Metacritic Games

Armed & Dangerous (Xbox)

Take a band of gun-toting rebels - a robot, a madman, a mole and a criminal mastermind. Put them in a vividly stunning fantasy realm. Then give them an impossible mission - pulling off the biggest heist of all time in the middle of a war. All you have to do is battle your way through dastardly enemies, giant war machines and an army of psychopathic robots. But don't worry; you have plenty of ammo and absolutely no common sense. Victory is yours in 12,000 bullets or less! Fight your way through 21 action-packed missions. Brandish over 17 outlandish weapons like the Cyclops Sniper Rifle, the Vindaloo Rocket Launcher, or the Topsy-Turvy and Sticky bomb. Explore five diverse environments including icy and snowy regions, mountains with breathtaking vistas, deep and foreboding woods, and rain-spattered cliffs. Take down wicked enemies like half-man, half-animal Grunts, eliminator droids, wall-smashing Goliaths, evil monks and wild twiglets. Navigate through a richly entertaining story with two smack-talkin' partners in crime. [LucasArts]

LucasArts
Third-Person Action
Players: 1
T (Teen)
Developer: Planet Moon Studios
Released December 2, 2003

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

79 / 100

Critic Reviews

100 Play Magazine
This is a game that re-invents nearly everything it does, from weapons fire to storytelling to rescue missions to boost-and-hover gameplay to bold new ways to humiliate farm animals. [Dec 2003, p.68]
100 Yahoo! Games
Planet Moon set out to create a game that was pure, visceral fun and it did just that. You can sit down and play for ten minutes or ten hours and still be enthralled.
92 XboxAddict
I think Planet Moon did a great job of taking a genre that could become repetitive and dull, and whip it up into a non-stop fun fest.
90 GMR Magazine
A stellar third-person shooter that pulses with feverish invention, A&D welds together top-notch controls, a truly mental plot, and some of the most strategic gunplay to hit consoles in ages.
90 Loaded Inc
The depth of humor is very refreshing but some of the jokes will likely be lost on many who play the game.
90 GamePro
Despite its technical achievements, the real star of Armed and Dangerous is the exhilarating and thoroughly challenging gameplay.
90 Official Xbox Magazine
The most surprisingly addictive shooter of the year. [Holiday 2003, p.84]
90 Cheat Code Central
The cutscenes are hilarious. They are rude, crude and to some, maybe even a little shocking.
89 netjak
Literate, funny storytelling is at a premium in gaming these days, so it’s really good to see developers making a real effort to make their audience laugh – even if they have to rely on semi-frequent potty humour to get the yuks.
87 Game Chronicles
Despite the lack of intelligent AI that ruined any team-tactical strategy, the game is redeemed by its original gameplay and ongoing humor that is interwoven into every aspect of the game whether it be movies, gameplay, or even the weapons.
85 GameSpy
Some homogenous gameplay and the occasional graphic lapse aside, Armed & Dangerous scores with humor and weapon innovation.
85 Armchair Empire
The collected cutscenes are funnier 100 times over than an episode of "Friends" and on par with "Monty Python" for being off-kilter.
85 Gamer's Hell
Sometimes linear action is definitely made up for with great humor and excellent voice acting.
83 Gamezilla!
A sold third-person shooter but gets a little old after awhile, the game’s saving grace is its well-written plot and myriad of dialogue jokes. It’s almost like playing a Monty Python script.
83 Cinescape
An exciting action game that features a plethora of shooting. While it does this aspect well, the main selling point is the fantastic sense of humor.
83 Next Level Gaming
You will fall over laughing at some of the cut-scenes in the game. Very well done, and hilarious.
82 Xbox World Australia
Pure, unadulterated, shooting fun and offers a fresh coat of paint to a tired genre.
82 GameBiz
The unique weapons themselves are great, and ridiculously fun.
82 IGN
A challenging shooter that features tight controls, nice graphics, and a wicked sense of humor... Easily one of the best action shooters on the Xbox, hands down.
80 1UP
It's not the best-designed shooter of the year, and it's far from the nicest-looking, but it is one of the most fun to play, thanks to solid controls and some of the most drop-dead hilarious cutscenes in recent memory.
80 Game Informer
While the graphics leave much to be desired and the quality of the CG cutscenes is crude at best, Armed and Dangerous is in the most side-splitting of ways, pure comic genius. [Jan 2004, p.144]
80 GameZone
A unique third/first-person shooter that doesn't take itself seriously but still manages to keep trigger-happy gamers pleased with its over-the-top arsenal.
80 Total Video Games
A large portion of the enjoyment comes from the same type of British humour that featured in ‘Giants’; it’s certainly not an easy thing to develop a game that manages to make you laugh, however this one certainly succeeds.
80 Xbox Nation Magazine
Embarking on the game's destruction train gives players access to dandy weapons such as the shark gun. [Mar 2004, p.93]
76 TeamXbox
There are plenty of methods in which to wreak havoc and weapons like the Land Shark Gun are fun as hell, but no matter how you dress things up, Armed & Dangerous is simply an above average third-person shooter.
75 Worth Playing
Just your average shooter. It doesn't really offer any innovation in the genre and the graphics and audio are rather plain.
75 Gaming Age
Whether you enjoy the story and characters is very subjective and will probably drive how much time you're willing to put into the game. For most with a sense of humor and a thirst for destruction, A&D is well worth the time.
75 GameNow
Sure, its graphics are ugly, but its action is first-rate...It's one of those rare games in which almost everything is destructible. [Jan 2004, p.65]
75 GameSpot AU
Despite the shallow gameplay, the shooter who wants something different and entertaining will find it here with the Lionhearts and their ultimate heist.
73 GameSpot
A good game, but toward the end of it, you'll likely be far more interested in seeing how the story ends--and the jokes it tells along the way--than in its gameplay.
72 Electronic Gaming Monthly
The open-ended level design - and especially the nifty fortress-defense stages - made for many moments of shooter Zen. [Jan 2004, p.154]
72 3DAvenue
It is a shame that the storyline wasn't fleshed out a bit more with unique levels as it would have made it a far better game but really, only the comedy saves this one from becoming an average title.
70 GamerArchive
Quite simply the greatest humour since the good old days of the first two "Monkey Island" titles.
70 Edge Magazine
We need more games like this - ones that are confident and individual - but we need them to be less roughly hewn. The core of the game is solid, but the way it's applied throughout the levels just isn't interesting enough. [Mar 2004, p.98]
70 Gamestyle
Enough cutscene and Land Shark buffoonery accompanies their jaunt across Milola to cover the price of (one's) tagging along. Strip them away and the barenaked shooter still plays better than most. That it somehow feels disappointingly ordinary only serves to confirm the creative genius evident in the rest of the 'designer' garb.
70 Game Power Australia
An amusing game, and it's relatively enjoyable for a while. But at its core, the gameplay isn't all that interesting, and can only hold your attention for so long.
67 Game Revolution
Has some funny moments and wild weapons, but it still can’t shake its straightforward gameplay. If you’re in the mood to just blow things up with no strings attached, this is the game for you, but more discerning gamers might be left wanting a little more.
65 MS Xbox World
The simplistic nature of the game play makes it pale in contrast to its peers such as the previously mentioned "Brute Force" and "Freedom Fighters."
60 G4 TV
There are glimpses of genius here for sure -- the landshark gun, the topsy-turvy mine, and some of the level design and humor come to mind -- but it doesn't add up to a complete game.
50 TotalGames.net
With controls that make accurate aiming tiresome and visuals that could be forgiven for being quaint, until they move, finding areas where this one should be recommended is akin to picking gnat shit out of pepper.
40 games(TM)
A relentless conveyor belt of cannon fodder ensures the carnage is kept at a suitably frantic rate, yet with every wave of cookie-cutter thrown to the mercy of your crosshair, repetition becomes an increasingly prevalent factor. [Mar 2004, p.116]

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