Dream with me for a second if
you will. One day Capcom's Power Stone and Nintendo's Smash Brothers
meet at a bar. They talk, have a few drinks, go back home, and make sweet, sweet
love. Then, a development time later, out pops one incredible Godzilla game.
That's Destroy All Monsters Melee. 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.
While the buildings can be meticulously
detailed, the monsters take in a hit in their polygon counts. Sure some of them are
perfect, but a few are extremely blocky. Godzilla himself is particularly a victim of this
problem, with pointy knees and head. This lack of detail is made up for in the cities
however as mentioned above, and the dust kicked up from the battles looks stunning.
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.
For Godzilla fans, the game is a
no-brainer. Anyone who finds themselves still popping in Power Stone or Super
Smash Brothers, this one is also a no-brainer. You'll have to be a cynic not to find
something to enjoy about this one. The sprawling cities, giant monsters, flame breath, and
Godzilla add up to one of the best games for console. Highly recommended to anyone with a
Gamecube.
