History VideoGame / MetalFatigue

* DropTheHammer: Mil-Agro's top-tier melee arm with raw damage unrivaled by any other melee arm in the game. On the other hand, it is also the heaviest arm in the game, requiring Strength Legs or Speed Legs to be dual-wielded without slowing the combot down.

* MindControl: How the Cobs keep the rest of Mil-Agro in line: they outfit everyone else with neural implants that cause any Cob's orders to act as a CompellingVoice.

** Depends on map. In a mid-level mission in the Mil-Agro campaign, the Rimtech AI attacks with four or five combots at a time.

* AnAxeToGrind: Mil-Agro's basic melee arm does fairly good damage despite being early tier, though it is also quite heavy to the point of being impossible to dual-wield without Strength Legs.

* NintendoHard: This game doesn't screw around. This can often simply be FakeDifficulty however, due to the fact that TheComputerIsACheatingBastard. Thought the Rimtech campaign was hard? [[UpToEleven Try Mil-Agro]] [[SerialEscalation or Neuropa.]]

* UnstoppableRage: Let's say that Diego didn't take [[spoiler:Isadora's death]] well.

%%** On the other hand, enemy
%% ???

''Metal Fatigue'' is what happens when you take ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'', replace the infantry with vehicles and the various tanks with HumongousMecha. Developed by Zono Inc. and published in the US by TalonSoft and in Europe by Creator/{{Psygnosis}} in 2000, it stands out from similar games by boasting a three-level battlefield and customization of the game's primary units, called Combots.

** Rimtech's [[ChestBlaster Missile Torso]] and Missile Legs are especially notable for this trope due to firing a salvo of "drunken" missiles that visibly [[{{Robotechning}} Robotech]] around in flight. No other missile weapon in the game demonstrates this behavior.

* ActionGirlfriend: The Rimtech combot pilot Issadora Toltect is this to Diego.
%%[[spoiler:Until Akiri kills her, anyway.]]
* AnAxeToGrind: Mil-Agro's basic melee arm does fairly good damage despite being early tier, though it is also quite heavy.

* ArmCannon: Neuropa's Plasma Cannon. Rimtech's Energy Gun is actually ''stronger'' despite being smaller and lighter. Mil-Agro has the Gatling Arm and Cluster Bomb Arm. Neuropa also has a high-tech sniper ArmCannon.

* LaserBlade: Rimtech's Laser Sword Arm, superior to the Katana in damage output.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: A possible build for a pure Rimtech Combot. [[CripplingOverspecialization Just don't get tied up in close combat though.]]

** If you're fighting against Mil-Agro or Neuropa, this trope kicks into high gear. Mil-Agro has extra armor against energy attacks and have only kinetic weapons while Neuropa is the exact opposite. Since they're less resistant against the kind of damage they themselves inflict, jacking their weapons is surprisingly effective. The AI actually does this in the campaign.

* MightyGlacier: Mil-Agro units and Combot parts are this. Also any Combot with all Armor parts, such as the Rimtech Armor Torso and Fists, and the Neuropa Armor Legs.

** Diego, after disobeying his superior officer's orders and lying to said superior officer in order to get a shot at Akiri, only to end up going on a wild goose chase.
** Stefan, after the Cobs force him to massacre the Rimtech training facility at New Providence.

The single-player campaign tells the story of [[RuleOfThree three brothers]]: Diego, Jonus and Stefan Angelus, as well as three [[MegaCorp "CorpoNations"]],: Rimtech, Mil-Agro and Neuropa Limited. Each [=CorpoNation=] has its eyes set on a distant world where a cache of potent alien technology is believed to be hidden. Armed warfare ensues between the three as soon as each makes planetfall. In the opening CutScene, the three brothers, working for Rimtech, find an alien EnergyWeapon while on patrol. Diego, the eldest brother, understandably plans to take the weapon back to their superiors. Jonus, the middle brother, has other plans, however, [[OnlyInItForTheMoney stating that Neuropa would pay top dollar for the technology.]] An argument ensues, and would have come to blows were it not for a sudden Mil-Agro airstrike. In the ensuing chaos, Stefan, [[CaptainObvious the youngest brother,]] is hurled over a cliff, Jonus escapes with the alien weapon and Diego returns home empty-handed, believing Jonus a traitor and Stefan killed in action. However, Stefan turns out to have survived his fall, though he was implanted with a mind control chip by Mil-Agro and pressed into service as their newest champion.

** Jonus also gets this near the end of the Neuropa campaign, resulting in him becoming [[spoiler:TheAtoner]].

* DemonicSpiders: The scorpion-looking Alien Tanks that guard certain Hedoth structures or areas. They are to vehicles the same way the Black Combots are this to everything else. They are pretty tough and resistant while sporting a weapon that has superior firing rate along with better damage. Individually they are not a threat to a combot, but a large group can be an extreme threat to a whole team of combots (especially if they don't sport energy-resistant parts).

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: A lot of people became happy when as of 21st of June 2018, [[GOGDotCom GOG]] managed to include the game into their service and it already has a average rating of 4.5 stars.

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: A lot of people became happy when as of 21st of June 2018, [[GOG]] managed to include the game into their service and it already has a average rating of 4.5 stars.

* DaemonicSpiders: The scorpion-looking Alien Tanks that guard certain Hedoth structures or areas. They are to vehicles the same way the Black Combots are this to everything else. They are pretty tough and resistant while sporting a weapon that has superior firing rate along with better damage. Individually they are not a threat to a combot, but a large group can be an extreme threat to a whole team of combots (especially if they don't sport energy-resistant parts).

* {{EMP}}: Rimtech has an EMP Torso that deploys a damaging area-of-effect pulse. Unlike the Blast Pulse Legs, this one only affects combots and while combots that get hit with this show visible sparks for a few moments, it doesn't actually disable them. However, each side has access to the Nemesis vehicle that explodes with respectable splash damage when destroyed, but if an enemy combot is in range, the Nemesis' kamikaze explosion releases an EMP. Unlike the Rimtech torso's version, this one disables ''every'' combot in its range for a few seconds. '''''Even Hedoth combots.'''''

* TookALevelInKindness: Brik Cob after Stefan and his crew bust him out of a Rimtech prison. The results are that he not only becomes humbler and kinder to Stefan, but also to his staff. It also leads him to becoming a DefectorFromDecadence and initially leading to his HeelFaceTurn.

* ColorCodedCharacters: With general appearance style to boot. Rimtech units are blue, with their combots having a rounded, {{Tron}}-esque appearance. Mil-Agro units are red, [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture with boxy shapes]], and visible bolts. Neuropa units are an odd purple and green mix, and have alien-like organic shapes and [[CyberCyclops cycloptic eyes]] on their combots.

* TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar: Before full-out war broke out, the three [=CorpoNations=] settled disputes by agreeing to stage fair and balanced battles on pre-determined battle-fields.

* ActionGirl -- Issadora Toltec, Rimtech Combot pilot.
** ActionGirlfriend -- To Diego. [[spoiler:Until Akiri kills her, anyway.]]
* AndIMustScream -- Stefan discovers the implants Mil-Agro put in his head the hard way when said implants force him to recite Rimtech military secrets to Zeke Cob when asked, unable to stop himself from speaking.
* ArchaeologicalArmsRace -- Naturally, the best way to get the best parts is to find alien technology caches (as well as stealing parts you've blased off enemy combots).
* ArtificialStupidity -- Problems with pathfinding are not uncommon, and units will sometimes suicidally rush off to their death while trying to pursue some inaccessible and unimportant enemy. The game offers a lot of options to let you control how each unit reacts to the enemy, which helps reduce this problem somewhat, but babysitting is still often necessary.
** Mostly averted with enemies. Their AI usually avoids above problems and on the plus side when supplied with enough energy AI enemies will probe your defenses and put presure on weak points or even sneak cloaked units past your defenses. That is as long as they have energy supply - when they run out they attack till they're reduced to buildings and civil units.
* AwesomeButImpractical -- The NeutronBomb armament for railgun platforms. Temporarily disables buildings and kills the crews of critically damaged combots, but deals no direct damage.
* BoringButPractical -- The Orbital Bomb loadout for railgun platforms. Exceedingly expensive and slow to build, also reloads slowly and can be stopped with Point Defenses... but deals a heck of a lot of damage where it hits in a large radius, enough to wipe entire asteroids clean of Solar Panels and thereby put a serious dent in the enemy's resource income.
** There is no way to stop a surface-based Outpost set to launch mode from teleporting to the nearest asteroid above. Thus it doesn't matter how fortified an asteroid is, teleporting a few Nemesis vehicles up there tends to crack those fortifications in very short order.
* BeehiveBarrier -- The Point Defense structure, generating a number of floating energy discs that orbit around the structure and deflect incoming railgun shots.
* BossInMookClothing -- Even lone Hedoth Spider Tanks can give a poorly-fitted Combot serious trouble. En masse? You'll need a lot of combots to take them out. Maybe a lot of artillery, too...

* BrainwashedAndCrazy -- Turns out the reason why Mil-Agro troops are so brutal in combat is because every single one of them is outfitted with mind control implants that prevent them from acting on any thought contrary to their orders, such as sparing enemies out of conscience.
* CainAndAbel -- There are elements of this between Diego and Jonus, but Stefan is a wild card.
* ColorCodedCharacters: With general appearance style to boot. Rimtech units are Blue, with their Combots having a rounded, {{Tron}}-esque appearance. Mil-Agro units are Red, [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture with boxy shapes,]] and visible bolts. Neuropa units are an odd purple/green mix, and have alien-like organic shapes and [[CyberCyclops cycloptic eyes]] on their Combots.
* CharacterCustomization -- In a sense. You can mix and match torsos, legs and arms to create a variety of different Combots. Figuring out which setups work best is a key aspect of success.
* CosmeticallyDifferentSides -- Averted for the most part. Aside from the most basic parts, each side possesses a completely different arsenal of combot parts. Units and structures are functionally identical, but each side's stuff has sharply different armor values. The same vehicles also have a varying ratio of kinetic/energy damage for each side: Mil-Agro leans towards more HP, doing more kinetic damage and having better defenses against energy damage, while Neuropa does the opposite and Rimtech balances between the two. At the end of the day, however, a Rimtech tank works exactly the same way as a Neuropa HoverTank and the Mil-Agro Matter Converter is exactly the same structure that Neuropa and Rimtech have, just with a boxier model and a [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority chromatically superior]] paint job.
* DeathFromAbove -- The game features fighters and bombers, which if shot down can hurt whatever the debris land on (fighters are barely an annoyance in this regard while bombers do TONS of damage in a wide radius). Combots can also be equipped certain parts to fly. There is also an entire orbital layer of battle in addition to the surface and underground sections. You can build on the asteroid platforms up there.
** Even better: if a fighter or bomber is shot down on the orbital layer and doesn't land on an asteroid, it will fall down to the surface layer and does the crash damage there. Similarly, if a bomber starts doing a bombing run, any bombs that don't hit something will fall straight to the surface and do damage as usual... except that this kind of attack cannot be protected against via AA defenses.

* DrillTank -- The Drill Truck, though it's not much of a tank. The drill is used for making new passages underground and drilling into Hedoth structures.
* DropTheHammer -- The most powerful melee arm in the game belongs to Mil-Agro.
* EasilyDetachableRobotParts -- arms can be ejected and re-attached at any time, even while in battle. In fact, bladed weapons frequently amputate arms in battle - especially if the wielder has Mil-Agro Steady Legs that increase the chance of this happening.
** AnAxeToGrind -- Mil-Agro's basic melee arm. Does fairly good damage despite being early tier, though it is also quite heavy.
** ArmCannon -- Neuropa's Plasma Cannon. Rimtech's Energy Gun is actually ''stronger'' despite being smaller and lighter. Mil-Agro has the Gatling Arm and Cluster Bomb Arm. Neuropa also has a high-tech sniper ArmCannon.
** {{BFG}} -- Neuropa Sniper Laser Arm and Rimtech's Long Missile Arm. Both inflict massive damage at a very long range, but take a long time to recharge.
** {{BFS}} -- Rimtech's Katana Arm. Not as good as late-game melee weapons, but has a fairly good chance at amputating the arms of enemy combots.
** ChainsawGood -- Neuropa's top-tier melee arm, essentially a rotary saw made of plasma.
** DropTheHammer -- Mil-Agro's top-tier melee arm with raw damage unrivaled by any other melee arm in the game. On the other hand, it is also the heaviest arm in the game, requiring Strength Legs or Speed Legs to be dual-wielded without slowing the combot down.
** GatlingGood -- One of Mil-Agro's ranged arms and the only hitscan arm in the whole game, making it highly efficient against aircraft. The Flak Torso has a stronger ShoulderCannon version.
** HomingProjectile -- Neuropa's Homing Missile, as well as Rimtech's Missile Torso and Missile Legs. Aside from the Missile Legs which can only fire at ground targets, all of them are competent anti-air weapons.
** LaserBlade -- Rimtech's Laser Sword Arm, superior to the Katana in damage output.
** LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe -- comes in two flavors. Rimtech's Energy Shield is a BeehiveBarrier geared toward energy defense while Neuropa's K-Shield is essentially a combot-sized riot shield geared against kinetic damage. Both increase the combot's health by a notable amount when equipped.
** PowerFist -- Every side has their own version as a mid-tier melee weapon. Rimtech's Armor Fist is a simple gauntlet, Mil-Agro's Blade Fist has WolverineClaws and Neuropa's Power Fist has an energy blade mounted onto the knuckles. Aside from superior damage compared to early-game melee weapons, they are also quite light.
** ShockAndAwe -- Neuropa's basic melee weapon is the Electrogrip, a large, three-fingered hand with a special attack animation that momentarily stuns enemy combots.
** ShockwaveStomp -- Rimtech's Blast Pulse Legs. Notable in being able to affect ''overflying aircraft'', making it surprisingly useful at fending off harassing Hoverjets in a pinch.
** ShoulderCannon -- Neuropa's Tracer Fire Torso, as well as Mil-Agro's Flak Torso and Howitzer Torso.
** SpreadShot -- Mil-Agro's Cluster Bomb Launcher Arm, firing a salvo of bomblets in a roughly arc-shaped spread. Each bomblet does little individual damage, but they impact close enough together to stack up that SplashDamage and really put the hurt to enemy tanks.
* {{EMP}} -- Rimtech has an EMP Torso that deploys a damaging area-of-effect pulse. Unlike the Blast Pulse Legs, this one only affects combots and while combots that get hit with this show visible sparks for a few moments, it doesn't actually disable them. However, each side has access to the Nemesis vehicle that explodes with respectable splash damage when destroyed... but if an enemy combot is in range, the Nemesis' kamikaze explosion releases an EMP. Unlike the Rimtech torso's version, this one disables ''every'' combot in its range for a few seconds. '''''Even Hedoth combots.'''''
* FactionCalculus -- Rimtech (Balanced), Mil-Agro (Powerhouse) and Neuropa (Subversive).
* FiveRoundsRapid -- This is about all tanks are good for against Combots. Missile Tanks are slightly more effective, however. Used [[MacrossMissileMassacre en-masse]], Missile Tanks can quickly tear down a lone Combot.

* {{Flight}} -- all sides have a part (Rimtech has Jumpjet Legs, Mil-Agro and Neuropa have a [[JetPack Jumpjet Torso]]) that has pathetic HP but makes the combot capable of flying. While in the air, combots behave like ordinary aircraft: they use the same movement patterns, can only be attacked by ranged weapons, etc. Also, combots can fire ranged weapons from the air and if ordered not to engage in melee, they stay floating in mid-air air while gunning for the target. On the other hand, a flying combot has no armor whatsoever until it lands, so massed AA can take it out very quickly.
* FragileSpeedster -- This can be combined with the above trope. If you manage to equip a combot with both a Jumpjet Torso and Jumpjet Legs, it'll have next to no HP besides what the arms contribute but it'll fly VERY fast, allowing it to rapidly get into position where it can do the most damage and escape with impunity when the enemy counterattacks.
* GrandTheftPrototype -- Some campaign missions start out with you needing to do this.
* GuideDangit -- The weight mechanic is not explained anywhere in the game or the manual. Weight values are also impossible to find other than by trial and error.
* HeroMustSurvive -- Present in ''every'' campaign mission, since you always have one of the three brothers (depending on faction) present in-game as a combot crew. Sometimes other characters from the storyline appear, and must survive, as well. It's usually easier to leave these "Hero" units out of harm's way for the entire mission, since it's easy to build standard combot crews to replace them, and between missions these standard crews can even be upgraded to equal the skill of the "Heroes". This leads to annoying GameplayAndStorySegregation as the post-mission de-briefings will often mention how awesome and absolutely essential the "Hero" units were to the victory, when in reality they may not have even set foot inside a combot at any point during the game.
* HeelFaceTurn -- Brik Cob goes through this after he released Stefan and his crew from Cob control.
* HeelRealization -- [[spoiler:Diego has one when he finally catches up to Akiri and is about to crush him with his own destroyed combot's wreckage when Stefan shows up and warns Diego that killing Akiri to avenge Issadora will start a CycleOfRevenge.]]
* HumongousMecha -- They serve as your main attack force. Interestingly enough, they are piloted MotionCaptureMecha style (a la ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'') but also require a support crew who operate a ring of control consoles around the pilot's center platform. They're also ''damn big'', dwarfing the tanks and artillery pieces that support them.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels -- The AI names in Multiplayer/Skirmish are meaningful, though like Weight this is never explained. Lord Bedlam, [=MadDog=] and Sgt. Dolt (Neuropa, Mil-Agro and Rimtech) are the '[[ArtificialStupidity stupid]]' practice AIs.
* InvisibilityFlicker -- Neuropa Camo Torso. Cloaks every friendly in-range but the effect is broken as soon as they attack.
* JackOfAllStats -- Rimtech units and Combot parts are this.
* LargeAndInCharge -- Rimtech Armored Torso. Has the highest HP value of any non-alien Combot part and some real mean armor.
* MacrossMissileMassacre -- A possible build for a pure Rimtech Combot. [[CripplingOverspecialization Just don't get tied up in close combat though.]]
* MechaGame -- Fits the standard of relying heavily on unit customization. A bit of a toss-up as to whether it's more in the "Stompy" or "High-speed" categories: most combots are fairly slow, but it's possible to put together a high-speed build; there's plenty of tactical long-range weapons, but "hand-to-hand" combat is also very common (though it's also fairly slow-paced, with combots slowly swinging heavy weapons and shields at each other like medieval knights in rusty armor).
* MightyGlacier -- Mil-Agro units and Combot parts are this. Also any Combot with all Armor parts, such as the Rimtech Armor Torso and Fists, and the Neuropa Armor Legs.

* AMechByAnyOtherName -- Combots, a portmanteau of "Combat" and "Robots".
* MegaManning -- The only way to get an opposing combot's parts is to salvage it after or during combat, although the "during combat" part only works for arm parts. Bladed melee weapons and certain other parts help in this regard. Gathering parts is a necessity for success, so that you can form a more flexible battle strategy with your combots.
** If you're fighting against Mil-Agro or Neuropa, this trope kicks into high gear. Mil-Agro has extra armor against energy attacks and have only kinetic weapons while Neuropa is the exact opposite. Since they're less resistant against the kind of damage they themselves inflict, jacking their weapons is surprisingly effective. The AI actually does this in the campaign.
* MeleeATrois -- [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse It gets worse]] when the actual aliens show up to make a mess of things.]]
* MindControl -- How the Cobs keep the rest of Mil-Agro in line: they outfit everyone else with neural implants that cause any Cob's orders to act as a CompellingVoice.
* MookChivalry -- Computer opponents will sometimes show a distressing tendency to attack your heavily-defended base with a few units at a time, over and over again, instead of attacking en masse. This is especially noticeable in the campaigns, though in Skirmish mode some of the AI settings seem to be a bit better about this.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone -- All three Angelus brothers have such a moment in their respective campaigns.

* MoreDakka -- A possible build for a pure ranged Mil-Agro combot. It makes a devastatingly effective mobile anti-air platform as well.
* NintendoHard -- This game doesn't screw around. This can often simply be FakeDifficulty however, due to the fact that TheComputerIsACheatingBastard. Thought the Rimtech campaign was hard? [[UpToEleven Try Mil-Agro]] [[SerialEscalation or Neuropa.]]
* RealRobotGenre -- Combots are built using parts researched in your faction's tech tree or stolen from the rival factions. They are expensive, but ultimately replaceable, [[WeHaveReserves their crews as well.]] [[TooAwesomeToUse Unless they've gained a few levels...]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge -- Diego, after [[spoiler:Akiri kills Issadora]]. Starts out as pulling rank on another commander to have an excuse to be in the sector where [[spoiler:Akiri]] was last spotted, continues with him lying to his superior officer and disregarding a direct order to safeguard Sperry Ridge which [[spoiler:gets most of the Rimtech Board killed in a Mil-Agro ambush and conveniently removes all traces of his insubordination]], continues with him taking command of all of Rimtech to box the target of his rampage in and finally ends with him [[spoiler:sparing Akiri when Stefan shows up and gives him a WhatTheHellHero speech, warning Diego that he's about to start a CycleOfRevenge]].
* RPGElements -- Accomplishing missions and certain bonus objectives (such as succeeding within a time limit or completely wiping the enemy off the map without the mission objectives explicitly asking for it) rewards you with upgrade points that can be spent to upgrade your staff's neural interfaces. Combot pilots receive increased weapon damage, structures and vehicles get boosted firepower and reduced manpower requirements.
* RuleOfThree -- Three brothers, three factions, three stories.
* ShieldBash -- How any combot that only has shields arms fights.
* ShouldersOfDoom -- Rimtech combots crewed by a hero unit or a crew above level 4 get these.
* SuperRobot -- Any combot that has at least one piece of alien tech can easily solo five enemy combots. The only way to eliminate one without taking losses is by air assault - and that's if it doesn't have a ranged weapon. If it does, [[ZergRush well...]]

* TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar -- Before full-out war broke out, the three [=CorpoNations=] settled disputes by agreeing to stage fair and balanced battles on pre-determined battle-fields.
* TookALevelInKindness -- Brik Cob after Stefan and his crew bust him out of a Rimtech prison. The results are that he not only becomes humbler and kinder to Stefan, but also to his staff. It also leads him to becoming a DefectorFromDecadence and initially leading to his HeelFaceTurn.
* UndergroundLevel -- You can use elevators to transport units underground. It's a good place to hide valuable structures and the lava pools that are your main resource for the early-to-mid game are much richer and last longer than the ones above ground, plus you are safe from combot attacks and can use Recon Poles to see what's going on above without having to go up there. Drill Trucks can be used to dig new tunnels and construct new elevators, allowing you to send vehicles behind enemy lines.

* UnstoppableRage -- Let's say that Diego didn't take [[spoiler:Isadora's death]] well.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment -- [[AvertedTrope Averted,]] your combots can pick up the discarded arms of enemy combots in the field and use them immediately. This can result in RainbowPimpGear however, with, for example, a Rimtech Combot (blue) with a Mil-Agro axe arm (red with white highlights) and a Neuropa EnergyWeapon (gray with some purple bits).

* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas -- there are two kinds of resources.

* ZergRush -- Pretty much the only chance tanks have against a combot, even a weakly-equipped one: it's doable, but inefficient in terms of cost. You're better off countering enemy combots with your own.
** On the other hand, enemy