Software:Metal Marines

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Short description: 1993 video game 
Template:Game guide

Metal Marines
European cover art
Developer(s)Namco (SNES)
Mindscape (PC)
Publisher(s)SNES
  • WW: Namco
  • EU: Mindscape
Windows
Mindscape
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseSNES
  • NA: December 1993
  • JP: November 18, 1994
  • PAL: 1994
Windows
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Metal Marines, released in Japan as Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Namco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was ported to Microsoft Windows by Mindscape. The Super NES version was re-released on the Virtual Console in Japan on July 10, 2007, for the Wii and on March 4, 2015, for the Wii U, and in North America on October 15, 2007, for the Wii.[1]

Gameplay

In the game, the player must construct both offensive and defensive structures to launch attacks on enemy territory while protecting their own. With the exception of the I.C.B.M. silo, every structure occupies a single square on the map. The following buildings are available to both factions:

  • Bases: Bases are the most important building in the game. The player builds three bases on the island before starting the operation. The enemy can have one, two or three bases per mission. Bases can't be rebuilt, and the loss of all player bases is an automatic Game Over. The loss of every base of the enemy commander permits the player to advance to the next operation.
  • Missiles: The standard long-range weapon against the enemy structures, it costs 4K energy to launch. The missile damages a 3x3 area centered on the target location. It can be upgraded to a double missile which requires 8K energy per attack. Both the player and the enemy can launch a maximum of 4 missiles per attack.
  • Anti Air Batteries (A.A Missile): The only way to defend your island against enemy missiles and enemy transport ships. They launch a single missile against enemy missiles and transports with a starting 50% chance to hit. A missile requires one hit to be destroyed while transports require eight hits instead. It can be upgraded to a double A.A Missile launcher which launches two missiles at once.
  • Metal Marine: The game's namesake, it is a robot that can be used to attack the enemy territory or to defend the player ones. The standard unit is called Gunner-I, has 40HP and does 8HP of damage per attack. An upgraded Metal Marine is called Gunner-II and gets golden decorations, a bit more walking speed, 60HP and does 9HP damage instead. Only three Metal Marines can be selected to attack the enemy territory being transported in a transport aircraft. Also only three Metal Marines at once will defend player's island from enemy Metal Marines. Metal Marines have three different weapons to attack:
    • Normal Gun (NORMAL): Does the same damage against Metal Marines and Gun Pods (100%-Marine/100%-Pod). The long range gun is a gatling gun and the short range gun is a blue sword.
    • Anti Metal Marine Rifle (Anti MMR): Does 50% more damage to an enemy Metal Marine but instead does 50% less damage to Gun Pod bunkers (150%-Marine/50%-Pod). The long range gun is a rifle and the short range gun is an axe.
    • Anti Gun-Pod Bunker (Anti POD): Does 50% more damage to Gun Pod bunkers but instead does 50% less damage to enemy Metal Marines (50%-Marine/150%-Pod). The long range gun is a bazooka-like howitzer and the short range gun is a purple electric whip.
  • Gun Pods: The standard land defense unit. It has the same resistance as a Metal Marine and does almost the same damage. Only a Gunner-I AT-MMR Metal Marine in full HP or less will succumb to a Gun Pod bunker. AT-POD and NORMAL Metal Marines in full HP can destroy a Gun Pod bunker while surviving.
  • Land mines: Land mines are invisible to the enemy faction in the map. They can be destroyed by enemy missiles and activated by enemy Metal Marines. Every land mine causes 30HP damage to a Metal Marine.
  • Anti-Air Radar: Every radar station built in island increases the hit chance of every A.A Missile per 5% to a max of 100% effectiveness.
  • I.C.B.M. Silo: Most expensive building, slowest to build and biggest in size, as it occupies a 3x3 square landzone. The I.C.B.M. silo needs to have all of its nine squares intact to be able to work, and if a single square is destroyed it can't launch the I.C.B.M. weapon. The launch cost is 950K energy and uses the same anti-matter resource that started the 2117 incident. I.C.B.M. weapons cannot be taken down by A.A. batteries as they do not get in range for them, so it is a guaranteed destruction of a 3X3 diamond radius for a total of 25 squares of enemy land.
  • Supply Headquarters (Supply-HQ): Every Supply-HQ building the player has will provide one more money fund flow per second (+$1/s).
  • Energy Plant: Every energy plant the player has will provide one more energy kilowatt per second (+1K/s).
  • Factory: Every factory the player has speeds the building and upgrading time of every structure in island.
  • Dummy Base: Dummy bases look like bases, but have less HP. They are used as decoys to trick the enemy.
  • Dummy Unit: Dummy units are square terrains that cover player's bases and make them get undetected by the enemy. The attack of a single missile or Metal marine with any weapon destroys it immediately, so they are better used as base concealments.

Plot

The game is set in the year 2117, two years after a cataclysmic Antimatter War. The player leads a military force whose main unit is the Metal Marine: a 16-meter (50 ft) high, 93-plus ton mecha.


A special "Master Edition" of the PC version was released by Mindscape in 1996. In the Master Edition the characters were given voices, the overall look of the GUI changed, and the game featured better sound and warning effects.

In both versions, the game consists of 20 missions where the player will slowly regain the conquered territories of the Earth until the enemy force is defeated. The game is played in an isometric style when building and in an aerial grid style when planning an attack on the enemy territory. In the PC version both players can attack at the same time, while the SNES version only permits one attack at a time from one of the factions.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings69.62% (SNES)[2]

Damien McFerran of Nintendo Life gave the Wii Virtual Console version a 7/10 score, noting the outdated gameplay to be too basic but nevertheless commended the game for its presentation and fun gameplay.[3] In contrast, Lee Meyer of Nintendo Life also gave the Wii U Virtual Console a 7/10 score, criticizing its bland presentation and confusing gameplay but still praised its fun nature and challenge.[4]

Notes


References

  1. ↑ Rodriguez, Steven. "Virtual Console Mondays: October 15 and October 22, 2007 - Recommendations". http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/recommendations/14691/virtual-console-mondays-october-15-and-october-22-2007. 
  2. ↑ "Metal Marines Review Score". https://www.gamerankings.com/snes/588483-metal-marines/index.html. 
  3. ↑ McFerran, Damien (2007-10-16). "Review: Metal Marines ( / Super Nintendo)" (in en-GB). https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/vc/metal_marines_snes. 
  4. ↑ Meyer, Lee (2015-05-28). "Review: Metal Marines (Wii U eShop / Super Nintendo)" (in en-GB). https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu-eshop/metal_marines_snes. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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