Godzilla: Domination
Score: 40% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Infogrames Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Fighting
Graphics & Sound: Godzilla is one of those licenses that seems like it would work so well for a game, yet for whatever reason, it never amounts to anything. Godzilla: Domination is yet one more link in the long chain of bad, Godzilla based games. The graphical style of Godzilla turned me off from the start. Instead of going for a gritty, 'all-powerful-monsters-destroying-the-world' look (you'd know it if you saw it), the developers instead went for a look that can only be described as 'cute'. Each of the game's combatants look almost like super-deformed versions of their rubber-suited counterparts. This style also bleeds over into the game's environments, giving the entire game a feel that can only be described as Fisher Price. The game's pseudo-3D view and non-existent special effects do little to help the cause. The monster animation is stilted and a tad limited, which goes along nicely with the game's sparse sound effects and music.
Gameplay: While reviewing Sony Computer Entertainment America's War of the Monsters, a game whose premise is very similar to Godzilla: Domination, I stated that I wouldn't think much depth could be derived from a game based around guys in rubber suits. Unfortunately, Godzilla doesn't even hold a candle to SCEA's masterpiece, and proves to be a rather shallow experience. The game's presentation is pretty well done. After selecting from the limited selection of monsters, Godzilla's story is presented through the eyes of Action News' energetic (and well-endowed) Connie Matsu. A natural disaster has caused all of the world's monsters to go mad, all that is - except for your monster. The game then takes players from location to location beating up on monsters and causing general havoc. Aside from the Story mode, the game also offers a mess of a Versus Mode. These matches allow up to four players to choose a monster and duke it out. However, the stale combat system, and a few questionable technical issues, hampers the fun. For example, there are no palette swaps on characters - so, in the event that you and a buddy are both playing with the same monster, the only way you can tell them apart is a barely discernable colored ring around your monster's feet. The lack of play styles, such as War of the Monster's 'Dodgeball' mini-game, ultimately hurts the game's replay value. The game also offers a Custom Mode that roughly translates into a random Versus game.
Difficulty: Godzilla: Domination is a joke. The opposing AI shows about as much intelligence as a blade of grass, and is just as predicable - even when facing the game's final boss. Enemy attacks are easy to read, and take so long to happen, that you'll have more than enough time to escape. Enemy reaction is also at a minimum - it's easy to pin a character into a corner and beat them into submission. The sad fact of the matter is that the game is over before it even starts, and if you blink, you may miss it.
Game Mechanics: The combat engine is about as basic as they come. Each monster has a handful of attacks, some of which could use a tad bit of balancing. There simply isn't any balance. Some attacks that look like they should do massive damage barely do a scratch, while other simple moves can completely decimate your life bar. In an attempt to broaden the game, players can also destroy their environments and throw objects, sometimes unlocking power ups, but when enemies can be defeated by knocking them in a corner or unleashing a simple move - the addition of anything else seems pointless. Being a fan of most things Godzilla related, I hoped that the 'fan' factor would kick in and I would find something enjoyable about Godzilla: Domination. Starting with the 'Saturday Morning' presentation and spiraling down to the game's shallow conclusion, I found very little to like.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
CT: Special Forces He-Man and the Masters of the Universe