Armed and Dangerous, not to be confused with Hidden and Dangerous follows the plight of 4 heroes(including a smelly 3ft tall blind old man) as they devise a plot to perform the biggest heist of the century. In a fantasy tale and in a fantasy world where a book of unspeakable power can change the course of the future by giving back to the people their freedom , their lands as nature intended. The three heroes embark on this quest to steal the book. However there are evil forces at work who also want the book for themselves to use as a tool of power. The king and his armies kidnap the one person who can help unleash the book's awesome power, the 3ft tall smelly blind old man. Thus your mission begins as you attempt to rescue the old man from the kings forces, then head off on the quest to find the book, and ultimately, use its power.

Gameplay:
Armed and Dangerous is a 3rd person action shooter in a similar style to say Brute force or perhaps Freedom Fighters minus the tactics. As the player takes control of "Roman" the lead character you will feel at home with the easy to use control set up. Your job is to now blast your way through hoards of the kings minions while achieving your objectives (sometimes aided by two of your comrades). The enemies encountered are a mixed bunch of ape like soldiers and humans who all display different attack approaches. Although highly similar in their design they do act differently such as archers who hang back and snipe or perhaps find a better vantage point to shoot arrows at you. Or the standard soldiers (grunts) who will always attack on sight by running at you shooting. These guys are fairly easy to dispatch except of course if you go rushing in you will have hoards of them all shooting at you making your life a little tougher. Thankfully as the title suggests you are indeed armed and very dangerous. Starting the game with simple weapons such as a rifle, with infinite ammo and a mech gun then moving on to some obscure type weapons such as the vindaloo launcher which sounds more weird than it actually is. One weapon of note is the shark gun which launches a great white at your enemies. It goes underground (its dorsal fin exposed of course) and hunts down enemies taking several down with great graphical effect.There are not many weapons in the game overall but the ones you do get to play with are fun all the same. Mission objectives are also kept simple as these are mostly blowing up things or perhaps rescuing people. The overall design being on the body count rather than distractions.One thing of note is the interaction with the levels. this is actually rather good as many of the enemies hide within the seemingly empty buildings that litter the landscape. Blowing up buildings with sticky bombs is excellent. Other variants of the game play come in the form of a jetpack which enables your character to jump great heights then glide back down to the ground. This change from the land based combat is an excellent feature and adds a new and welcome perspective. Also on some levels you will have to man a gun turret to fight off huge armies that attack wave after wave. What is essentially a mini game is actually quite engaging albeit a little simple.

Graphics:
Graphically Armed and Dangerous has a unique look of its own. With its fantasy setting some of the levels are very impressive. However some of the cut scenes are of a poor quality and don't match with the standard of the actual game. I am not sure if this was a deliberate act from the developers or not. As mentioned earlier blowing up things is the main part of fulfilling objectives and doing so is represented quite well.This is a welcome change from games which simply employ solid non interactive backgrounds.

Sound:
Sound is also of a high standard with some great UK voice talent on display. To break up the gameplay there are a number of cut scenes which have a heavy slant towards humour. These scenes are quite funny and maybe hilarious to some and explain the whole tongue in cheek nature of the game. Who said comedy in games was dead? Other sounds are also convincing yet somewhat repetitive as you will be doing a lot of the same thing throughout the game (shooting things). The music is also very fantasy inspired and non intrusive and works well here.

Longevity:
Armed and Dangerous is a pretty mindless shooter which requires little to no tactics at all. Seasoned players will breeze through the game with relative ease and quite quickly too. There are extra missions and difficulties to unlock which will satisfy those looking for something extra. There is no two player option which is a shame but the developers have included downloadable content for Xbox Live subscribers.

Round Up:
Armed and Dangerous is a good game to play if you are seeking a no brainer killing spree game. The endless cannon fodder and weapons will keep you entertained whilst following the comedy storyline will make you laugh. However 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. The lack of any multiplayer aspect is also a bad move. Had the game offered that little bit more or something unique other than its comedy, then Armed and Dangerous may have been more appealing to a wider audience of games players. As it stands you have here an average nice looking shooter laced with some good old fashioned wit. A rental for those who like something deeper and a blast for those who just don't give a dam.

Pros:

• Nice levels
  
• Cool weapons
  
• Downloadable content
  
• Easy to pick up and play
  
• Comedy
  
  

  Cons:
  

  • Repetiton
    
  • No 2 player
    
  • Quite short
    
  • Limited replay