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Loaded is one of many games I discovered well after it released. I don’t remember how I found it but I know I nabbed a copy shortly after finding it. Whenever I’m in the mood to play a top-down shooter, Loaded always comes to mind but I just never pulled the trigger, pun intended. So I finally decided it was time. Funnily enough, my research tells me that it’s sometimes compared to Gauntlet or is considered a Gauntlet clone, albeit a more violent one. I would love a new Gauntlet title but as of this review, I don’t see one coming any time soon so I’ll settle for anything that scratches that itch. Developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Interplay Productions, Loaded was released for PlayStation in December, 1995 and Saturn in July, 1996. For this review, I played the PlayStation version.
There isn’t much in the way of story in-game so most of my understanding of the plot comes from the manual. The events of the story are set on the planet RAULF which houses a large prison for the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals and the warden, F.U.B. (Fat Ugly Boy), is off his rocker and doing crazy shit like toying with the fabric of the universe and framing people. He allows prisoners to escape knowing they’ll come after him and sees that as a challenge. The plot is ludicrous and accompanied by wacky characters and extreme violence. Loaded is an early PlayStation title, a very 90s game, and one that attempts to capitalize on over-the-top violence and gore, something that became prevalent in the medium during the era. Honestly, playing it now, I feel Loaded’s 90s style and violence gives it a unique charm. It’s science fiction, it’s grimy, it’s bloody, it’s ridiculous, it’s colorful, and it’s a reflection of a different time.
Loaded is a top down shooter and definitely shares some elements with the Gauntlet titles. The biggest being it’s repetitive as fuck. You go from level to level clearing out rooms of baddies. Once you’ve completed the first level, you’ve pretty much experienced everything the game has to offer in terms of gameplay. There are six distinct playable characters to choose from, each with their own backstory, stats, and weapons and the game can be played cooperatively with a buddy. You can run, strafe, and fire all around you and every character has their own special weapon or Ultra Bomb that can be unleashed to wipe out multiple enemies on the screen. To help you out are pickups including ammunition, health, weapon powerups, and extra lives along with powerups that last for a limited time like invulnerability and infinite ammunition among some others.
The action is easily Loaded’s biggest highlight. It’s fast-paced and frenetic and the gameplay is challenging. Plus, the combat and gunplay feel great. You can turn enemies into bloody corpses, all objects that can be destroyed will always explode, and the lighting is fantastic, especially for the time this released. Gunfire will illuminate dark areas and the lighting in certain levels helps create a certain mood and atmosphere. Once you get into the groove of things, you’ll be running through levels, firing in all directions, lighting up corridors and rooms, leaving bloody corpses in your wake, and blowing a ton of shit up and it all looks and feels great.
There are multiple difficulty levels and I played on Players are Confident. Enemies are everywhere and you’ll always be outnumbered. There is a good variety of foes including guards, what I think are giant scorpions, and robots. Foes will shoot at you, some utilize melee attacks, and rats are the fucking devil. They appear in numerous levels and I’m pretty sure they can’t be wiped out, they just keep coming and prove to be very annoying. New enemies are introduced as you progress and there’s only two boss types and one of them you encounter multiple times. You are given a set amount of lives and continues and when they’re all used up, it’s game over. Loaded is a game that can kick your ass. It comes with fifteen levels and while each one is distinct, the gameplay never changes. Its repetitive nature will not be for everybody and I have a feeling it’s more enjoyable with a buddy. But I was only able to play through it solo.
One mechanic I don’t like (or understand why it’s a thing) is ammo. Why does your primary weapon consume ammo? In a game like this, that is. In my experience on the Confident difficulty, there’s enough ammo pickups in the levels to keep you stocked and the game is plenty challenging without running out of ammo. Ammo just seems unnecessary considering the style of gameplay on offer, especially in levels with a seemingly never ending supply of foes like rats, which you can’t outrun I might add. I also feel Credit Tokens are meaningless. You are rated and scored at the end of levels and one of the ratings is Greed and as far as I know this rating is related to how many Tokens you’ve collected. Many enemies drop Tokens when killed and you can also find them in certain rooms within the levels. It would have been cool if they acted as currency to buy stuff like ammo, weapon powerups, and extra lives or at the very least collecting a certain amount would grant you an extra life.
Loaded can be a painful and confusing experience. The default controls work fine but I admit my hand started to cramp after a while of playing. As for the confusing, Loaded features many maze-like levels. Most contain a lot of corridors that lead to rooms with more corridors branching off of them. You can reference a map during gameplay which is helpful but it’s still easy to get lost and confused. Many times I was simply unsure of where I needed to go and found myself running around in circles until I figured it out. You are told what your objective is at the loading screen before each level and even though every level is not maze-like in design, most will require you to find specific items like keys to progress and very few deviate from this style.
One of Loaded’s more positive aspects lies in its environmental variety. Every level looks and feels different and the environments are detailed. You’ll shoot your way through prison areas, service level conduits, a processing plant, badlands, and space port among other locations. You can shoot through certain parts of walls to reveal paths and discover rooms that house goodies like pickups and Credit Tokens for whatever they’re worth. Objects can be found in many rooms and destroying them will often reveal pickups so it’s wise to destroy everything you can.
Loaded showcases a pretty good presentation for the time it came out and the hardware it’s designed for. It is a stylish game and the lighting is easily the highlight of the visual presentation but the detailed environments are nothing to scoff at, either. The gore effects also look pretty good. The game features a good amount of visual variety and the lighting helps give certain levels a kind of moody vibe. As for the audio, weapons fire and explosions sound good and the squishy splat heard whenever an enemy is killed is satisfying. I think much of the music is pretty catchy and you will hear some of the same tunes repeatedly. There’s only one or two songs I really don’t care for. In general, I feel the music adds to the atmosphere and compliments the sci-fi theme nicely. On the technical side, the frame rate does dip when there’s a lot of action and enemies on-screen but I did not encounter any major bugs or issues that I noticed.
I enjoyed my time with Loaded but I recognize that it’s not a game for everybody. In fact, I would put it in a category of niche games that are repetitive by design. I think you really need to enjoy or not be bothered by repetition to get the most out of it. It’s there with games like Gauntlet and Rampage among others. It’s just the same thing in every level with little to nothing to mix things up. I know some people that just straight up dislike games like this because of their repetitive nature and I get it. But sometimes it’s the simple things that are the most appealing and in Loaded’s case, it also helps that the action looks and feels good, too. I have a feeling it’s more enjoyable with a buddy but even then, there’s basically nothing about Loaded that carries it. Nothing that really makes up for doing the same shit over and over and over again. You just need to be able to ignore and/or enjoy the repetition. You also need to enjoy getting your ass kicked because Loaded will do that but you should get better with practice. The unique playable characters, distinct environments, lighting effects, and the fast-paced and frenetic violent and bloody action are certainly the game’s strong points. It just lacks variety. It’s the same thing from beginning to end.
I do recommend Loaded if you enjoy repetitive action games. Games like this are often criticized for their repetitive nature and I would say rightfully so but I also think games like this are for a specific audience and that seems to be overlooked often. I want to say it’s the simplicity that’s appealing to a point. Loaded is repetitive but full of satisfying action and sometimes that’s all I need for a good time. It’s an easy game to zone out on, a good time waster or time filler, it can be experienced with a buddy, and it should keep you occupied for a while. While there are some design choices I don’t agree with, it still makes for a fun time if you can get into it.