Loaded (known as Blood Factory in Japan) is a science fiction-themed top-down shoot 'em up video game that was developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Interplay. Loaded was released in late 1995–early 1996 (around New Year time) on both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
The game had origins in DC comics and more notably the more adult-orientated Vertigo Comics, and there was a small graphic novel based on the game. The six playable characters of the game are a combination of villains, anti-heroes, psychopaths, perverts, mutants, and flamboyant murderers. They are, however, the last hope to stop the intergalactic supervillain code-named F.U.B. and save the universe. The characters were created and designed with contributions from Garth Ennis of Vertigo Comics and Greg Staples of 2000AD.
Less than a year after the original game was released, a sequel was released also for the PlayStation and the PC entitled Re-Loaded, developed and published by the same companies. It featured the same game engine, and even the game menus are the same, although it is a game engine with slightly improved graphics.
Four characters from the original game are also in Re-Loaded, such as Mamma, Bounca, Butch, and Cap'n Hands. Vox, however, is not present in the game and is replaced by two new female characters: a pink-haired, cannibalistic sex symbol named the Consumer, and a malfunctioning android nun named Sister Magpie. Via cheat code, Sister Magpie can unlock hidden character Fwank from the previous game for use in Re-Loaded. If unlocked, Fwank is the best character in Re-Loaded, with the most speed and best armor.
All of the returning characters have new weapons and/or variations of their costumes. There are twelve blood-soaked new worlds to annihilate, much bigger than the levels encountered in the previous game, and with the added bonus of being able to morph the surrounding terrain with high-powered weaponry and explosives.
STORY:
F.U.B., the antagonist of Loaded, had his body destroyed at the end of the previous game, although his brain fled in an escape pod. Landing on a harsh desert world, Kee-Butt-5, his brain has been implanted into the body of a chiselled, bronzed young artist hermit named Manuel Auto, and then he murdered the loyal surgeons responsible for giving him a new body. Reincarnated and renamed "C.H.E.B.", which stands for "Charming Handsome Erudite Bastard", the former raving lunatic supervillain has taken on some of the aspects of his host body, the creative, artistic and thoughtful Manuel Auto. With his matter manipulation powers, C.H.E.B. plans to transform whole planets into "Works Of Art and Genuis", starting with his own body which he grows to the size of a small moon. Once again the group of blood-thirsty anti-heroes gather to bring him down once and for all and set off for Kee-Butt-5...
CHARACTERS:
- Mamma:
The largest character in the game, a veritable giant, Mamma's real name is unknown and wears a diaper, baby bonnet, wooley hat and bunny slippers. However, both the guards and prisoners of the Raulf prison planet are all terrified of him, due the fact he has a tendency to crush to death anybody who comes near him in a mammoth, bone-cruching, organ-bursting bear hug, which to Mamma is an innocent gesture of friendship; he then believes the crushed bodies are asleep and he will go off looking for his next "cuddle". Mamma was abandoned as a babe in the busiest star port in the galaxy, a place where nobody has any time for anybody else. He is totally without education, manners and most of all the other things which are generally regarded as "civilized". He blunders through life using his very limited vocabulary to get him through all manner of circumstance. The only word he knows, and the only thing that keeps him going is the word "MAMMA!", lending him his name. Obviously he missed something as an infant. His lineage is therefore something of an unknown quantity, but one thing is certain - his mother was friendly with something large and simian. Quite a scary and unpredictable man to have around, even if you are scary and unpredictable yourself. 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. Mamma has a very good armor rating but a slow speed.
- Fwank:
Featured on the cover of the game, Fwank is a very heavily-built and thoroughly psychotic man donning a bank bag over his face with the bag painted, making him resemble a clown. Almost child-like in demeanour (although not so much as Mamma), he has a notable lisp, which causes him to mis-pronounce words (Rs are substituted with Ws), providing his nickname. Fwank killed his parents, and his "pwobation officer", when he was young, and the graphic novel explains that he was lobotomized at age six, although his true name is never revealed. His body is described as "that of a steroid-eating wilderbeest who doesn't shower". Fwank looks upon other lifeforms as toys for his amusement or worse, expendable cardboard targets at a fairground attraction. The only things he cares about is his collection of teddy bears, especially the one he calls Percy, and keeping his weapon well oiled. Fwank makes one concession to his fellow lifeforms; he ties a mood balloon to his back pack indicating the general ballpark of his demeanour (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 containing explosives that eviscerate nearby foes. This attack can kill enemies stationed directly behind a door, but cannot travel through walls and doors. However, the teddies can follow Fwank and stay in use longer to attack incoming enemies. Fwank has stats almost similar to Mamma; Fwank has a good armor rating but a slow speed.
- Bounca:
Not quite as big as Mamma, the tuxedo-wearing Bounca is nonetheless a mammoth of a man and still towers over most other lifeforms. He has spent his adult life as a security guard, personal bodyguard, and mostly as a bouncer. Certainly one of the most widely travelled and employed organisms in the history of the galaxy, he has seen amazing sights that even the most intrepid galactic explorers would go green at; hidden planets, lost continents and the like. Bounca has a slight problem though; he is incredibly thick. Not just a bit thick, enormously thick. All of his experiences amount to a big fat zero, because the only thing he finds interesting is "slappin some innocent geeza about a bit". You might as well have sent a baboon around the galaxy and then questioned it about its experiences, as it is probably more perceptive and definitely less likely to kill you for asking. He lost his lower jaw fighting an alien monster twice as big as him, who was trying to enter a doorway Bounca was watching over; Bounca won the fight, but had to have his lower jaw replaced with a giant, metallic, serrated muzzle. 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. The all-rounder of the group in stats, Bounca has a medium armor rating and a moderate speed.
Vox:
The only female in the game, Vox is a former sound engineer, disc jockey, and glamour model, often called "The Siren" due to her mixed beauty and extremely sharp tongue and temper, and overall devastating sexy countenance. Vox uses modified sound and music technology to kill foes in the game, self developed with the aid of Gabbist Monks, an order who take the vow to never have a second's peace and quiet and are masters in the art of amplification. The device they collaborated on is slung across her back and has a number of "Rapmaster" microphones channelling sound to it via boom mikes on her visor. The sound waves created act as shock waves and are capable of turning Vox's enemies into bubbling pools of protoplasm. Her weapon is the Hail Flail and her ultra bomb is the Sonic Blast, an extremely potent and charged burst of lethal sound waves. This attack can travel through walls and doors. Vox is small and light, with a poor armor rating but is the fastest character in speed, making it easy for her to even dodge bullets.
- Butch:
A muscular, balding transvestite man that wears ladies' dresses in combat and dislikes those that find his cross-dressing funny. He brutally murders anybody who snickers at his attire. The game manual and also the graphic novel explain that it is not through choice however; every time he escapes he simply grabs the nearest item to hand, which unfortunately by a staggering twist of fate always happens to be women's clothing in some form. Butch's favoured weapon is a flamethrower named the "Flaming Queen", and his bomb is the Explosive Ring, the release of fireballs in all directions within Butch's radius. This attack can travel through walls and doors. Instead of splattering enemies into a bloody heap, the Flaming Queen and the Explosive Ring actually chars enemies' bodies on contact. He has a medium armor rating and fast speed, although not as fast as Vox, making him the second fastest character in the game.
- Cap'n Hands:
A pirate-like character with freakishly large hands and forearms, a cowboy hat and an exposed ribcage. Cap'n Hands has been around for centuries and nothing is known of his origins, although the rumors range from being a pirate who was operating in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy of the late 17th century, or even a cowboy from the Old American West of the 19th century. Up until recently, before he was captured by the authorities, Cap'n Hands was a leader of the feared and despised "Cirates", a group of cybernetically-enhanced space pirates. Only his head is an original part of his human body and that too is rotten to the core. The rest of his powerful frame is an old and out-of-date cyborg design which he could have replaced over 200 years ago when technology took a giant leap forward, but he likes it. Another reason he keeps this ancient and obsolete skeleton is for its amazing array of original art and engravings which decorate the majority of its panels, showing his numerous exploits and stories through space. He has kept the inmates of Raulf prison amused and beguiled for hours on end with stories of how he acquired them, and with his famous "dancing bare lady" design (only his close friends and people who are about to expire horribly generally get to see that though). The truth is, Cap'n Hands cannot remember who he was before he became a cybernetic, skeletal pirate, simply because it was so long ago, and his mind isn't what it used to be. His weapons are a pair of old flintlock muskets which he has customized for rapid energy fire, although he has made sure they still retain their trademark sound of old. His bomb is the Vortex Bomb, a curtain of dark energy that shreds enemies to pieces. This attack can travel through walls and doors. Cap'n Hands has an average armor rating, and moderate speed, being the third fastest character behind Vox and Butch.
Manufacturer's description:
They are underanged, psychologically brutal, senselessly violent, over the top, insane bloodbath ever created... just got worse.
F.U.B.(Fat Ugly Boy) is now C.H.E.B.(Charming Handsome Erudite Bastard), Cap 'n Hands, Mamma and the rest of the psycho-mutants (with a few new sickos) are back to inflict maximum annihilation, and the 3D morphing galaxy is getting more twisted and blood-sodden by the second.
"Truly a work of art... everything's just so detailed!"
–GameFan
"The mother of all blood-fests... with more gore than ever before!"
–GameFan
* 12 new, gruesomely-detailed, blood-soaked worlds demanding non-stop violence and mental marauding.
* Play all new and updated psycho-killers (like the Consumer, a cannibalistic mutilator, and Sister Magpie, the nun from hell) against an array of ruthless and savvy enemies featuring a finale with the biggest boss ever created.
* New 3/4 view with zoom capability offers unprecedented character control and environmental interaction with obstacles such as balconies, conveyor belts, and more.
* Thrashing soundtrack sends you into homicidal rage.
* Two player option for cooperative play (no link required)
* Improved death machinery including "Retro Ballistas" pistols, "Superior Motha" rotary cannon, "Big Bang Stick" blue plasma laser, "Gender Defender" double-fisted Uzis, and other weapons galore.
Features:
- Third person perspective.
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- SCI-FI & Futuristic themes.
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