Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal
Encyclopedia
Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal is the title of a video game published by Acclaim Entertainment
and developed by Real Sports and Realtime Associates
for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn
, Game Boy
, Game Gear, and DOS
in 1996. It is a one or two-player side-scrolling arcade game in which the player battles various villains from the Iron Man
and X-O Manowar
comic book series.
and X-O Manowar
must team up in order to stop a team of supervillains from grabbing the lost fragments of the Cosmic Cube
. During the game it is also revealed that the space aliens that Aric stole his X-O Manowar armor from, want it back. The two super heroes battle through several levels, familiar to comic book fans, to stop the terrorists and their supervillain leaders from trying to rule the universe.
and X-O Manowar
can jump, punch, shoot an unlimited supply of laser beams (that can be upgraded through icons) and use a limited supply of fuel to fly. At the start of each mission, a computer screen informs you of your objectives.
During the game the player can collect medical icons to restore their health, and other icons to give more fuel, stronger laser blasts and a special icon that allows one mega blast from a character's armor chestplate. The game also allows one to destroy various gas canisters, metal wiring and control panels to locate more icons, deactivate certain weapons, or advance in the game.
gave the Saturn version a score of 5.2 out of 10, saying that "every aspect of Heavy Metal is a letdown — the graphics, sound, and gameplay," and concluding that the game "feels as though it was hastily thrown together. The result is a game that could have easily used another six months of development. People looking for a good action scroller should look elsewhere." IGN
gave the PlayStation version a score of 3 out of 10, criticizing the characters for being "interchangeable" and concluding: "It's just boring. The control is as sluggish as it gets, and the graphics, while decent enough for a 2D side-scroller, just aren't up to 32-bit standards."
featuring the two heroes teaming up to save the world.
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
and developed by Real Sports and Realtime Associates
Realtime Associates
Realtime Associates is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1986 by David Warhol and a group of ex Mattel Electronics employees originally to create games for the Intellivision system...
for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, Game Gear, and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
in 1996. It is a one or two-player side-scrolling arcade game in which the player battles various villains from the Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
and X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar is a fictional superhero co-created by writer and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist Bob Layton, and Jon Hartz. Current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officier Joe Quesada was a key creator in the origin of X-O Manowar as seen in X-O Manowar #0...
comic book series.
Storyline
The storyline is revealed through onscreen text, instead of animated sequences. Iron ManIron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
and X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar is a fictional superhero co-created by writer and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist Bob Layton, and Jon Hartz. Current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officier Joe Quesada was a key creator in the origin of X-O Manowar as seen in X-O Manowar #0...
must team up in order to stop a team of supervillains from grabbing the lost fragments of the Cosmic Cube
Cosmic Cube
The Cosmic Cube, called the Tesseract in the film Captain America: The First Avenger, is the name of a fictional object that appears in the Marvel Universe. The concept was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #79 .-Publication history:The first Cosmic Cube...
. During the game it is also revealed that the space aliens that Aric stole his X-O Manowar armor from, want it back. The two super heroes battle through several levels, familiar to comic book fans, to stop the terrorists and their supervillain leaders from trying to rule the universe.
Gameplay
Both Iron ManIron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
and X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar is a fictional superhero co-created by writer and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist Bob Layton, and Jon Hartz. Current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officier Joe Quesada was a key creator in the origin of X-O Manowar as seen in X-O Manowar #0...
can jump, punch, shoot an unlimited supply of laser beams (that can be upgraded through icons) and use a limited supply of fuel to fly. At the start of each mission, a computer screen informs you of your objectives.
During the game the player can collect medical icons to restore their health, and other icons to give more fuel, stronger laser blasts and a special icon that allows one mega blast from a character's armor chestplate. The game also allows one to destroy various gas canisters, metal wiring and control panels to locate more icons, deactivate certain weapons, or advance in the game.
Critical reaction
GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the Saturn version a score of 5.2 out of 10, saying that "every aspect of Heavy Metal is a letdown — the graphics, sound, and gameplay," and concluding that the game "feels as though it was hastily thrown together. The result is a game that could have easily used another six months of development. People looking for a good action scroller should look elsewhere." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the PlayStation version a score of 3 out of 10, criticizing the characters for being "interchangeable" and concluding: "It's just boring. The control is as sluggish as it gets, and the graphics, while decent enough for a 2D side-scroller, just aren't up to 32-bit standards."
Other media
The video game was also adapted into a 2-issue comic book crossoverIntercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
featuring the two heroes teaming up to save the world.