Gaming History 101

If you’ve ever been interested in rare Xbox titles, focus on import gaming, or happened to click on a listicle that talks about the best games to play around Independence Day (guilty) then you’ve probably come across Metal Wolf Chaos.  Developed by From Software (Dark Souls) and only released on the original Xbox in Japan, both the console and game are hard to come by and will run you easily over $200 for the combo.  Even if you do get them, you’ll then need to know some Japanese to navigate the menus and upgrade paths.  Fortunately soft modding the Xbox is a common practice that often doesn’t even involve piracy, and some nice people have released a translation patch that you can add to your copy if you have one.  From Software is known for having just about as many bad games as good, so you may be asking whether or not all this work, money, and rarity makes the game worth it.  According to the articles online, yes, definitely.  I happen to disagree.  Metal Wolf Chaos is a fantastic pitch with a rock solid presentation, but when you walk away from the hype and get down to playing it, there’s little difference between this title and most of the Japanese games we slam over here in the West.

In Metal Wolf Chaos you play as President of the United States Michael Wilson, a distant relative of Woodrow Wilson, who is fighting civil insurrection due to economic downturns in the early 21st century.  This results in the development of massive military weapons and tech including his own mech suit called “Metal Wolf.”  In a predictable Japanese plotline, the Vice President Richard Hawk frames Wilson for re-enacting horrible laws like slavery and causing chaos throughout the country in Metal Wolf.  As Wilson you play through a slew of levels in major US cities trying to save the areas from total destruction thanks to the US military, who have for some reason decided to join forces with VP Hawk.  The collusion is made complete with the help of a journalist for a national news network who keeps covering the events and blaming Metal Wolf for everything going down in the country.  In the end the best answer is to obliterate much of the US forces and eventually take down Hawk and reveal him for the fraud he is.  Since this pitch is the basis for why so many people recommend you play it, I have to give From Software huge credit for a hilarious and ridiculous plot.  Despite it having no bearing on reality or the way our government works, it’s big dumb fun on the grandest scale  and you can’t help but laugh about the way the campaign unfolds.  The voice acting is also in English, so much of the plot dialogue is not lost on us English speakers and whether it’s intentionally cheesy or just the result of weaker voice actors, the game is better for it.  Little touches like a drum roll before your assistant reveals the given nickname for each mission and the blatant lack of integrity in every newscast from the US press kept me giggling from start to finish.  In terms of the elevator pitch, this game has it all.

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