Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee |
GameCube |
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Review by Matt Paprocki |
Atari |
Fighting |
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Graphics: 7 |
Sound: 7 |
Gameplay: 9 |
Overall: 8 |
![]() This is truly the most original of the Godzilla video games. Massive sprawling cities, huge polygonal Toho monsters, and lots of army thingies to take 'em out. Featuring a good chunk of some of the most popular monsters, the game allows up to four players to trash numerous famous cities using an easy to decipher control scheme. Even playing the game solo is an absolute blast at times (but this is also a must since only a measly three monsters are available from the start), but due to some of the AI routines, frustration can be a given at times. The game balances well as each character is easily playable, but learning the intricacies of each character could take a lifetime. Each monster uses some of the trademarked moves seen in the films. For gameplay purposes, new moves have been added. For instance, Anguirus now has some sort of "breath blast" that can knock a opponent clear into the next country (well, at least into the barrier around the stage). The kaiju are also much faster than their movie counterparts, not to mention that they've all taken up a weight loss program. Tossing monsters around the cities isn't a problem as they'll fly through the air without much of a stuggle. Picking up buildings to toss into the abdomen or head of your opponent is also crucial to the gameplay. Only selected buildings can be picked up however, and this can cause confusion in heated battles.
Audio-philes will be happy with the Pro-logic II support, but true-G-gans will be disappointed that only one of the music tracks from the films made it into the game, and that is reserved for the credits. The roars of the monsters are all there, but for some reason, you'll occasionally hear the wrong one in the midst of a fight and that's a strange glitch to say the least. With three monsters available from the start, you'll have to spend plenty of time in the one-player mode to get more of the monsters unlocked. Problem here is that the AI is cheap a majority of the time, especially the final boss fight with MechaGodzilla. The computer will also not register some hits and let the computer gain a quick upper hand. To unlock everything the game has to offer, you'll have to play the game on it's hardest level, which can be near impossible at times. That's why the multi-player mode is so welcome.
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