Have you ever wondered what would happen if your combat training simulation computer became smarter faster and stronger than you? Well in Coded Arms it has, and now you have the opportunity to insert yourself into that system and try to defeat it. The system was designed to prepare government soldiers for the battle fields of the future. A virus attacked the system and the government was forced to shut it down, but it didn’t want to be shut down and now it’s your job to hack into the system and recover the code for the AI.
Coded Arms is a first person shooter for the PSP. The game will take you inside the system and you will have to battle your way to the core to collect the code you seek. There are a number of Sectors (levels) to work through, and each one has three separate battlefields: City, Base and Ruins. And each higher Sector gets progressively harder, with bigger and badder combat programs.
As you fight your way through the system you find new code that will enhance your combat effectiveness. New weapons, new armor and reloads for your weapons. Some of the weapons that you will find include Laser Pistols, Grenade Launders, Rocket Launchers, and a large collection of grenades.
The levels themselves are dynamically generated as you open doors. So each time you play the game or replay a level it will be a different layout. This aspect of the game gives Coded Arms a great replay value since you won’t be able to memorize layouts and encounter placement.
When you get to the second level and beyond, the bottom of each of the three sections has a boss monster that you have to defeat. These encounters are not pushovers, and will most likely crush you to a pulp the first few times you try to beat them.
Each battlefield type is “contaminated” with a different kind of computer virus - Bugs, Soldiers and Bots - and each type of computer virus is vulnerable and resistant to various types of attacks. So you will want to pay attention to what weapons you take with you on each battlefield, based on the type of encounters you will be expecting.
The graphics quality and detail in the game is excellent, especially for a small handheld game system like the Sony PSP. The sound in the game enhances game play, but you want to make sure you’re using the head phones to get the full effect of the sound effects. As you walk, you can hear your foot steps and the tone of them change based on what you’re walking on.
Coded Arms is a high action game that will cause your hands to cramp as they are wrapped around your PSP. Its great fun for burning off some steam while you’re traveling, as only FPS style games can. Give it a shot, you might like it.
I've been gaming since the days of the original TSR D&D and have grown up playing just about every PnP RPG created. Eventually with the age of computers, I started getting into RTS and military strategy games. And then came the MMORPG Asherons Call which changed my computer gaming forever. These days when i'm not gaming I'm working with the Los Padre's Council BSA and my son's Cub Pack - when not conquering the virtual world.
