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...because I felt like it.  Metal Wolf Chaos is a Japanese only Original Xbox game that is simultaneously the most American game ever conceived in the medium. It’s fantastic to the point that the premise feels like it starts to vastly overshadows the actual game part, as most anyone ever talks about when this game is brought up is the absurd voice acting, satirical patriotism, and the entire concept of the loving President of the United States in a goddamn mech suit taking back the country from the evil Vice President. But when you peel away the aesthetic, you’re left with a game that is actually very well designed, fun, and a prime example of what From Software is truly best at. And that is giant robots. You’ve got a simple yet excellent boost mechanic that can be chained together to stay airborne indefinitely, a chain combo scoring system, a large assortment of weapon types to cycle through, a pretty clever combination of energy management with a recharging health system, and a small yet uniquely designed collection of levels that provide varied scenarios and destructible objects to ravage with the Special Mobile Armored Ops Suit that is Metal Wolf. Sounds pretty good on gameplay features alone doesn’t it? There’s a lot more to talk about with this game on both the American and mecha fronts, so join me as I destroy major American cities, explain the parallels between this, Otogi and the Armored Core series, and otherwise just show off everything that this game possibly has to offer.  Metal Wolf Chaos is a ridiculous game that whether you’ve heard of it or not, you more than likely would like to hear this game’s dumb rear end dialogue and cutscenes without interruption. With that said, this will be a subtitled LP so you won’t have to hear my voice over anything important at all. Instead, I’m going to let my play style, and weapon loadouts (chosen by you viewers), speak for me as I demolish levels, collect every energy pod, rescue all hostages, and otherwise style the ever loving hell out of these Richard Hawk sympathizers for your enjoyment. Twice. Yes, following the standard normal playthrough, extra difficulty settings and bonuses unlock so I will do a second playthrough on the unlockable “Hell” difficulty where enemies are tougher and I show off Metal Wolf’s fancy alt colors, gimmick weapons, & bizarre bonus BGMs. Also aliens, at some point. This game is loving dense. Now then, without further ado… LET'S PARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!  Mission 1: The White House (Video) Mission 2: San Francisco (Video) Mission 3: The Grand Canyon (Video) Mission 4: Alcatraz (Video) Mission 5: Phoenix (Video) Mission 6: Beverly Hills (Video) Intermission: Metal Wolf Crushed? Mission 7: Miami Beach (Video) Mission 8: Chicago (Video) Mission 9: Houston (Video) Mission 10: New York City (Video) Intermission: Metal Wolf in Despair? Mission 11: Liberty Island (Video) Mission 12: The Fight House (Video) Mission 13: Las Vegas (Video) Mission 14: Space Station (Video) Intermission: Metal Wolf vs. Aliens Hell Mode 01: Back to the West Coast (Video) Hell Mode 02: Go East, Young Man (Video) Hell Mode 03: THIS! IS!! THE CLIMAX!!!! (Video) ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Oct 22, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 20:43
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 Metal Wolf has weapons. A LOT of them. There are 11 weapon types in the game, and these categories can be upgraded up to 8 times in the Develop menu (though not every level unlocks a new weapon model for manufacture). Since I'm not content to just stick to the weapons I know the best, I will be taking suggestions for loadouts before each mission, though the thing I encourage the most is weapons you think will make a video the most interesting, not weapons that will prove most effective for the job. While there are multiple weapon models for each category, they can easily be broken down into three core types that represent different levels of power. So as too not spend too much time grinding for the best weapon in each category, I will limit the West Coast stages to level 1 weapons. Then use level 2 weapons for the East Coast (up through Stage 10 specifically), and finally level 3 for the end game. If you want an example of what I'm talking about, take the M29 Handgun that Metal Wolf starts with. That is the level 1 handgun, and the M29/PA acquired in the White House is a modification of the base model. After leveling up Handguns enough times, the next real weapon is the DE91, a Desert Eagle. Following that are other variations on the DE91 base model, and then after all that is the third level handgun the M45, its variations, and other bonus weapons that will be shown off in the post game.  Handgun These weapons generally have low range and rate of fire, but have some of the larger Lock On sights in the game, making them useful for dealing with infantry targets spread about. Though for missile intercepts and heavier targets, they draw out a battle for longer than is necessary.  Shotgun These weapons have smaller Lock On sights, but it can often be misleading due to each Shotgun's Spread Radius, which determines how far the shells spread when fired with each shot. Like the Handguns, it's a good weapon for crowd control, and the spread from the shotgun shells does pretty decently with missile interception.  Machinegun Machineguns compared to most other weapons sport a high rate of fire and for many new players is an ideal weapon to invest in. They also are identified by their horizontal Lock On sights which make them useful for quickly dealing with targets on a lateral plane.  Assault Rifle Assault Rifles are like more balanced versions of the Machinegun, with more narrow, vertical Lock On sights to emphasize slightly longer range firing. Their rapid fire capabilities are about the same, so using these with machineguns make for great companion weapons.  Bazooka Another staple for many new players, Bazookas are useful heavy weapons that fire rockets in the direction of wherever they're aimed at. These weapons have an incredibly small Lock On window, in fact it doesn't lock on to any target. Each rocket has a blast radius when it collides, so nearby enemies and objects will also be effected.  Missile Launcher These are like Bazookas if the rockets could lock on to target. These weapons take a set amount of time per model to lock onto a target, and once that happens the missile will be able to track it. Otherwise, it will just fly around randomly looking for a target and be of little use.  Grenades Grenades, much like Bazookas, do not lock onto targets and are fired at an arc instead of a straight line. However, as far as blast damage goes, that is an area that this category excels at, making it a good heavy weapon for dealing with groups.  Sniper Rifle These rifles are two handed weapons that are unique in that Metal Wolf cannot move with them. The game switches to a first person view where the left stick controls the zoom of the scope. They have incredible range too, with very high attack power to compliment it.  Railgun Railguns are at first glance the energy version of the sniper rifle. However, the player can still move around with it, and in order to utilize the weapon's full power Metal Wolf must charge up a meter before firing. Each model has a set number of charges and time it takes to reach a full charge, and as an energy weapon, enemy defense stats are non factor.  Multi Missiles Take the concept behind the Missile Launcher and replace one missile with a whole Salvo. Extremely powerful but with low starting ammunition and takes a long time to acquire a target. Every missile fired is incredibly fast, making the payoff incredibly worth it.  Flamethrower An underrepresented tool of destruction in most shooting action games, Flamethrowers technically count as energy weapons so the boost meter is drained for as long as the trigger is pulled. While range is very limited, it is a very ideal weapon for dealing property damage as the flames will very quickly reduce environmental objects to ruin. Also good for roasting poor foot soldiers, if you're into that kind of thing. ---------- Note that while you can decide which weapons I bring into a mission, I will be choosing variations of specific guns to mix things up and show off special gimmicks that these weapon types are capable of. There are multiple variations, some of which overlap with similar sounding ones from different weapons, so listing them all here would be a bit excessive (some of them aren't available in the first tier, anyway). Besides, might as well save something for a surprise, right? ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Jun 14, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 20:44
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 Mission 1: The White House   Michael Wilson The 47th President of the United States, and our protagonist. His father was also the president, so you can tell which real life president was in office back when this game was made. Other achievements of his include being a war hero during the Arizona insurrection alongside Richard Hawk, as well being the founder of G.U.I.D.E. during the Tokyo Parasite Infestation in the 2009 From Software title Ninja Blade (and he is just as badass in that even without Metal Wolf). Having fled the White House, he is now preparing his campaign of destruction and freedom to take back his country from the coup d’état forces.  Jody Crawford Secretary to President Michael Wilson, Jody can be described many things. Excitable, nutty, utter sociopath, and most of all a huge chatterbox. She fills the role of a CO that you would normally find in other mission based mecha games, and as such gives you information on where to go next and what targets to destroy when out in the field. While she serves to give advice to the player, much of what she says can just ramble off into weird tangents and bullshit that is otherwise pretty hilarious to listen to.  Richard Hawk Our antagonist for the game, Richard Hawk was the Vice President and like Michael Wilson also a war hero from the days of the Arizona Insurrection. One can assume this was what prompted Michael to choose Richard as a running mate since they shared something in common, though now I’m sure the president thoroughly regrets ever making the decision. We don’t get to hear much from him during the first third of the game, but as we get closer to the end, you’ll be loving every second of Richard Hawk’s presence. I assure you.   All new weapons demonstrated in the LP will have their stats and descriptions listed here. Note that in the game all descriptions are in Japanese, so these come from the English translation patch. It's got some weird formatting and grammatical errors so I touched them up as best I could and will show them here rather than in game. Handgun  S&W .44 Magnum Developed in 1955 by S&W, this pistol was made famous by Dirty Harry. This weapon has low firepower but boasts a wide range of fire. Shotgun  Remington Signature Remington model adapted for Mobile Armor. With a wide spread and reliable damage, this gun is truly an American Hero made in the USA. Assault Rifle  Carbine Developed by SOCOM and Colt, this weapon has been adapted for Mobile Armor use and improved thusly. Easy to handle with great range. Bazooka  LAW A Mobile Armor version of the basic US Infantry anti-tank launcher. Great range but slow to fire with a long reload time. Sniper Rifle  SWS Developed by the US Army in 1987 with Remington, can zoom up to 32x magnification. Very precise with high attack power.  Every new enemy that is encountered during a mission will be placed here along with their specific category. Unfortunately, the translation patch does not translate the in game descriptions for them, so you'll have to make do with my own short descriptions on these units that comprise United States Military. Infantry  Soldier Gun Basic infantry with an assault rifle. Only really a threat if you choose to stand still and not do anything. Like all other regular infantry, they will go down from just about any weapon instantly.  Soldier Missile Basic infantry with a missile launcher, although they’re more like bazookas since their missiles don’t track Metal Wolf. And like all rockets and missiles, theirs are easily shot down. Ground Vehicles  M939 Cargo Truck A transport vehicle for infantry troops, it only holds so many at a time. Can be found as just an environmental obstacle as well, however destroying those will not contribute towards a chain or Rush combo. Also destroying the truck when troops have not been deployed will only count as 1 kill in a chain as the soldiers need to be outside and in the vicinity for the explosion to affect them. Air Vehicles  UH60A Blackhawk The Blackhawk helicopter, or at least one of the different types of Blackhawks in the game. These ones as shown at the White House don’t really do much and just exist as sitting ducks. Though with the starting weapons that you have, they hover just out of range for the likes of shotguns, pistols, and assault rifles. Heavy and/or long range weapons are always preferable for destroying these at the start, especially if you want Cool and Nice points.  After every mission, there is a summary of the events that took place by a DNN reporter named Peter MacDonald. When put together, they are read as a recollection of the game’s events, written after the fact. We’ll get to meet Mr. MacDonald soon enough, but for now, we only have these written accounts to go on. However, much like the enemy descriptions the English translation patch doesn’t translate these either (well, partially translated anyway, but not enough that it’s worth showing anyway), so I’ll provide them myself. Enjoy some nice, soothing guitar while you read these, too.    
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Jan 20, 2016 20:44
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Why did From never localize this? Did they think the most American game ever would not sell in America? The closest we ever got to this game in the West was the intro to Saint's Row IV, where we, as the president, mount a giant turret to blow away space invaders. Also also: This is one of the only games where the pods on a mech's back seem to actually do something. In this case, store weapons! Lots of weapons. Speedball fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Jan 20, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 21:01
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Speedball posted:Why did From never localize this? Did they think the most American game ever would not sell in America?
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Jan 20, 2016 21:06
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My question is where did you find a reasonably priced copy of this? Cause I only ever see this game going for like 150 or 200 bucks.
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Jan 20, 2016 21:16
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I absolutely loved this game, and since you brought it up Otogi was great as well! Glad to see it being LPed!
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Jan 20, 2016 21:43
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Speedball posted:Why did From never localize this? Did they think the most American game ever would not sell in America? It's arguably a worse situation than Atlas is in, considering how much people bitch about how long it takes for their games to come out in Europe. Think that but the chances of them not coming out anywhere else at all. Niggurath posted:My question is where did you find a reasonably priced copy of this? Cause I only ever see this game going for like 150 or 200 bucks.
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Jan 20, 2016 21:47
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Hello hello hello, hel-LO, Let's Play! How's life treating you?
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Jan 20, 2016 22:30
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It's time to take America back
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Jan 21, 2016 03:30
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I'm so ready to PARTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!
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Jan 21, 2016 04:14
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RICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD! It's so good to see this up. 
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Jan 21, 2016 04:32
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I would love a Metal Wolf Chaos movie. If we can have stuff like Olympus Has Fallen and the Transformers films, why not merge them?
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Jan 21, 2016 04:41
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NGDBSS posted:Consider that From had to be dragged kicking and screaming to localize the Souls games and put out PC ports for the Dark Souls games. I think they were just being risk-averse to a fault and thought that Westerners wouldn't like some weird thing from Japan.
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Jan 21, 2016 04:56
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Speedball posted:Why did From never localize this? Did they think the most American game ever would not sell in America? I think it was never localized because the game used the unmodified US Presidential Seal, and From wouldn't change it to get localized. A drat shame, because this game is amazing.
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Jan 21, 2016 05:02
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HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?!?!?!?! God, that's such a perfect asskicking line  Blackunknown posted:I think it was never localized because the game used the unmodified US Presidential Seal Is it that important? Why would this be an issue?
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Jan 21, 2016 05:07
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Blackunknown posted:I think it was never localized because the game used the unmodified US Presidential Seal I used to believe this as well, but...   ...while the seal used in the game does have its similarities to the original (left image), it's definitely modified. The font of the "Seal of the President" is different as well as the graphic on the shield, and the seal is missing the "E Pluribus Unum" motto.
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Jan 21, 2016 05:26
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CommissarMega posted:Is it that important? Why would this be an issue? I remember reading somewhere that it is illegal in the US to use the Presidential Seal in a commercial product, essentially in any way suggesting that the product in question is endorsed by the office of the President. That said, the rudimentary modification Artificial Beats showed off would cover that, and I am more inclined to believe the other explanation I heard which was that From and any publisher working with them (likely still Agetec at the time) were a bit leery of the idea of releasing a game that satirized US politics, authority figures and attitudes as savagely as this game did, especially in the earlier 2000s when G.W. Bush was still in office (and the similarities between him and Wilson are...more than a little pronounced). It's funny as hell to be sure, but I can sort of see where it might have come off as a bit strong in certain cases we will likely see. Thanks for putting in so much effort to make this LP happen, ArclightBorealis. I too hope to someday put down a ridiculous amount of money to realize my dreams of being the rear end-kickingest POTUS the world has ever known.
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Jan 21, 2016 05:54
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Thing is, I've watched another LP of MWC, and while it is jingoistic as hell, it's done in such an over-the-top manner that it ends up being hilarious and charming instead of obnoxious. Seriously, the whole world would welcome this game!
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Jan 21, 2016 06:14
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I loved your LP of Armored Core's first generation, so I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on this! Also, wow Metal Wolf is a lot smaller than I'm used to for a "giant" robot. Definitely a far cry from the pretty sizable ACs from Armored Core. Or just about any other giant mech. I'm not sure if every object is to the same scale, but it looks like the average infantryman only goes up to Metal Wolf's hip.
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Jan 21, 2016 07:30
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IthilionTheBrave posted:I loved your LP of Armored Core's first generation, so I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on this! Also, wow Metal Wolf is a lot smaller than I'm used to for a "giant" robot. Definitely a far cry from the pretty sizable ACs from Armored Core. Or just about any other giant mech. I'm not sure if every object is to the same scale, but it looks like the average infantryman only goes up to Metal Wolf's hip. Yeah, the styling on the mechs seem more in line with the Landmates from Appleseed.  Especially the big ol thighs.
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Jan 21, 2016 08:51
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A giant robot that's not THAT giant is actually okay for a lot of reasons... foot soldiers still pose something of a threat, buildings can be obstacles or you can hide behind them/climb them, and so on.
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Jan 21, 2016 09:08
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Kind of scary how accurate it is on current events. I balked at the bad stuff Richard did to the country, but most of the stuff is still happening today. I can get behind a MWC Ex.
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Jan 21, 2016 15:06
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ModeWondershot posted:That said, the rudimentary modification Artificial Beats showed off would cover that, and I am more inclined to believe the other explanation I heard which was that From and any publisher working with them (likely still Agetec at the time) were a bit leery of the idea of releasing a game that satirized US politics, authority figures and attitudes as savagely as this game did, especially in the earlier 2000s when G.W. Bush was still in office (and the similarities between him and Wilson are...more than a little pronounced). It's funny as hell to be sure, but I can sort of see where it might have come off as a bit strong in certain cases we will likely see. I always assumed this was the main reason but I'm not sure there's any proof of that. I remember watching a Japanese LP of Red Alert 3, which features an alternate history Japanese empire which is also hilariously over the top and people were complaining why they never released the game in Japan but, as far as I know, it was because they were afraid it would offend Japanese gamers. Practically all the Japanese viewers loved it, however.
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Jan 21, 2016 17:10
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ModeWondershot posted:I remember reading somewhere that it is illegal in the US to use the Presidential Seal in a commercial product, essentially in any way suggesting that the product in question is endorsed by the office of the President. The way I see it, the problem here is that this game is not, in fact, endorsed by the office of the President of the United States. Or the office of the Vice-President, once we start seeing more of Richard Hawk.
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Jan 21, 2016 18:42
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Ekster posted:I always assumed this was the main reason but I'm not sure there's any proof of that. I remember watching a Japanese LP of Red Alert 3, which features an alternate history Japanese empire which is also hilariously over the top and people were complaining why they never released the game in Japan but, as far as I know, it was because they were afraid it would offend Japanese gamers. Practically all the Japanese viewers loved it, however. I would guess it's more that it didn't get released because RTS games are a pretty solidly PC genre and Japan lacks the blessing of the glorious master race.
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Jan 21, 2016 18:50
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Alas, there was never a sequel to this, but Metal Gear Revengeance was pretty drat close to it.
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Jan 21, 2016 18:56
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Defiance Industries posted:I would guess it's more that it didn't get released because RTS games are a pretty solidly PC genre and Japan lacks the blessing of the glorious master race. Well yeah, that too.
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Jan 21, 2016 19:22
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There actually is a follow up to this game in terms of mechanics, by the same developers no less. It's just hard to notice due to the difference in tone. But otherwise, tonally speaking, yeah the opening of Saints Row IV and end of Metal Gear Rising are pretty much the closest you'll get to Metal Wolf in terms of absurdity and Americanism. 7c Nickel posted:Yeah, the styling on the mechs seem more in line with the Landmates from Appleseed.  But the comparison to Landmates is startlingly accurate and might actually explain how the President is able to even control it.
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Jan 21, 2016 19:23
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I am really glad you're doing a new LP of this game. There was another one on the archive that's disappeared to the ether, and I was really wanting to watch again (lacking a copy of my own to play). Great timing!
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Jan 22, 2016 06:19
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divedivedive posted:I am really glad you're doing a new LP of this game. There was another one on the archive that's disappeared to the ether, and I was really wanting to watch again (lacking a copy of my own to play). Great timing! The videos are technically on archive.org but they're in google video's old quality which is not that great.
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Jan 22, 2016 07:16
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 Mission 2: San Francisco  Handgun  S&W .44 Magnum - Paint Type M29 created by S&W, this weapon can be used to mark targets with red paint. This increases the damage they take in Burst Mode. Machinegun  PDW German H&K Submachine Gun. Built to the Mobile Armor specs, this weapon has low damage but a high rate of fire. This allows for easy missile interception. Grenades  Light Grenade H&K developed launching system for grenades with wide range. Improved for Mobile Armor use. Multi Missiles  MM Launcher Designed by the US Army during the Arizona Insurrection, it fires 8 missiles at once upon a wide range of enemies. Ground Vehicles  M1A2 Abrams The most common ground vehicle we'll encounter that actually can attack us, more durable than the Cargo Truck and requires lots of dive kicks or explosives to deal with. Not too hard to avoid its cannon considering it's slow and it's a tank.  M4S7 DORSEY The first boss enemy, alternates between firing 8 missiles and charging its large energy cannon. Burst Attack makes quick work of it, but fighting it legitimately requires constant use of rapid fire to avoid missile damage and heavy weapons to hurt it. BGM    
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Jan 22, 2016 07:58
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So the second post of the thread has now been updated to include all the basic weapon info and the way in which I will be upgrading them. As expected, the big audience participation thing with this is what weapon types you want me to use, while I am going to be doing the stages in order of how they're listed in the game's Records screen. So here's the West Coast stages we have left: The Grand Canyon: A vertical level with narrow paths and lots of places to fall off and die. Plenty of long range targets as well, but great opportunities for long quick boost chains. Alcatraz: A timed mission to destroy a big rear end loving cannon before it charges and fires at the West Coast. Phoenix: A Three-on-One Old West style duel, where knowledge of the environment and ambushing the opponent is key. Beverly Hills: An intricate level with proximity bombs and radar jamming. High chances of losing whole shields if not approached cautiously. And do not worry about me having to invest in any particular category at the moment. I've already grinded the San Francisco mission enough times that I got enough cash and rare metals to unlock all Tier 1 weapons, and now have one of each kind in my inventory. Place your requests now.
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Jan 22, 2016 08:23
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Hey, enjoying the videos but you may want to leave the long subtitles up a smidge longer. A lot of them were gone before I finished reading them.
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Jan 22, 2016 08:40
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I had trouble with the subtitles too. By the time I noticed there was one to read it was usually half gone.
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Jan 22, 2016 08:47
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You should develop machine guns and multi missiles, drown them in pure freedom. And show all the goofy stuff of course.
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Jan 22, 2016 08:56
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Jody is so peppy it's fantastic: A tank?  A massive tank? Is the DNN reporter going to go full Baghdad Bob by the end? I don't envy his job right now.
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Jan 22, 2016 11:39
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The subtitles are too long and need to stay on the screen longer. It may be Chinatown, but there were a few signs FROM Japan. Make better sniper rifles and shotguns.
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Jan 22, 2016 17:12
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For the Mission Data kanji, I don't know Japanese but I do know enough Chinese to sort of translate: From top to bottom it seems to be: Foot Infantry Armored Vehicles Air Vehicles Autonomous Robots? Special Vehicles?
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Jan 22, 2016 17:51
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I would love to know what the stated premise for the principal VAs was, since they're all obviously native speakers of English. Some digging found that they had all previously worked on the first Baten Kaitos, so perhaps things were handled by some mutual agency they worked with?
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Jan 22, 2016 17:56
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