Overview – originally developed by Gremlin Interactive and brought to Steam by FunBox Media, Re-Loaded is a top-down shooter, taking place in a futuristic sci-fi universe. Take control of one of 6 blood thirsty maniacs as they hunt down the man that framed them, travelling worlds to destroy him once and for all. This version of the game is available exclusively for the steam platform, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank FunBox Media for providing the copy of Re-Loaded that was used for this piece via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story for Re-Loaded.
Story – after the events of Loaded, the villain F.U.B. had his body destroyed, but he managed to escape as a brain in an escape pod. The pod has landed on the desert planet of Kee-Butt-5, where the villain takes over the body of a reclusive artist, setting out on a new evil plan. Now a group of maniacal anti-heroes with a thirst for blood gather, with their goal being to track down the man who framed them, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.
Gameplay – Re-Loaded is a top down shooter, where the player must travel through the different levels of each world, completing tasks and slaughtering all enemies that appear. When starting the game, the player is able to select one of six characters (with a secret 7th character), with each of the characters having their own unique weapons and stats. Upon selecting their character, a cutscene will play out for that character and the game will start.
When in the stages of this game, the player will be able to roam through the large maps, shooting down the enemies that appear and leaving bloody smears on the ground. Each of the stages will have an objective to complete, which include collecting specific items, clearing an obstacle to the goal or destroying a set target. When the objective is cleared, the player can move onto the next and continue their bloody campaign.
In the stages, there will often be objects hidden throughout the maps, with power-ups to increase the power of attacks, health ups to heal damage and additional ammunition for weapons. The ammo pick-ups can become very important, as it is possible to for the shot total to hit zero if the player gets trigger happy. When this does happen, the ammo for the player will be refreshed, but this comes at the cost of power-ups that have been collected.
As the game progresses, the environments will get more complex and have the potential to get confusing. This will lead to players getting lost, which can make the game feel like it is dragging at times. This is due to the complexity of later levels and the need to collect card keys, enter buildings and find hidden objects in objects that can be destroyed. To compensate for this, there will be panels in some stages, giving the player hints and a map showing their path.
There is also the ability for two players to take on the challenges of Re-Loaded together, hunting down and slaughtering enemies as a team. The multiplayer options include local and online play, however, the majority of online features appear to be unusable. When playing in co-op mode, the players must move together within a single screen, as there is no split-screen option. There is also the option for friendly fire, which can be turned on in the options.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for Re-Loaded are designed for a keyboard, but with the use of DosBox which powers this version of the game, there is support for some controllers. When using an Xbox controller, there was a relatively snappy response, with game playing well and no input lag when playing. Unfortunately, this was the only controller I was able to try out as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation controllers I have appeared to be incompatible.
Difficulty – there are three difficulty settings for this release, with and easy normal and hard, all depicted by different types of footwear. These difficult options will affect the amount of damage dealt and received during play, which will make for a very challenging experience on the higher levels for those who want to push themselves. In general, there is a balanced difficulty curve to this title that all players can jump into.
Presentation – for the time period this was originally released, the graphical style was rather revolutionary, with complex lighting, textures and the number of effects on screen at once. That being said, this game still holds up as a great experience, only made better by the fact that the limitations of hardware from the 90’s no longer impact it. The game runs very smoothly, with no issues when it comes to lag or frame rate.
The short CGI cutscenes that are implemented in this title are still pleasing to the eye, even when they are blown up to fit a 1080p screen (even though the resolution says it is in 480). The sound is also pretty solid, with sampled electronic music that has a good amount of clarity to it for this release, with music that fits the stages well. There is an option for CD quality audio, but due to this being run via the DosBox emulator the CD audio simply doesn’t exist for the game.
Final Thoughts – I had played this game on and off through the years, playing the PlayStation version of the game, so this was a no brainer for me to try this version. The game is brought over well, with the DosBox working to perfection to allow players old and new to experience this game. This is a fantastic top down shooter, with buckets of blood and some rather ridiculous characters to accompany it during the carnage.
I can happily recommend this release to everyone who enjoys top down shooters. The gameplay is pretty solid, even though it does have its flaws, with some clumsy gameplay at times and movement that can feel stiff. However, for the age of the game and the price being asked, this is a real bargain and has a lot of content on offer for modest price point. But do be aware of the limitations for the time, as this is a game from 1996 running through DosBox.
In the end, I give the Steam version of Re-Loaded a final score of 3.5/5. This is a classic top-down shooter brought up to modern operating systems through the power of emulation, with buckets of blood, a cast of outlandish characters and pixelated carnage for all to enjoy. If you want to check this version of the game, a link to the store page will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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