Metal Arms : Glitch in the System

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System for PlayStation 2 is a third-person action shooter released in 2003 by Sierra Entertainment under Vivendi Universal Games. Created by Swingin' Ape Studios, with Mass Media credited for the PS2 version, it sends the small but heavily armed robot Glitch into the war-torn world of Iron Star. The campaign combines shooting, platforming, exploration, and comic robot characterisation as Glitch becomes an unlikely ally of a Droid rebellion facing the army of General Corrosive.

Glitch begins the story with no memory of his past after the rebels recover and reactivate him. In the hidden settlement of Droid Town, he learns that Corrosive's military robots, called Mils or Milbots, have subjugated the planet's Droids. The opening attack on the refuge gives the newly awakened hero a reason to fight, and his mission expands from protecting the resistance to pursuing the forces behind the occupation. The plot carries him through industrial ruins, mines, fortified areas, and orbital locations while he searches for allies and confronts the command structure directing the Mil army.

On foot, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System uses a behind-the-character camera and PlayStation 2 controller inputs for aiming, movement, jumping, and firing a growing selection of weapons. Glitch's equipment is built for animated firefights rather than a single all-purpose gun, and enemies can be knocked apart in the middle of combat. Levels often mix straightforward encounters with switches, hazards, vertical routes, moving machinery, and collectible secrets, so reaching an objective can call for observation as well as accurate shooting. Vehicles also change the pace in selected sections, letting Glitch drive combat machines instead of tackling every threat on foot.

Its signature mechanic is possession. Glitch can take control of certain enemy robots and turn their particular tools, mobility, or weaponry against the Mil forces. That ability makes enemy types more than targets: a durable unit can open a route that is unsafe for Glitch, while another machine may provide the firepower or access needed to proceed. Possession is temporary and situational, but it gives the campaign a tactical wrinkle that distinguishes it from a conventional console shooter and encourages players to consider which robot is most useful for the next obstacle.

Iron Star's inhabitants and hostile machines supply the game with a deliberately mechanical sense of place. The resistance includes Colonel Alloy and the enthusiastic Zobby, while the enemy side is led by the calculating Corrosive and linked to the scientist Dr. Exavolt. Glitch's lost identity frames the adventure, but the game also leans into banter, exaggerated robot designs, and destructive set pieces. The result is an action game with a science-fiction conflict at its center without treating its metal cast as solemn military hardware.

Beyond the single-player campaign, the PlayStation 2 version includes local multiplayer for up to four players. Its arena options include Bot Brawl, King of the Hill, Moving Hill, Tag, and Reverse Tag, while Possession Melee makes control of an opposing robot part of the competition. These modes reuse the game's emphasis on varied machines and combat tools in a social, split-screen format. Metal Arms: Glitch in the System stands as Swingin' Ape Studios' released debut and remained a distinctive multiplatform entry in the early-2000s console shooter lineup before the studio later became part of Blizzard Entertainment.