Loaded (PS1)

[jon]

This game could have been amazing and maybe there's something I'm doing wrong. The first 5 minutes of this game are the most exhilarating you'll find anywhere. I've never delved deep into it because I got lost and a little bored but I don't know if anyone's really went deep in this game

[VideoGameCritic]

Yeah I remember the same experience when this game first came out. I had some friends over and they were losing their minds over the rapid-fire gore. Then it started getting repetitive after a while and they lost interest.

[Buttermancan]

I remember renting the Sega Saturn version back in 1996 for a weekend as I had some friends staying over. Playing together co-operatively was something we hadn't done much on our Saturn's so it was great to experience that for the first time. As a 14 year old it was amazing seeing all the blood, violence and gore. The top down view was cool but a little too zoomed in if I remember correctly. After about three hours though we were done with the game. It got overly repetitive and too hard (bad combination). We tried coming back to it again on the sunday but after about ten mins we just went back to Virtua cop 2 and Sega Rally!

[Buttermancan]

I remember renting the Sega Saturn version back in 1996 for a weekend as I had some friends staying over. Playing together co-operatively was something we hadn't done much on our Saturn's so it was great to experience that for the first time. As a 14 year old it was amazing seeing all the blood, violence and gore. The top down view was cool but a little too zoomed in if I remember correctly. After about three hours though we were done with the game. It got overly repetitive and too hard (bad combination). We tried coming back to it again on the sunday but after about ten mins we just went back to Virtua cop 2 and Sega Rally!

[Tron]

I remember all the hype for this game back in the day. When I played it I turned it off after a few minutes. Way too hard to see what was going on.

[jon]

I think, armed (pun intended) with a walkthrough, I may give this another try. Apparently after getting through the first level, it gets easier and less maze like. I’m not sure I ever got past the first level. I always got lost, or maybe it was the second level. Shockingly, when I read the walkthrough, there’s almost twenty levels and only the first one is absurdly long and confusing. Might be worth giving this another go.

[Retro STrife]

I broke out my PS1 a few weeks ago and pulled a stack of games off the shelf, including Loaded. It was my first time ever playing it.

My experience matches up to everyone else here. I was really impressed by Loaded for the first 30 minutes or so. Thinking back to 1996, there weren't really any games like this out there- I wish I played it then. Considering the era, I thought the controls were solid and the game was full of fast-paced action. The problem is it did start to get repetitive pretty quickly, and I only beat the first 2 levels. And the difficulty started ratcheting up too. Like jon, I was surprised to learn that there are many more levels. Overall it was a solid game to play for an hour or so, but I don't see myself popping it back in again.

[Matchstick]

...there’s almost twenty levels and only the first one is absurdly long and confusing.

Uhhhh... no. The entire game is a slog.

Some levels don't involve collecting keycards (if memory serves) and there are also a few outdoor missions to add to the variety a bit. But it's still a long, drawn-out game. It's better with two players, provided you can find someone who's as "into it" as you are. And there are plenty of cheat codes if you need them.

That being said, it's still one of my favorites from the early PS1 era! Great soundtrack, and a nice game to play to just sort of get into a trance and keep pressing onward. Kinda like Ikari Warriors on the NES, in that respect.

There used to be a user review on GameFAQs for this one, simply titled, "Bloated." That says it all

[VideoGameCritic]

I was just playing this, and despite its repetitive nature, it still kicks ass. I think for maximum enjoyment you need to turn the difficulty down to "boring". That way the baddies absorb a fair amount of bullets.

Love the lighting and soundtrack of this game. It's a game you'll want to play at night. You feel like you're at a club.

[velcrozombie]

I remember renting this based on a feature in GamePro (I think) back when it came out. My cousin did co-op with me and it was fun at first but I remember us getting hopelessly lost. We even started the beginning level over because I thought we'd made a mistake somewhere along the way but no, it was just an endless series of hallways and never finding the exit. I would like to give it another look if I come across it for cheap- it's hard to figure out your way out of a jam when you have someone following you around and you're both getting bored and frustrated.