Godzilla: Unleashed review

Nov 29, 2007

Traditionally, a sequel is an improvement upon its predecessor - that's the whole point of making it, right? That's not the case with the PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed. This sequel is a stripped-down giant monster brawler that's the third game in its series, but which somehow manages to play far, far worse than its feature-rich predecessors.

The big problem is that the whole thing stutters and chugs along like Paris Hilton learning to drive a stick shift. Sure, these are giant monsters and not ninjas, but this gameplay is so choppy - even before the bouts of slowdown - that the controls feel unresponsive and the moves are tough to chain. Some of the character models have nice details; for instance, Mechagodzilla's robotic skin has a nice, hammered texture. But with the camera unable to decide whether it wants to be over your shoulder like a shooter, off to the side as in a fighting game, or just riding a blimp so high up that a skyscraper-sized monster looks like a small child, you won't get much chance to admire them.

By comparison, the original GameCube title Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee moves and controls twice as smoothly, has a smarter camera that makes the monsters look legitimately big, and actually boasts more dynamic lighting on the laser beams. The graphics are simpler and the arenas smaller, but it plays far, far better than this... and it's five years old.