# Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2
**Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2** is a third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers, first released on August 6, 2000 for PC, Macintosh, and [Dreamcast](https://www.edgepedia.org/dreamcast).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/games/heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews/) It is an official sequel to the animated film *[Heavy Metal 2000](https://www.edgepedia.org/heavy-metal-2000)*, set in the science-fiction world of the *Heavy Metal* comic-book magazine, and follows the adventurer Julie as she fights to save her home planet from the Gith Industries supercorporation.[2](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2/1100-2568240/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | August 6, 2000; platforms PC, Mac, Dreamcast[1](https://www.gamespot.com/games/heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews/) |
| Developer / publisher | Ritual Entertainment / Gathering of Developers[1](https://www.gamespot.com/games/heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews/) |
| Genre | Third-person action, arcade shooter, with platforming and fighting-game elements[1](https://www.gamespot.com/games/heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews/) • [3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) |
| Engine | Quake III Arena engine, modified with Ritual's ÜberTools[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wnv0pvD-rw) |
| Signature mechanic | Dual-wielding: Julie can hold a weapon in each hand, such as a sword and a pistol, in any combination[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-impressions/1100-2610649/) |
| Length | Under ten hours for a first playthrough, roughly half that for a second[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) |
| Reception | Metacritic 78 from 27 critics; GameSpot scored it 6.7[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2/critic-reviews/) • [3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) |
## Premise and setting
The game takes place 30 years after the events of *Heavy Metal 2000*, the animated film on which it is based.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) Julie, the protagonist, is based on model and actress [Julie Strain](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-strain), the wife of comic artist [Kevin Eastman](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-eastman), who owned the *[Heavy Metal](https://www.edgepedia.org/heavy-metal-magazine)* magazine and provided artwork for the game.[2](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2/1100-2568240/) The story follows Julie as she guides the player through the world of Eden2 in a fight to save the planet from Gith Industries, a supercorporation determined to despoil it for its own purposes.[2](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2/1100-2568240/) Ritual and Eastman agreed early that the game would be a sequel to the movie rather than a standard movie-to-game conversion, and Eastman gave the team complete control over the story.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
The film itself had originally carried the title *Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2*, after its lead character, before being renamed *Heavy Metal 2000*; Ritual kept the F.A.K.K. 2 name for the game because it already had two magazine covers and previews in print and did not want product confusion.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
## Gameplay
F.A.K.K. 2 combines several genre conventions: GameSpot's review described it as looking like a third-person action game, beginning like a role-playing game, playing like a platform game, and using first-person shooter conventions and fighting-game elements in its combat system.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) The defining mechanic is two-handed weapon use: Julie can wield most weapons ambidextrously, equipping, for example, a sword in her right hand and a pistol in her left, while some two-handed weapons offer two different firing modes instead.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-impressions/1100-2610649/) The game features over twenty different weapons.[8](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-hands-on/1100-2569324/)
Combat is fast and responsive, with weapons that either auto-acquire targets or have a broad enough attack range to let players hit foes from the behind-the-back perspective.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-impressions/1100-2610649/) The game opens with noninteractive story sequences and an optional tutorial, and the first scenes involve Julie saving her village from an invasion of alien bugs.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-impressions/1100-2610649/)
## Development
The project began in the summer of 1997, when Ritual Entertainment was producing *SiN* and concept artist Kevin Eastman's agent approached the studio about making a game based on the planned animated film.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) A small preproduction team worked during *SiN*'s development, but the two programmers left and the level designers were reassigned, slowing the project until *SiN* shipped in 1998.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
**Engine choice.** Ritual licensed a snapshot of the [Quake 3 engine](https://www.edgepedia.org/id-tech-3) code in February 1999, before [Quake III Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/quake-iii-arena)'s release, after considering its own UberEngine, Lithtech, and Unreal.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) The team, already experienced with the Quake engine family from *SiN*, called this the best decision of the project and had a technology demo ready for E3 in early May 1999.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) Engine modifications included a [skeletal animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/skeletal-animation) and level-of-detail system, the Morpheus scripting language expanded from about 500 commands in *SiN* to about 700, the TIKI text-file animation system, the Ghost particle system, a spline-based cinematic camera system, and the Zound sound editor.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) Lead animator Darrin Hart hand-animated 11,000 frames of animation for the game, of which about 6,500 frames were used.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
**Single-player focus.** Because the team was small, Ritual decided to focus solely on single-player and skip multiplayer, a decision the studio acknowledged as its biggest complaint from reviewers and players.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) The game went gold on July 31, 2000, and art director Robert Atkins was the only team member who remained from the start of preproduction to the end.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) The core team shrank from 18 members to 11 over the project, and a crunch period of nearly five months, including a month of seven-day weeks with 12- to 16-hour days, preceded the deadline.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-) A multiplayer patch providing arena-style battles was reported to be in development as of the December 2000 postmortem.[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
The game was ported to Linux by Loki Software, which had previously ported Quake III Arena to that platform.[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wnv0pvD-rw)
## Reception
Metacritic recorded a score of 78 from 27 critics, with 21 positive and 6 mixed reviews and none negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2/critic-reviews/) Several outlets scored it 90, including [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer), GamePro, CNET Gamecenter, and GameZone.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2/critic-reviews/) GameSpot's review by Ron Dulin scored it 6.7, calling it the framework for a much better game: the reviewers encountered consistent crashes on all three test machines, and the game's short length and inconsistent quality were the main criticisms.[3](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/) Eurogamer called it a beautiful but flawed game with easy controls and imaginative design, marred by platform-hopping puzzles and a disappointing finale.[9](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/256219-heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews) GamePro noted that the game offers no multiplayer to extend its value.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2/critic-reviews/)
## Legacy
The title remains known for its visual style; Ritual's postmortem records critics calling it one of the best-looking games of 2000 and quoting praise such as "The Most Beautiful Game Ever."[7](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
## References
1. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 - GameSpot game hub](https://www.gamespot.com/games/heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews/)
2. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 - GameSpot overview article](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2/1100-2568240/)
3. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 Review, Ron Dulin, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavy-metal-fakk-2-review/1900-2614185/)
4. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 PC Game Review, GmanLives, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wnv0pvD-rw)
5. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 Impressions, Greg Kasavin, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-impressions/1100-2610649/)
6. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2/critic-reviews/)
7. [Postmortem: Ritual Entertainment's Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2, Scott Alden, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ritual-entertainment-s-i-heavy-metal-f-a-k-k-2-i-)
8. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 Hands On, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heavy-metal-fakk-2-hands-on/1100-2569324/)
9. [Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 Reviews, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/256219-heavy-metal-fakk-2/reviews)
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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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