This was the 3rd Godzilla game released within one years time. That's a lot of Godzilla, especially for an American audience. Thankfully, these have been some of the best games ever featuring the saurian and now that he's gone multi-platform, he's unstoppable.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee lives up to its name in every way. A fast paced, button mashing, destruction fest, G: DAMM is an instantly enjoyable game. Originally released for the Nintendo GameCube in late 2002, the game far surpassed expectations for a Godzilla video game. Granted, those expectations weren't exactly high since his previous games weren't exactly stellar, but it was still better than anything G-fans could've expected. It took a few months for the XBox version to get released, but rest assured, the short wait was worth it.
Gameplay has remained unchanged from the GameCube edition, just about the only thing that hasn't been touched on. Taking the best parts of Nintendo's own Super Smash Bros. and dose of Capcom's underrated Power Stone, this fully 3-D melee fighter is a gem that deserved way more attention that it received. Though certainly not without some glaring flaws (which should've been fixed), this is still a game that no self-proclaimed Godzilla fanatic should be without.
Veterans who have fought their way through the Nintendo version should have little trouble picking this one up and grasping the controls. A few of the buttons have been switched around (Though they really had to be since the GameCube has that weird button configuration); it should only take one or two bouts to get the hang of it. Some of the moves have been condensed into one button (such as the throws), but can still be done the old-fashioned way if you can't break the habit. There are no new moves to speak of, but given the short development time, this is to be expected.
Playing through the game to unlock everything it has to offer is still an all too brutal affair. The computer is devastating, regardless of what difficulty level your playing on. Its blatant use of cheap shots (Megalon), throws (Gigan), and everything else it can throw at you (Mechagodzilla), can be simply impossible to overcome at times. Rest assured that frustration is well rewarded.
Article comments