Probably won't be mentioned in the same breath as Halo 2, but still fun as heck to play
User Rating: 9 | Godzilla: Save the Earth XBOX
When I saw Godzilla: Save the Earth demoed at GenCon earlier this year, I knew it was one that I was going to buy regardless of the reviews I'd read. The idea of stomping around as a monster from the Godzilla movies just really sounded cool to me, and the game was graphically very alluring. And I was certain it was just the kind of game that my kids and I could enjoy playing together. After spending numerous hours with this game, I can say that I was right to buy it. Godzilla: Save the Earth cuts through the gaming rhetoric to remind us that games first and foremost are just supposed to be fun. If you're looking for a compelling storyline, you're not going to find it here. Stripped of its veneer, Godzilla: Save the Earth is a simple fighting game on a cyclopean scale. As such, it's a game you can pick up right away without looking at the manual and start mashing buttons. You can have a lot of fun this way, but you likely won't discover much about the individual monsters, their strengths and weaknesses. Like many games, it's an easy one to play, but, like other fighting games, mastering it is a different matter. Without turning a page in the manual, I found that Megalon was the monster of choice for me. I quickly discovered the different moves he could perform and how he was different from the other monsters. Through trial and error, I found that he just kind of fit me like a pair of nice loafers. My son is a Godzillaphile, the 2000 version being his preference. My daughter opts for Rodan but is also willing to experiment with Anguirus. We've each settled into what works best for us and have armed ourselves with knowledge of our opponents. When you have four players in a game, it can get pretty chaotic, which is part of the fun. Monsters usually square off one-on-one in free-for-alls, but monsters without honor will also lambaste two opponents locked in combat. All monsters have some type of ranged attack, from fire breath to lightning bolts, melee attacks and special abilities. Some creatures, for example, can burrow underground and then pop up beneath their opponents. My daughter's favorite move is to pick up her opponent and toss him through the air. Every monster can do this, but each has its own signature finishing move. Though the game is primarily a monster-against-monster slugfest, it also offers some entertaining surprises, like the basketball game you play in Action mode. It's a three-monster shootaround to see who can sink the most baskets. Rodan ought to have an advantage in this, but Godzilla also benefits because of his height. It's not a perfect game by any means. I find myself often frustrated by the controls and camera angles during a big free-for-all. The controls sometimes seem sluggish. Megalon gets hefted into the air by Anguirus when I'm sure I dodged in time to avoid it. When the other opponents are on one side of the map, it's easy to get stuck on obstacles at the edge of the screen. But these are forgivable offenses. Amid all the button mashing madness, it really all comes down to the fun factor. And I've had loads of fun with this game. The big measuring stick for me, however, is how my kids react to it--and they just plain love it. My son walks around pretending to be Godzilla. My daughter flaps her arms like she's Rodan. Yep, this one's a keeper because it's just plain fun.
