Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
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Metal Arms: Glitch in the System | |
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Developer(s) | Swingin' Ape Studios |
Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal |
Release date(s) | November 18, 2003 |
Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen |
Platform(s) | GameCube, Xbox, PS2 |
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a third-person shooter developed by Swingin' Ape Studios. It was published by Vivendi Universal in November 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Planet Iron Star. A terraformed world thought to have been built from debris and "space crap" by a mysterious race called the Morbots, Iron Star is inhabited by a race of sentient machines, the Droids. It is believed that the Morbots still live in Iron Star's core, where they produce the energy consumed by the planet's inhabitants. None dare enter the Morbot lair, for fear of destruction. The inhabitants on the surface consumed the planet's plentiful ore and prospered, establishing an advanced and industrial society.
Dr. Exavolt, a particularly ingenious Science Droid, wanted to push droid brainpower to the next level. He created an ambitious new bot, but the unstable and experimental software used to control him overloaded and failed, unleashing a titan that referred to himself as 'General Corrosive'. Corrosive killed the entire research team and escaped confinement. He then built a robotic race called the Mils and sent the Droid's once peaceful nation into a tailspin of terror and destruction. Many droids were enslaved and those who resisted were immediately destroyed and recycled.
One day, a Droid architect by the name of Colonel Alloy carved out one last vestige of hope and built Droid Town. Droid Town was unknown to the Mils and is the center of the Droid Rebellion, calling on all willing and able droids, before it was too late.
One day, two droids were searching the ruins with their dog, Zobby, and found a strange robot, seemingly Morbot in origin; the most noticeable feature was the strange marking on the droid's head. They took him back to Droid Town where the chief engineer, Krunk, managed to reactivate him. The new bot called himself 'Glitch'. After a brief prompt on recent history, Glitch volunteered to aid Colonel Alloy in his battle against the Mils.
The droids got wind that the Mils had entered the mines and were rampaging through to Droid Town, in which Glitch and the other two remaining droids, Hosed and Screwed, were sent down the mines to get rid of them. After the battle, the Mils managed to break into Droid Town, but the droids made sure no Mil got out alive. To their dismay, one did - Vlax, a Mil grunt.
After getting word that Vlax knew the location of Droid Town, Krunk, Zobby and Glitch hopped into Krunk's newly-refurbished RAT (Rapid Armor Transport) and went after him only to end up in a mysterious wasteland full of Zombiebots. After trying to find Vlax, Glitch comes across Moser, a nearly-broken old robot seeking help who knew how to get to the Mil base that Vlax was in. He offered Glitch help and they were soon on their way. They soon end up facing off against the Zombiebot King, with Glitch barely defeating the monstrous bot and freeing Moser from an untimely demise.
After they reached the base, Glitch sent Moser to Droid Town to get fixed up and Moser gave Glitch his rivet gun in return. Glitch broke into the compound and blew up the com-arrays so that Vlax couldn't give General Corrosive the location of Droid Town. At this point, Vlax had turned tail and ran once again.
Glitch soon received word that Krunk had been captured and Vlax had taken his Morbot gateway chip. After freeing Krunk, Krunk told Glitch about some kind of space station he had discovered. Glitch, having heard about the station once already from a slip of the tongue on Vlax's part, was off again with Krunk and Zobby in tow to catch the pesky Mil. After another RAT-smashing chase through the Wastelands, Glitch cornered Vlax and defeated him once and for all, retrieving the chip and heading back to Droid Town.
Glitch then entered the Morbot region so he could get through it and to the enemy stronghold. After fighting his way through Mils, Troopers, Predators, and the maze that was the Morbot City itself (in that order), Glitch found Slosh, a robot with a few loose bolts and rather jumpy personality. Slosh offers Glitch help to find his way out if Glitch frees him from the water-surrounded platform he's trapped on. The elevator that would take Glitch out of the Morbot City and into the Mil City had no power source. Slosh heads forth to roast all the Swarmers that clog the tunnels of the under-region of the city, reactivating the generator for the elevator. After the whole ordeal, Slosh gives Glitch his Toaster (flamethrower) and a few home-brew Magma Bombs before taking off. Glitch enters Mil city and meets Agent Shhh as per Colonel Alloy's orders. Agent Shhh informs him that the Mils are mass-producing Mil spies disguised as droids to find Droid Town. Glitch infiltrates the production factory, posing as a Mil droid spy, and acquires the Mil operating chip, which he then gives to 2 droids disguised as Mils. The droids smuggle the chip out of Mil City and Glitch is contacted by Alloy to find another secret agent.
Glitch enters the Ruins of Iron Star to reassemble Agent Goff, who was found and disassembled by the Mils, to get information that Goff has. After reassembling him, Goff informs Glitch that Dr. Exavolt was indeed alive and that the mils were holding him captive. Goff gives Glitch an Arm Servo upgrade, as well as some sound encouragement, and Glitch was on his way into Mil city again.
After a fierce battle through the city, Glitch finds that Exavolt escaped from the Mils on his own. After a dialogue which featured Glitch complaining about his rescuees always rescuing thesmselves, he escapes with Dr. Exavolt back to Droid Town, only to find that what happened on that fateful day was no accident. Exavolt had deliberately created General Corrosive as his puppet and faked his own death. Exavolt then told General Corrosive directly the location of Droid Town and a huge invasion force began decimating the town. After Glitch disposed of the invading force, a Trooper landed on him, knocking him out, and took him to the Mil Coliseum.
At the arena, Glitch took part in 3 battles, winning them all with little to no effort. However, on the forth and final battle, he faced off against General Corrosive himself...without any weapons. To Glitch's advantage, a Wrench was handy, which he used to secretly dismantle himself and make everyone think he was dead, only to be dumped outside the arena where reassembled himself again. He glares as he looks back at the coliseum, his resolve to stop the Mils coming back twofold.
When Colonel Alloy finally regained contact with Glitch, informed him that Exavolt had taken Zobby and was planning to take off in his private rocket to the space station Krunk had earlier mentioned. Glitch raced to the rocket in a stolen RAT, stowed away, and infiltrated the space station.
After reaching the space station, Glitch fought an onslaught of Mils, and finally came to a big room, only to be trapped inside with none other than the gargantuan General Corrosive. Fortunately for Glitch, a set of chips used to control the General directly was scattered around the area. After collecting them and evading the General, he accessed an elevated catacomb, where Zobby was also being held captive and the General's conveniently-placed override console was located. After taking direct control of the invincible Corrosive, fighting off an onslaught of Mils with ease, and subsequently broadcasting a global shutdown code to all Mils, Glitch used the general to blow the space station to kingdom come. Glitch escaped the space station with Zobby in an escape pod thinking that the General had finally been defeated, and the war over.
They landed in the Wastelands again, only to find General Corrosive badly damaged and burning with vengeance; the final battle between Corrosive and Glitch thus took place. With a few holes blown away in Corrosive's armour due to the enormous blast from the space station, Glitch managed to defeat the General and reduce him to scrap, adding yet another corpse to the Wastelands. Glitch returned to droid town to tumultuous celebration and commendation.
The player then sees Exavolt (who, unbeknownst to the droids, is still alive) in an escape pod, plotting his revenge against Glitch.
[edit] Multiplayer
Up to four players can compete in multiplayer mode in the Xbox and Gamecube versions of the game, but this number is limited to two in the PS2 version. The PS2 version contains two exclusive maps, however.
There are seven modes of play:
Bot Brawl - A simple deathmatch.
Team Bot Brawl - Same as Bot Brawl, only with teams.
Possession Melee - All players are given Recruiter Grenades and Control Tethers to possess other bots to fight for them.
King Of The Hill - Players fight for control of a specific point on the map.
Moving Hill - Same as King Of The Hill, but the control point moves.
Tag - Played like a normal game of tag; to tag someone when you are tagged you kill them, tagging them and untagging you. The objective is to remain tagged for the least amount of time.
Reverse Tag - Where the objective is to become tagged by destroying an opponent and then staying that way for as long as possible.
Notes about multiplayer:
- AI-controlled bots can be optionally switched on or off, but these are not like normal players; they are merely enemies from the single player campaign placed in the map to create havoc. They do not have a kill total and players do not gain points for killing them.
- All weapons (excluding the Toaster) and vehicles from Single Player are available in Multiplayer.
- The game begins with 4 levels unlocked, with the rest unlocked by finding secret chips in the Single Player mode.
- Players can also create new multiplayer modes and save them to their profile.
[edit] Races
Iron Star is the home to several varieties of Bots:
Droids - The Droids inhabit Iron Star's surface cities in abundance. There are many different types of Droid robots, from small biped miners to intelligent science bots to large transport bots.
Morbots - Ancient race of Bots believed to have constructed Iron Star. It is also believed that they inhabit great cities at the core of Iron Store where they generate the energy used by the planet's surface inhabitants. They disturb the droids that live on the surface. None are seen throughout the game- possibly with the exception of Glitch.
Mils - Race of Military Bots created by General Corrosive with the purpose of conquering and controlling Iron Star.
ZombieBots - Bots made of scrap metal, and have an unquenchable thirst for fresh oil, the eqivelent of blood for droids. They tend to inhabit the more decrepid regions of Iron Star.
Swarmers - Race of small, spider-like Bots. They feed off of the energy of other Bots. They swarm their victims in large groups and cling to their chassis, sucking the energy out of them.
[edit] Characters
Taken from the manual of Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Droids - The Droids inhabit Iron Star's surface cities in abundance. There are many different types of Droid robots, from small biped miners to intelligent science bots to large transport bots.
Zobby - Zobby is the robotic canine that, along with a small band of Droids, discovered Glitch in the ruins. He can't talk, but he can drive an RAT and is good with the machine gun mounted on RATs.
Colonel Alloy - Colonel Alloy is commander of the Droid rebellion. Long ago, Alloy was a Droid architect, designing the incredible cities that populate Iron Star. His final project, cut short as the war between the Droids and the Mils began, was known as Droid Town, and its location remained unknown to the Mils.
Dr. Exavolt - Dr. Exavolt was once the Chief Scientist of the pre-Mil Iron Star, and the only Droid on the planet capable of understanding the complex internal workings of the robots on the planet. In his quest to expand Droids beyond their original capabilities, Dr. Exavolt created General Corrosive, which turned out to be a disaster for the entire planet. Though General Corrosive obliterated the science lab he was created in, Dr Exavolt's remains were never found.
Krunk - Krunk is the Chief Engineer for the Droid rebellion, and is Alloy's right hand (though Krunk has four). He can turn a bag of bolts into a deadly weapon in six seconds flat while simultaneously delivering a stream of obscenities that would make a Morbot blush. Krunk has engineered many weapons and much equipment for the rebel forces, but one of his most ingenious achievements is the Control Tether device.
Agent Shhh - Agent Shhh is a master spy, capable of getting into and out of places that no one else could. He's an excellent source of Mil information.
Shady and Mr. Pockets - Shady and Mr. Pockets and the friendly neighborhood Barter Droids that tend to turn up in the strangest of places. For the right number of Washers, they will sell anything they can get their hands on - whether it belongs to them or not!
General Corrosive - General Corrosive is the product of an unfortunate science experiment led by the Droids' chief scientist, Dr. Exavolt. Corrosive is extremely intelligent, and has designed and manufactured a new race of bots called the Mils, which have taken over Iron Star and enslaved the Droids. General Corrosive, as he demands to be called, has also built a huge bot chassis for himself that is so well armored that it's completely indestructible. Towering over tall buildings, General Corrosive rules quite literally with an iron fist and a cold heart.
Agent Goff - Agent Goff is a spy for the Droid Rebellion. He resembles a Mil Grunt in appearance, and speaks like an evangelist preacher. He was caught and disassembled, but then put back to together by Glitch. He then proceeded to help Glitch by informing him as to where to find Doctor Exavolt.
Screwed and Hosed - Screwed and Hosed are two Droids fighting in the Droid Rebellion. When the Mils invade the Droid mines, they quickly train Glitch to fight. However, they were soon destroyed when the bridge they were crossing collapsed, dropping them into the lava below. Vlax - Vlax is a particularly vile grunt, bent on the destruction of the Droid Rebellion. When he discovered the location of Droid Town, he went to considerable efforts trying to transmit the location to General Corrosive. However, Glitch stopped him at every turn, and eventually destroyed him. Vlax continuously insults Glitch, calling him "scum sucker".
[edit] Enemies
There are several enemies in the game, being either Mils, Zombiebots, other creatures, and in one case, Droids. All Mils will start carrying energy shields after the Morbot City levels, though not every single enemy unit will wear them. Some Mils can also be hacked into using the Control Tether, although not always. Most enemies come in various types and will be discussed at greater length below.
Grunt - (Hackable) The Grunts are Glitch's most common enemy, and throughout the game wield every primary weapon that you do excluding the Control Tether, Slingshot, Scatter Blaster, and Ripper. A little while into the game they also start carrying the secondary Coring Charges. To add even further to their variety, their weapons seem to upgrade just like yours. All portions of this Mil may be shot off or disabled. Here are the varieties of Grunts, by color and weapon they carry:
Blue: Mining Laser
Red: SPEW
Green: Barrage Cannon
Black/Brown: Rivet Gun
Silver: Toaster
There is also one purple grunt, named is Vlax. He is chased in the RAT race,attacking you with a rocket launcher and driving the escaping RAT. He also has much weaker armor than normal grunts.
The Grunts might not be the strongest enemy you will encounter but to compensate for this, they can operate every large static gun or vehicle Glitch can, and are the only enemies that can do so, making them very versatile robots.
Guard - (Hackable) Although the instruction booklet would have you believe that these are an offshoot of the Grunts, they bear no resemblance to them, and instead look, though not necessarily fight, much more like a Titan. Guards have a huge stamina, the first one fought possibly being a fully upgraded version to make it more like a boss battle, and are equal to if not more powerful than a Titan. They wield a halberd that they swing in a constant back and forth motion when at close range. Their other weapon is a shotgun laser mounted on top of the halberd that it shoots while running towards the closest target. Similar to a Grunt, the body parts can be disabled, although here it is more difficult to do so.
Titan - (Hackable) The Titan is the commando of the Mils' army, using two arm mounted, fully upgraded SPEWs, a shoulder mounted rocket launcher, and a shock wave attack activated by stomping the ground. It is possible to destroy both legs and 'fuse' the top half of the Titan to the ground meaning that the Titan can essentially have all armaments removed without actually killing it. Although the Titan's arm cannons overheat when controlled by the player, it seems that that is not the case as an enemy. Beginning on the first Mil City level, there is a type of Titan called an ultra Titan, which posesses a shield and a level three rocket launcher (barrage cannon), which fires four rockets instead of one.
Trooper - (Hackable) Though similar in health to a Grunt, the Troopers can prove to be difficult targets as they can fly through the air. They have three distinct attacks, either slicing you with bayonets on their wrists, shooting you with explosive green plasma blasts from the ground or air, or from the air dive bombing the player and attempting to slice the player in half for heavy damage. The weapons are slightly more powerful than those of Grunts, making the upgrades it receives endurance and attack power.
Snerq The Snerq is a small quick flying machine that is somewhat hard to hit. It will shoot at you while hovering in one spot, and periodically change locations. Both the SPEW and the Scatter Blaster are good weapons to use against a Snerq, although most times you encounter them there are also vehicles nearby, which are naturally quite proficient at taking them down. If a Snerq is at close range, the Toaster is great for obliterating it, as it is practically useless against other enemies.
Predator - (Hackable) The Predator is a four armed flying robot that can shoot either lasers or a barrage of orange explosive plasma. Like the Snerq, it will shoot at you while hovering in one spot, but periodically change locations. Any level of Ripper can disable all arms of the Predator making this potentially deadly enemy into scrap in a short amount of time. An upgraded SPEW is also a good weapon choice for taking out the arms of the Predator. If the thing is close, use a Cleaner or Rocket Launcher.
Sentry Turrets - (Can be mounted and controlled by the player) There are two types of turrets, large and small. The small ones cannot be boarded and must be destroyed like any other enemy. The large turret however can be very useful because although it is a powerful enemy, it can be converted to the player's side with use of the Recruiter Grenade. Otherwise, the player can simply get on the back of it, similar to how you would a vehicle. This can be tricky, however, and often requires the use of an EMP grenade. Both kinds of turret use machine gun fire, but the large kind also uses mortars, similar to rockets, but with a slight elliptical curve.
Mortars - These stationary turrets are only found in one level of the game. They look like large cannons, and fire a large explosive, which naturally curves downwards heavily while in flight. The blast from this explosive is powerful enough to send Glitch flying through the air. It is, however, easy to see where the Mortar is aiming, as the area is highlighted with a large red target symbol.
Zombiebots - These are basically piles of scrap that form together into a single makeshift bot. They are fairly fast and deadly, attacking using their claws. They will fall apart and then come back to 'life' once before dying, except when hit by a powerful attack such as Mozer's melee attack. Otherwise, they can be very hard to kill without a level 3 spew or a level 2 scatter blaster, although a level 1 scatter blaster will in a pinch. The use of coring charges or rocket launchers is also highly efficient. They are found in the Wastelands, the second Colliseum level, and the ruins of Iron Star.
Scout - This Mil patrols the Mil bases and when it detects intruders, it quickly races for its station, where it sounds the alarm to alert troops nearby. To avoid a firefight, it is important for the player to quickly destroy one before it can sound the alarm, or else without it noticing the player at all. After activating the alarm, they tend to race around very quickly, often ramming into the player and exploding, causing a fair bit of damage.
Swarmers - These are spiderlike bots that inhabit the underground layers of the Morbot region. Large groups of them can overwhelm even large opponents. The Toaster and the Magma Bombs are the only weapons that are the least bit effective against them.
Scientists - These Mils are technicians and scientists that will attack you in self-defense by using an electric charge that sucks health away. They can also heal other Mil bots, or even Glitch, if he has used a Recruiter Grenade on them, and so brought them to his side.
[edit] Primary Weapons
The primary weapons in Metal Arms include a fairly standard set of gaming firearms, ranging from machine guns to rocket launchers, as well as some more unique weapons, such as a gun which allows you to take over control of an enemy, and a slingshot. Most weapons must be either found in the environment or bought before the player can use them. All the primary weapons (excluding the Toaster and Slingshot) can be upgraded in three stages - Level 1 through Level 3. These upgrades tend to increase the power and clip size, as well as sometimes adding new functions. The upgrades will also usually change the appearance of the weapon.
Here is the list of primary weapons:
Mining Laser - The weakest gun in the game, it shoots lasers. It was normally just a laser that mines though rock, but when the war broke out became used as a basic firearm. This is the only weapon Glitch has at the beginning of the game.
Level 1 - Fires a green laser; has very weak power.
Level 2 - Yellow laser; able to charge up a powerful blast of energy.
Level 3 - Red laser; gains a second gun barrel for faster fire; has a stronger charge up blast.
Ripper - This gun cuts though enemy limbs and steel cables. However, it causes very little damage. This gun is compatible with the Scope.
Level 1 - Regular cutting power.
Level 2 - Increased power.
Level 3 - Even more power; continues cutting after impact.
S.P.E.W. - (Small Projectile Emitter Weapon) The SPEW was stolen from Mils, and modified for Droid use. This gun is compatible with the Scope.
Level 1 - Standard power.
Level 2 - Increased power and magazine size.
Level 3 - Multiple, Gatling-style barrels; more power; better accuracy, larger magazine.
Rocket Launcher - This gun is one of the best weapons in the game; it can blow up small groups of Mils with a single blast. At Level 3 its name changes to Barrage Cannon.
Level 1 - Good power; requires both arms to use.
Level 2 - Increased power; shoulder placed. Is now compatible with the Scope.
Level 3 - Incredible power, shoots one rocket that splits into four.
Scatter Blaster - The Scatter Blaster is a shotgun with deadly power.
Level 1 - Regular shotgun power.
Level 2 - Increased power; has 2 barrels which allow for a double blast; larger magazine.
Level 3 - Becomes rapid fire, as well as increased power and magazine size; at this level, it can chew through most enemies with ease, though ammo gets used up very quickly.
Rivet Gun - A good gun that shoots metallic arrows and has great accuracy. Is compatible with the Scope.
Level 1 - Shoots arrows with good accuracy.
Level 2 - Arrows explode shortly after impact.
Level 3 - More powerful; has a larger explosion that can be charged up by the player for even more damage.
Slingshot - A slingshot used to shoot secondary ammunition at a much larger range and impact that usual. It can be difficult to aim due to its lack of a reticule. It is not upgradeable.
Most players hint at using the tip of the antenna on Glitch's back to assist in aiming the Slingshot.
Level 1 - Standard Slingshot.
Control Tether - Krunk's invention, this gun can hack into enemies and allows you to use their powers against their own teammates.
Level 1 - Hacking speed is slow.
Level 2 - Faster hacking speed. armor of hacked enemy is slightly improved.
Level 3 - Faster hacking speed; highly improves the armour strength of hacked enemy.
Toaster - A flamethower that melts though metal as if it were like plastic. This weapon can't be upgraded. Not very effective against most enemies.
Level 1 - Standard firepower.
[edit] Secondary Weapons
The secondary weapons in Metal Arms are mostly grenades of various types. They range from standard explosives with the Coring Charges to the unique Recruiter Grenade. Barring the Scope the secondary weapons can not be upgraded.
Here is a list of the secondary weapons in Metal Arms:
Coring Charge - A standard explosive grenade. The explosive range is quite large, often even damaging the bot who uses one.
Cleaner - A powerful homing grenade which can lock on to up to three separate targets.
Magma Bomb - An incendiary grenade: upon impact it unleashes a shower of fire which deals large amounts of damage to anyone who touches it. A single Magma Bomb is capable of destroying a Titan.
EMP Grenade - Upon impact it opens up a temporary Electro Magnetic Pulse field which temporarily disables any bot who enters the field. If a player is controlling the bot, it merely makes it very hard to aim at anything.
Recruiter Grenade - Capable of recruiting enemy bots to the side of the player who threw the grenade. It is even usable on other players in multiplayer. While recruited, any points a player scores go the person who recruited them. The only way out of this is for the recruited play to destroy the player who recruited them. Some bots are not recruitable, however.
Scope - A sniper sight for use with some of the primary weapons. It provides data on enemy targets within its sights, and also increases the accuracy of the weapon itself, giving you pinpoint precision. It is the only upgradeable secondary weapon.
Level 1 - Allows for a 4x zoom. Appears as level 2 on the game screen.
Level 2 - Allows for a 8x zoom. Appears as level 3 on the game screen.
[edit] Vehicles
There are 3 vehicles that can be boarded and used in Metal Arms. They usually provide a strategic advantage, because they provide the player with more firepower (without having to use any of their own ammunition) and armor.
RAT - (Rapid Armored Transport) A fast, six-wheeled vehicle with a machine turret mounted on the back. Players can either drive the vehicle, or man the turret. There are three levels in the game based around this vehicle, as well as multiple other levels where it is featured in some manner or another. It can crush small enemies.
Loader - A small mining hovercraft. It can hover over water and other similar liquids, allowing access to areas normally unattainable. It has a small machine gun mounted on its front, as well as a large claw which can pick up small enemies and rocks.
Sentinel - Easily the most powerful vehicle of them all. The Sentinel is a large tank, with a powerful machine gun turret, and a large powerful rocket turret, all controlled by just the one player. It can crush small enemies.
[edit] Humor
A large portion of Metal Arms' humor comes from either its screaming Mil adversaries (when shot, the Mil Grunts often begin to scream and panic, running around shooting one another and shouting in high pitched voices) or its deliberately immature swearing (which is sometimes censored, badly - something which only serves to heighten the comedy aspect). "Of course I f*cking fixed him! He was a huge pain in the f*cking waste pan, because he's some sort of custom jobbie!" is one such line, delivered by a four armed robot called Krunk, who swears profusely in almost every scene he is in. Despite this, there are some clever pieces of humor, such as discussions overheard between Mil bots, and the classic Mil commander who has a very strong German accent: "I haf ten vashers on zis goofy lookin' von here!" Also notable are some of the background announcements made in some of the Mil facilities, such as: "All systems alerted, code red. All systems alerted, code red. Have a nice day." and "Will the party or parties responsible for releasing all of the experimental looney bots please return them to their pens? They are shooting the employees. Thank you."
[edit] Platform variations
- The Xbox version supports Dolby Digital sound and multiplayer for 2 to 4 people.
- The GameCube version supports Dolby Prologic II, progressive scan and multiplayer for 2 to 4 people.
- The PS2 version supports multiplayer for 2 people only.