Nintendo Wii Review: Godzilla Unleashed
Published December 19, 2007
For each successful defeat, you'll earn points to spend in a shop to unlock new levels and monsters. However, nothing is more frustrating that pounding a monster for a full level, only to have your ally come in, land the final blow, eliminating all your points in the process. Unlocking new franchise entries such as Biollante and Titanosaurus will take longer than it should due to this oversight.
All of those minor annoyances are nothing compared to the burden of motion controls. Trying to convince the game that you're jumping instead of grappling is a struggle. Aiming your flame breath is nearly impossible to do with the Wii Remote. Don't expect accuracy, and the lack of a lock-on system is inexcusable.
Running is needlessly complex, and it's been a cornerstone of this series. It's convoluted to have to press a button and shake the controller at the right moment to pull it off. The same goes for the otherwise excellent parry system. Fierce attacks suffer the same irritating fate, made worse due to the necessity to pull them off accurately during combos.
With classic controller support (not available sadly) this would easily be one of the best Wii fighting games available, if not the top of the pack given the competition. The time spent to radically improve this franchise is immediately apparent, but wasted when the game is almost unplayable. Practice cannot make perfect when things don't respond correctly, and such is Godzilla Unleashed's fate.
Godzilla Unleashed is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Fantasy Violence. This game can also be found on: Nintendo DS, PS2.
- Nintendo Wii Review: Godzilla Unleashed
- Published: December 19, 2007
- Type: Review
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: Nintendo Wii
- Writer: Matt Paprocki
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Comments
What do you mean the controls are unresponsive? Not true. I haven't played the game a great deal as I have time issues, but when I do play I do pretty well. In fact, I had genuine concern about this game at first when it was stated that it would be developed for the Wii. Having been a fighting game fan for a long time, I was sooo accustomed to the usual gaming pad and the circular movements done with button presses to execute fireballs, uppercuts and other flashy moves. However when I bought my copy of Godzilla Unleashed on the Wii and tried the tutorial, I started experimenting and saw that I could play this game. I went through a day or two developing my skill on using the Wiimote and Nunchuk, but now I am very confident. I am connecting moves a lot better and I am learning range with certain moves.
You have to practice your moves (as with any new game) and especially on a new console. When Soul Calibur 2 came out on the Nintendo Gamecube, the design of that controller was different from the PS2, just as sure as the PS2 controller was different from the Sega Saturn. Consoles all try to have a unique thing to make them stand out. The Wii is motion based, and it does have its pluses. I can do a couple of things at once with the Wiimote and Nunchuk together that you can't do with a standard controller.
I invite anyone to see my gameplay videos, as it shows I am doing pretty well with this system.
Look me up at Youtube. The screen name is Timothy2035. I have 4 gameplay videos showing what I am doing.
Here is a gameplay video from a person called "Windytune1" at Youtube. It's a great video with a B-movie feel to it even. Nice soundtrack for the level also. Notice how the monster "Varan" makes a jump up and toss of a small building, then before he falls back to the ground, he breaks off into a flight. Awesome combination and only possible on the Wii where the motion control along with button presses can work moves together.
The video: The nicely timed taunt roars (which are done by the player) help add to that "B-movie" feel)
I have a main page link to other videos where ShotMyEyeOut has done a lot of them. There are various numbers of monsters on-screen. Plus it seems there are varying levels of difficulty. Nice videos. :)
So if these videos I provided show a lot of fun is being had in the game, then why can't other people progress and be able to function with the Wiimote and Nunchuk? I am just about as old school fighting game player as they come.
That's some "typo" of a score I see there.
"Also, running isn't that complex. Press a button and shake the nunchuck. "
I said "needlessly complex." What type of extra interaction am I getting by shaking the nunchuck? Wouldn't I get the same effect by just pressing a button? Not only that, it would work everytime instead possibly reading the movement as a jump.
"I was sooo accustomed to the usual gaming pad and the circular movements done with button presses to execute fireballs, uppercuts and other flashy moves."
So am I, but also very familiar with the Godzilla games as they are. I've played the hell out of the previous two. Adjusting isn't the problem.
"Awesome combination and only possible on the Wii where the motion control along with button presses can work moves together."
How is that only possible on the Wii? Rodan is a similar character, and it would be easier and far more accurate to do it on the controller on the PS2 or Xbox in the previous games. Instead, you're stuck wagging the controller around (which doesn't even make sense in terms of the on-screen movement) to perform a simple move like a jump.
Fighting games require full, 100% accuracy. You don't get that with the Wii and this game. Yes you do get better as you play, and by the end of the story mode, I was definitely better. However, there were far too many times where I wanted to grab and instead jumped into the air resulting in a free hit for the enemy.
Good review. i agree with you on most accounts, Godzilla Unleashed is a very dissapointing game.
Sorry, i have to disagree with the Controls part there. i've had just about no problem with the controls apart from when i get distracted by an ally monster barging in. It takes Practice to make perfect, don't expect to get everything the first time you play it.









If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Instead of pressing A and swinging the Remote all at once, try swinging THEN pressing the button. Then, you can do your 2nd move while the 1st one is still going on. Also, running isn't that complex. Press a button and shake the nunchuck. Not too hard. Also, to grapple, hold down the D-Pad and swing the remote. Its a lot easier.