Based off the science fictional world from the minds of Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley, Heavy Metal Geomatrix puts you on a team of humans enhanced by nanotechnology, allowing humans to live and fight in cyberspace with extraordinary abilities and weapons. You play one of four teams, each team comprising of three special soldiers. Depending on your playing style, you'll either play the all-around leader type, the speedy female, or the big-ass grunt that can punch you into next year. The purpose? To dominate cyberspace by taking on each team in a fight to the finish... and most of the time, it won't exactly be a one on one fair fight. With a title like Heavy Metal Geomatrix you expect some crazy character designs and the game doesn't disappoint as all the characters look like mutant rejects from Anthrax. Lots of leather, chains, spikes, and other assorted imagery give the game a very unique look. Stages aren't exactly complex but they're pretty well designed and the game runs at a pretty smooth frame rate most of the time. There are instances of slowdown when a lot of explosions that occur but it's only a brief moment in a otherwise nice looking game.
Controls are somewhat similar to Spawn but with some notable additions. Unlike Spawn, characters have both a melee and a missile attack (when armed with a firearm) - press both unleashes a special attack depending on what weapon you're armed with. While you have a jump button, you have the ability to air dash for a limited amount of time and yes, you can also dash on the ground by press L Trigger. Unlike Spawn you can't change the camera perspective and while that's not too much of a problem in the regular arcade mode, it becomes a pain in Chaosmatrix mode (more on that later). The gameplay feels like a weird mix between Spawn: In The Demon's Hand and (believe it or not) Virtual On Oratorio Tangram. As you progress through the game, you'll learn that dashing and air-dashing are both very important aspects of the game, not only in dodging enemy attacks, but hitting an opponent - dashing past an obstacle to get the proper shot off right at the end of your dash is quite a satisfying feeling and in this sense, it has some of the depth that makes VOOT so outstanding. There's also a pretty neat set of weapons ranging from the Moto Gun that literally looks like you're holding a V8 engine in your hand, and the S. Missile weapon that fires laser guided missiles from the sky.
The problems that rear their ugly heads are all pretty small but add up to make playing the game somewhat annoying. Camera angles are still a bit of a problem and now that you can't switch the camera, it can be quite aggravating especially if you dash into a corner but the computer hasn't switched the view properly. This often leads to instances where you can't see your character and when you're facing off against two or more enemies in the later levels, it's irritating. Then comes the Chaosmatrix mode, a sort of mission mode that resembles those training missions you've probably played in Metal Gear Solid. The problem here in this mode is that you not only have to worry about enemies trying to kill you but now you have to find key items that are often places on high platforms. Now it becomes an aggravating platforming experience with the only camera option is to an auto-lock on your opponent - not exactly the best viewing angle to make specific jumps. There are also a few combat flaws the most annoying was when you automatically pick-up items with the A button. That's usually not a problem but if you're pummeling an enemy with your hand-to-hand attacks (the A button), should your character hover over an item icon, he'll automatically pick-it up in the midst of a combo. Not only does this stop your combo but it allows your enemy to counter attack.
Many of these problems would be forgiven if there were some longevity to this game. Unfortunately, there's hardly anything to unlock and as I stated above, it's a pain to play through the platforming sequences of Chaosmatrix. The two-player versus and tag mode are pretty good; there some loss to the detail but otherwise, the game runs at the same smooth frame rate. Still, frustrating gameplay flaws still hurt this game and despite a really kicking soundtrack, Heavy Metal Geomatrix isn't quite a blast.