways, the tone and plot of this cult hit lands harder now then it did before–likely more than the creators ever imagined.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-the-hell-is-metal-wolf-chaos/1100-6468968/
New Hades Update Out Now, Adds New Area And Final Boss
Supergiant Games has released a new update for Hades. Still in early access, the game receives a bunch of content in this update–including new weapons and powers as well as gameplay changes to certain enemies and items.
This latest patch is Hades’ sixth major update, adding a brand-new location at the very edge of the Underworld for you to explore. “We’re actively working on [Hades] based on our plans and your feedback,” Supergiant Games wrote in the patch notes. “We expect to keep adding features, characters, weapons, foes, powers, environments, and more, while expanding the story and fine-tuning all aspects of the experience.”
Supergiant Games hasn’t announced when Hades will leave early access, but this latest update suggests the game could possibly officially release soon. The new area, Temple of Styx, adds more story elements and includes the game’s final battle, so Hades now has both a beginning and an end. Other notable highlights in the update include gameplay reworks, such as the ability to call upon divine aid more often and the addition of new Boons and “Duo” Boons. The update also adds two new pieces of music to the game’s soundtrack.
Hades is an Epic Games Store exclusive, offered for free on the PC digital storefront from day one as an incentive to download the launcher. The full patch notes for Hades’ latest update can be found below.
Hades August 6 Update Full Patch Notes
General Gameplay
- Boss foes switch between phases faster (their invulnerability periods are shorter)
- Knock-away effects now work against boss foes
- Trial of the Gods: spurned gods’ Boons no longer have reduced rarity; they may offer ‘Exchange’ Boons for Boons from the other god
- Slightly reduced the length of each biome (since completing a run now takes longer than before)
- Increased healing from Death Defiance effects
- After clearing Encounters, Chamber doors should unlock slightly faster than before
- Pool of Purging: newly added! Look for these in chambers from time to time
- Increased value of Charon’s Obol Chamber Rewards and gifts from Sisyphus
- Wall Slam damage scales up in each successive biome
- Health pick-ups no longer block projectiles
Weapons & Powers
- Heart-Seeking Bow: increased damage of main Attack (Dash Attack is unchanged)
- Shield of Chaos: returns sooner after the Throw special if there are no other foes near it
- Various improvements and fixes to input buffering
Boons & Blessings
- Reworked and renamed Wrath and all Wrath Boons: now you can Call for Olympian aid more often, or use your entire God Gauge for an ultra-powered effect like before
- Billowing Strength (Zeus): newly added!
- Thunder Dash (Zeus): normalized base power level
- Tempest Strike (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
- Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
- Divine Strike (Athena): slightly increased power level
- Proud Bearing (Athena): increased power level
- Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased power level
- Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): newly added!
- Impending Doom (Ares): newly added!
- Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced power level
- Fully Loaded (Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
- Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now enhanced by Rapid Cast (Hermes)
- Second Wind (Hermes): newly added!
- Greater Recall (Hermes): newly added!
- Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
- Passing Through (Hermes): reduced power level
- Second Wind (Hermes): reduced power level
- Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): newly added!
- Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares): newly added!
- Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): cut from game; replaced with…
- Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
- Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): newly added!
- Exclusive Access (Poseidon x Dionysus): newly added!
- Merciful End (Ares x Athena): reduced power level
- Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): newly added!
- Hunter’s Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now applies to a nearby foe (instead of the one you hit)
- Ocean’s Bounty (Poseidon): yields greater rewards; no longer affects Centaur Hearts
- Razor Shoals (Poseidon): reworked; Rupture damage no longer scales with move speed
- Vicious Cycle (Ares): effect no longer stacks from separate sources
- Grasp (Chaos): reduced max. possible bonus
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
- Sniper Shot (Bow): reduced min. distance for damage bonus; reduced damage bonus
- Twin Shot (Bow) and Sniper Shot (Bow) are now mutually exclusive
- Pulverizing Blow (Shield): fixed an issue causing on-hit effects not to trigger from the second hit
- Exploding Launcher (Spear): now increases base damage of the Throw special
- Invigorating Blast (Rail): power-up effect is applied more reliably
Foes & Encounters
- Beware of a variety of all-new foes and sinister traps in the Temple of Styx
- Thanatos: reduced frequency of his area attack; also increased preattack duration and recovery time
- Trial of the Gods: Athena effects no longer harm you as foes spawn
- Slam-Dancer: attacks more frequently
- Alecto: increased damage of Whip Shot attack
- Bone Hydra: increased health and armor
- Soul Catcher: butterfly projectiles can no longer be deflected (only destroyed)
- The Minotaur: reduced health
- Theseus: reduced health; removed Chariot reinforcements
Keepsakes & Items
- Lambent Plume: clear-times required to gain the benefit now vary by encounter type
- Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost
Level Design & Environments
- Added Temple of Styx chambers
- Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers
Art & Visual FX
- Added new Temple of Styx environment set
- Updated textures for Megaera
- Updated look of Witch variants in Asphodel and Elysium
- Added slight animation to portraits for Dionysus and Ares
- Added visual effect for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
- Updated visual effects for Shatter Shot (Aphrodite)
- Updated UI and visuals for Death Defiance effects
- Updated some artwork in the House of Hades
- Updated visual effect for spurned god’s Boon vanishing in Trials of the Gods
- Updated visual effect for Gorgon and Megagorgon projectiles
- Updated shadows on some House of Hades characters
- Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Menus & UI
- Updated Wrath Gauge UI (now called the God Gauge) as part of the Wrath system rework
- Updated biome map with the Temple of Styx
- Updated text for various Boons and interactions
- Added visual timer when using Lambent Plume (Hermes)
- Improved feedback on active Heat UI when using the Pact
- Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
- Other minor changes and improvements
Music & SFX
- Two new music tracks, for the Temple of Styx and final battle!
- Added many new sound SFX for the Temple of Styx
- Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements
Voice & Narrative
- Added narrative events with several characters
- Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
- Added new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs; removed some that no longer apply
- Added Codex entries for new Styx foes, as well as Asphodel and Elysium Witches
- Updated requirements for some narrative events
- Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events
Miscellaneous
- Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
- Updated Credits; including with some exceptional Community Contributors (Thank you!!)
- Cerberus: now permits Zagreus to pet him in certain contexts
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where foes could deal extra damage to you after Charm effects on them expire
- Fixed an issue where Poms of Power sometimes offered no visible changes in Boon power
- Fixed issues with the effects of Light of Ixion (Well) and Trove Tracker (Well) not stacking correctly
- Fixed an issue with exiting Chambers just as the last foe is slain in a Trove Trial
- Fixed an issue preventing Wrath Boons from being offered as Pom of Power upgrades
- Fixed Ares’ Blade Rifts getting stuck in walls in some contexts
- Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) creating multiple Ammo drops due to Burst Shot (Artemis)
- Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) activating from Thanatos kills or Exalted respawns
- Fixed Dying Lament (Aphrodite) hitting the player in rare instances
- Fixed Sudden Rush (Daedalus) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
- Fixed Drift Dash (Hermes) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
- Fixed a rare issue with the next chamber not unlocking in the Fallen Warrior’s chamber
- Fixed being able to gift Ambrosia to the Fallen Warrior before learning his name
- Fixed pre-boss Shop Chamber previews sometimes appearing alterable by Fated Authority
- Fixed incorrect footstep sounds sometimes occurring in the House after multiple consecutive runs
- Fixed the center-most projectile in Tisiphone’s flurry attack being invisible
- Fixed Skull Earring (Megaera) visual feedback not clearing after healing above the activation threshold
- Fixed a graphical issue where Elysian Arrow Trap projectiles did not always dissipate correctly
- Fixed gameplay timer briefly counting up between Olympians speaking and the Boon screen opening
- Fixed ‘Petrified’ status icon sometimes not displaying correctly
- Fixed music state sometimes advancing incorrectly after returning from Erebus
- Fixed an issue causing the save indicator to show in the Main Menu after quitting right after saving
- Fixed instances where Bone Hydra’s neck segments could sort in front of the head
- Fixed various other graphical sorting issues
- Many other minor fixes
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-hades-update-out-now-adds-new-area-and-final-b/1100-6468965/
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Will Use Dedicated Servers For All Platforms
Infinity Ward seems to be working hard to cement Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as more than just a reboot. The developers are going all-in with revitalizing the game’s multiplayer, offering new weapon customization tools, and more. Continuing on that trend, Modern Warfare will feature dedicated servers across all platforms.
The news comes from Game Informer’s September cover story, which reports that, alongside cross-platform play, Modern Warfare will have “dedicated servers for everyone” when it launches on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Modern Warfare isn’t the only game in the long-running franchise to feature dedicated servers, though. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also had dedicated servers when it was released in 2007. So, too, did Ghosts, Black Ops, and World at War. Back in October 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 received a silent server update that improved stability, increasing the tick rate in response to community backlash over slow server speed.
Also out of Gamer Informer, Modern Warfare will feature a cheeky throwback to the ’90s in the form of Tamagunchis, virtual pets that need the same level of attention as the Tamagotchi but with a twist: These virtual pets feed off your kills instead of your constant love and adoration.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-will-use-dedicated-ser/1100-6468966/
