Nerd Mentality

Classic Plastic #06 - Biometal

Posted November 8th 2005 by Jordan Mammo.

"It plays by itself!"

Clouds flew by as my spaceship raced across the screen. Enemies soon filled the television with bullets. All this was happening and I hadn't even touched the controller. Considering that I'd previously only played Zelda and Mario games, both which require deliberate movement just to get somewhere, the fact that all this madness was occurring without the push of a button took me completely off guard. Was it even possible? I was in first grade when I initially "played" Biometal, and I was convinced the game was operating without me at the helm. Bewildered, I quickly turned off the Super Nintendo and told my dad we should return it.

As luck turns out, he didn't quite believe me. Weeks passed until I tried the game again, but when I finally realized that the game didn't magically control itself, I started having a blast. Years later, I'm still occasionally popping Biometal into my SNES.

Biometal is an old-school shooter that throws you into the middle of an intergalactic war with half-machines called, what else, Biometals. The plot is simple enough, and pretty standard shmup fare: the Milky Way is in danger! If you can't destroy their home planet in thirty-two hours the galaxy will fall into the dastardly hands of the Biometals... of course, you will have no help whatsoever, because your Wasp spaceship is the only ship capable of reaching the planet! Oh crap.

That said, you can assume you'll be flying through the universe blasting the snot out of alien scum. And for six stages that's exactly what you'll do... if you can keep up. Thanks to the Wasp's GAM shield (four blue orbs that revolve around the ship), Biometal is not a hard game to pick up. It is, however, a hard game to beat, since progress almost entirely depends on your use of the shield.

Luckily the GAM can not only be used for defense, but also be used to put some serious hurt on the Biometals, since anything that comes in contact with it is destroyed. Now that's the kind of shield I like. Aside from simply activating or de-activating the GAM, you can also expand it so that it fills the entire screen or even "throw" it out at enemies and bosses at longer distances. In fact, the most enjoyable thing about the game is experimenting with the shield's abilities, and it's just plain fun to watch the weaker enemies incinerate as you plow right through them with the GAM activated. So what's the catch? As long as the shield is on, it uses up energy. Run out of energy and you're toast.

Seeing as how the defining characteristic of Biometal is the Wasp's blue shield, you'll be using it early and often. You won't be memorizing and exploiting enemy patterns in this game so much as you'll learn how and when to make best use of the shield, which I find to be an interesting change of pace. Deciding when to keep the GAM activated and when to brave the alien onslaught (in order to restore some energy) makes for a fun and challenging experience; if the GAM ever runs out on you in the heat of battle, the screen becomes swamped with enemies and bullets, making it nearly impossible to weave through enemy fire. It's a different take on the genre, but one that makes Biometal worth playing.

What helps set Biometal apart is that throughout the game you'll be blowing up aliens to the sounds of 2 Unlimited, a group whose popularity peaked back in the early 90's with music that seems more suited to play during basketball games. Renditions of hits such as Get Ready for This sound decent enough coming out of the SNES, if not a little odd considering that its playing during the middle of a giant space war.

This game is recommended for: Fans of old-school shooters and those who like a challenge. Don't go in with high expectations though; the game's fun, but not mind-bogglingly amazing.

Posted in: Features

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