Metal Max Xeno – Review

The Metal Saga is a series that you might be familiar with, considering that the game was only released in Japan with exception of Metal Saga (Metal Max 4) on the Playstation 2, the series has actually has a long series spanning 25 years. The latest – Metal Max Xeno – marks a come back for the series and brings it to a new audience.

Metal Max Xeno is set in a world that feels like a cross between Mad Max and The Terminator. Set in a world where an artificial intelligence name NOA began its attack on mankind some time in 2030. By 2090, mankind has been almost entirely killed off by giant metal monsters called “Sons of NOA” or “SoNS”.

The Players take control of Talis, a young refugee turned Monster Hunter when his camp was destroyed by the SoNS. With the need for revenge, Talis stumbles upon a Tank, one of the great weapons that Monster Hunters use to take down the SoNS, and finds his way to the last human refuge, the Iron Base. After Talis makes his new home the Iron Base, he attempts to search for survivors while taking on deadly monsters that now inhabit the wasteland that was once Tokyo.

While Metal Max isn’t going to win awards for its direct story of a boy out for revenge against the NOA, there is something about its world that is captivating. It feels almost like a love child of Mad Max meets the Terminator with a cast of interesting characters, but it also doesn’t really bring to many new ideas to the table.

Metal Max Xeno plays out like a traditional Turn-Based RPG. As Talis, players use their tanks to roll around the wasteland and search for monsters to hunt and find survivors, doing so decreases the percentage of humanity’s chances of survival. There are multiple tanks available to find in the wasteland that can hold various type of weapons and parts that can be brought at the Iron Base or salvaged in the wastelands.

But riding in a tank isn’t the only way to explore, players can take chances on foot to deactivate traps, find treasure or explore ruins and dungeons. The biggest problem here is that humans are squishy and are easy prey for the various monsters out in the wasteland, making moments then the tank is destroyed due to HP/Shields dropping to 0 or exploring ruins tense moments.

One of the better aspects about the game is the customization of the tanks. Each tank can equip various weapons and parts to increase its power and load out. These includes various cannons, guns and special weapons, all of which (along with the tank itself) can be customized to in a variety of colours to allow you to really express your tank as your own.

However, in battle these parts can also suffer damage making them useless in battle, other weapons also have a set amount of ammo requiring you to choose your fights wisely, after all, nothing is worst then getting in a fight with a warship made out of a Brontosaurus with no cannons available because you took pot-shots at a group of giant ants.

Sadly there isn’t much to say about the visuals as most of the environment consists of ruins and a lot of sand, however the monsters (both organic and machine) are pretty unique while the character design by Hentai Artist Non Oda are well done. The same can also be said for the music, while the tunes fit perfectly in for the world, there wasn’t any catchy tunes that stayed with me.

While I enjoyed my time with Metal Max Xeno, I found myself rather conflicted about how memorable the game was by the end of it. It was almost as if Metal Max Xeno was playing it a bit too safe and didn’t bring anything really new to the table, but still provided an interesting story, a fun Turn-Based Battle system, and enjoyable characters that it deserves a playthrough.