Rather disappointing compared to the original
User Rating: 6.8 | Godzilla: Save the Earth XBOX
For my entire 23 years of life on this earth I have been a Godzilla fan. When Godzilla: DAMM hit 2 years ago, I was thrilled! What a fun game that was...trashing cities and fighting some of hte classic monsters we all know and love. So when I heard that the sequel was coming, I almost hit the roof. Unfortunately, the game lacks several things that would've made it a far superior game than its predecessor. First off, the gameplay simply feels dull. The monsters move quite fluidly, but the combat is basic. There is little strategy involved...you attack, the AI will block, it will retaliate, then you will retaliate, and so on and so forth until the match ends. The Power-Up whoreing is worse than ever...this game could've easily been called Godzilla: Whore the Power-Ups for the simple fact that if a power up ever appears anywhere in the level, the AI opponent makes a b-line straight for it. Conveniently, power ups are dropped right next to your AI opponent, if not dropped directly on to them, 9 times out of 10. Go fig. The removal of replays was simply blasphemous...there was nothing more satisfying that throwing Gigan into a gigantic skyscraper and watching it crumble onto him as your finishing move for the round, over and over again. Now, there are no replays, and match endings are far less dramatic. The levels themselves are huge and stuffed with buildings, but the buildings do not react as promised by the development team. You cannot damage the buildings a little bit at a time...either the whole building goes down, or nothing happens. The building destruction is still nauseatingly unrealistic...they sink into the ground in a cloud of dust, without a hint of debris. The new mini-games are fun, but some are quite annoying. They aren't usually necessary for you to progress, but they are a good source of points to spend at the shop, where you unlock the other monsters, as well as game artwork and a special section devoted to Godzilla: Final Wars. The roster was good, though the last-minute removal of Biollante was extremely disappointing. SpaceGodzilla appears as the game's ultimate monster, and he is well deserving of that title. Otherwise it is a well rounded cast with some great returning favorites. My only gripe...where is Meltdown Godzilla (from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)? I felt that this game simply didn't capture the thrill of kaiju battles. No finishing breath attacks, no dramatic angles. No more replays. In most battles, the monsters don't even have death animations...they just flash into a burst of sparks and the match carries on. Overall, a fun but disappointing entry. Perhaps the next game will be better. Long live Gojira.
