The usual weekly Arcade 20p Challenge was set in the RetroTech100 Facebook group last week, and the game was Metamorphic Force. It’s a bit of an easy one to describe, a scrolling beatemup which mixes Golden Axe with Altered Beast, by which I mean that you start out human, beat up monsters and at times you change into a beast and beat up monsters all while you keep going to the right.
I liked the big bold graphical look of the game straight from the off, it has some great looking visuals and all the characters are big and colourful (not in a Nintendo way). The game also starts you off really nicely with a couple of easy to beat opponents and only slowly ramps up the difficulty, so you can learn your chosen heroes (yes they are referred to as heroes) moves as you progress. Also helpful are the hidden upgrades, found when you smash open the pillars and chests along the way. In another nod to Golden Axe a sneaky guy pops in every now and then carrying power ups in his sack and dropping them for you to use.
Now comes the but, BUT it is a scrolling beatemup among many other scrolling beatemups of the early 90s, and as such gets lost among the well known character based games like The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, and the Simpsons, and hugely marketed Sega titles like Double Dragon et al. That said it is still a good fun game, and doesn’t need the half shelled heroes to make it fun.
So onto our video of our 2 credit challenge on Metamorphic Force, which lives up to our low standards perfectly. Why not give it a go yourself, or get involved in the Arcade 20p Challenges at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1290836887670032 and look for the The RetroTech100 Arcade 20P Challenge pinned post. It is areally good way to discover new games to enjoy and you could get to pick your favourite game as the next challenge if you win one.
