Demented 3rd person action for the whole family
Armed and Dangerous (2003): 8 out of 10: While far from perfect, Armed and Dangerous avoids quite a few of the pitfalls that have encumbered recent 3rd person shooters and it has a Shrek meets Monty Python sense of humor to boot.
What pitfalls did you ask? Well, there are two in particular; irritating and boring weapons and frustrating platforming. There are three principal weapons in Armed and Dangerous. The main machine gun that is so darn effective and auto targets so well that it almost makes all the other weapons useless. The rocket launcher is also too effective and can make the later levels easier than they should have been. (Great for shooting snipers and just a trek back to the pub for a reload. Yes, you reload at a pub) And the Landshark gun, which releases a great white shark that somewhat slowly eats your opponents in a hilarious manner.
The Landshark gun is loads of fun. So much so in fact that I often risked my neck to use it rather than a more appropriate firearm. (It is, however, pretty good at taking out machine-gun nests.) The rest of the weapons are either boilerplate (sniper rifle), useless (mortar) or silly and useless (instant Black Hole).
As for platforming, there is none, only some simple jet-pack scenes to break up the monotony. The game also pretends to have squad elements as you control three characters, two indirectly. Ignoring this and fighting with your main guy is highly recommended.
While the cutscenes are funny and very tasteless (and in one cannibal scene borderline racist) I was more impressed on the voice work during the fighting itself. It never seemed to get old (How rare is that?)
The graphics and gameplay get better as the game progresses and new weapons become available. An overall fun romp. Gotta love that Landshark gun.