Godzilla

A bit of stompy fun aimed at hardcore fans of the big lizard. 

By Urian Brown August 14, 2015

“With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound he pulls the spitting high-tension wires down. Helpless people on subway train scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them. He picks up a bus and throws it back down as he wades through the buildings to the center of town. Oh no, they say he’s got to go, go go Godzilla!” —Blue Oyster Cult

Without a doubt, the best rock and roll song about our big green friend from Japan. Of course, you all know who Godzilla is and have probably seen a movie or ten in your time. While lots of Godzilla movies have been released here, not many Godzilla video games have. In fact, in my lifetime I can only remember a couple. Mainly, the four-player Destroy All Monsters Melee and now this one. The good news is, if you’re a hardcore Godzilla fan, you’ll have a blast with this game. Slowly stomping through harbors, cities, mountains and other familiar locales from the movies is very satisfying.

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If you’re not a hardcore fan, you will probably get bored fairly quick as the game’s combat system is very simple. There’s a fast attack, slower more powerful attack, grab, charge and Godzilla’s famous fire breath. You can also roar, which makes you temporarily invincible. Some reviewers online seem bothered by the simplicity of the combat system, but for me it wasn't a game killer. I mean in the movies, Godzilla doesn’t do much more than that, so it made sense to me. Combat is slow, clumsy and hilarious to watch, exactly like the films.

The goal of every level, more or less, is to destroy pesky power generators. Whilst you waddle your way over to said generators, tanks, helicopter and other tiny annoyances will pepper you with bullets. Just like the “real” Godzilla, it doesn’t really hurt, but eventually becomes a nuisance. So you’ll spend a good chunk of time, stepping on tanks, to the sound of hilarious human screams, or using your fire breath to knock helicopters out of the sky, which explode in the most amusing way. There are also giant gun turrets which can cause a bit of damage that’ll need beating up.

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And in the middle of the level, a monster will appear! Why? Because that’s what they do! Then it’s your duty to stop destroying the city, and start destroying the monster. The combat is very simple, as I’ve mentioned above, but fun enough to make the fight entertaining. I honestly don’t know what else they could have done to make it much better. It’s not like Godzilla flips or runs fast, he lumbers slowly and punches or shoots fire at stuff.

The game comes with some fun stuff for fans of giant monster movies including a kaiju guide that has extensive notes on the many monsters from Godzilla movies. It also has a diorama that lets you create your own Godzilla scenes with pieces earned throughout the game. And the game is bursting with many familiar faces, or things that resemble faces, from the 60+ years they’ve been making movies. From recognizable names like Mothra or King Gidiorah, to lesser known ones like Kumonga or Gorosaurus. It is truly an impressive list of monsters.

Jet Jags

This is the perfect game to play for a few hours here and there in between larger games. Stomping through cities, destroying everything in site, shooting fire and roaring is an absolutely satisfying experience. And if you have kids, this is a great way to introduce them to the wonderful world of Japanese Kaiju.

Hint: Roar in real life when Godzilla does. It will make the game more fun! 

by Urian Brown