Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Great multiplayer"

War of the Monsters is one of those games you immediately look upon with a frown. Not only does the cover look corny, but the back is laid out like a comic book, with some electrical eyeball peeking at you from behind a building.

However, if you actually pick it up, bring it home, and begin playing it, you'll find that frown start to fade, and turn into at least a smile.

The opening cinematic is equally corny, and attempts to add to the hilariously exaggerated story, but the gameplay is where the corniness stops, and the fun begins.

You can select from 10 different monsters from the start, each balanced equally (although their special attacks are debatable in this area,) and begin brawling.

The attacks are broken up into two forms; heavy and light. The triangle button activates your heavy attacks, which are finished with a launching slam, and the square button activates your light ones, which are faster, but only knock your foe away. You can also instantaneously launch your enemy by pressing down and triangle or stun them with a dizzying (and slightly imbalanced) head slammer by pressing up with it. Doing this in the air will perform a crushing dive.
This whole system is based upon energy; if you're out of energy, you can't attack. Luckily, power ups are strewn about the field for you to collect, so you can continue pummeling those monsters into submission.

Basically everything in the level is breakable; including your opponents energy bar (and if they're a human player, their morale,) you can destroy buildings, pick up cars, squish tiny people, break a boat resembling the titanic, and even create a tsunami with a well aimed shot.
All the debris that comes from this mindless destruction can be picked up also, and thrown at your foes.

The music is nothing special, just rehashes of classical tunes, but it fits in with the general style the game has.

Overall, this game is very fun in multiplayer, and some of the bosses are interesting, but ultimately it fails in delivering lasting fun in single player. A great game, but only in short bursts of play.