| Godzilla: Unleashed | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Pipeworks Software, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Platform(s) | Wii, PS2 |
| Release date(s) | North America: Wii: December 5, 2007 Europe: Japan: |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | CERO: All Ages ESRB: E10+ OFLC: PG PEGI: 7+ |
| Media/distribution | PS2 Optical Disc, UMD |
Godzilla: Unleashed, abbreviated as G3 or GU, is a 3D fighting video game based on the Godzilla film franchise for the Wii and PlayStation 2, developed by Pipeworks and published by Atari. The PS2 version was released on November 20 and the Wii version on December 5, 2007 in North America and both versions on February 29, 2008 in Europe. There are currently no plans yet to release Godzilla: Unleashed in Japan.
The game is set during a series of unnatural disasters across Planet Earth due to unexplained appearances of large crystals, where the Vortaak alien race are invading once again. The game features over 20 Kaiju and Mechas from all three Godzilla eras; Shōwa, Heisei and Millennium, as well as two newly created Toho approved creations; Krystalak and Obsidius.
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Like its predecessors Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth, Unleashed plays as a 3D fighting game with the option to play with two to four monsters at a time, with or without teams. While the PS2 version involves button pressing for attacks and combos, the Wii version, along with button pressing implements its motion sensing control via the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Basics punch and kick attacks are through the A and B buttons[1] while more powerful and aggressive strikes require swinging of the remote up, down or side to side while pressing A and/or B.[1] Movement is done by the analog stick on the Nunchuk and by shaking it allows players to jump, where combined with shaking of the remote allows nearby opponents or objects like small buildings and boulders to be lifted and thrown by shaking the Remote or pressing the A button.[2] Weapon/beam attacks also return but are less powerful and accurate, but also can be sustained for a longer period of time. Rage Mode from the previous games[3] is absent but in its place is "Critical Mass" where through destruction of energy crystals found in arenas monsters temporarily glow red (similar looking to Godzilla's out of control radioactivity in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) and increase in size, boosting damage and endurance, but decreasing defense.[4]
Monsters can also use one of seven "Power Surges", which are temporary abilities that can be used only once per battle, per monster. Surges increase certain traits, like for example the Fire Surge increases damage dealt and Speed Surge increases speed. They can also decrease abilities like Shield Surge, which increases defense while slowing movement. Others can improve and damage others like Radiation Surge that improves health regeneration while impairing that of nearby monsters. Before the Surge is over, monsters can induce a powerful shockwave attack. In the single player Story Mode, multiple Power Surges can be collected through defeating an enemy monster afflicted with the Surge.[5] In multiplayer mode, the Surges are obtained by destroying Surge Crystals that pop up in the environment.
Along with destructible environments, Earth's Military or the Vortaak's Forces are present, depending on the arena/city. Both will attack certain monsters each time, while others can still get caught in the crossfire. Monsters are attacked on differing circumstances. For example Global Defense Force monsters will be attacked by humans if they go out their way to destroy human buildings and military units being on the same side. The same goes for Alien monsters and the Vortaak. Destruction of crystals and use of Power Surges and Critical Mass can also affect military attitude towards certain monsters.[6] In Story Mode, the Atragon appears multiple times throughout but due to the personal attitude of its Admiral, it will attack regardless of actions or faction.
The story of Unleashed, taking place 20 years after Godzilla: Save the Earth, begins with a meteor shower colliding with the Earth's surface, causing climate shifts and earthquakes. There are also crystals with power surges causing monsters to go berserk with strange powers they absorbed. Four opposing factions arise from the chaos of the scramble for control of the planet; Earth Defenders, Global Defense Force, Aliens and Mutants. Depending on the player's whims, alliances can be forged and enemies made depending on his or her actions during game.
General: Admiral Gyozen, captain of the Atrogon is out to destroy any monster in his way. He is considered to be a boss. Gyozen is encountered 3 times. The first time, he is just an obstacle between the player and the foe. The second time he is a boss in New York. He retreats when half his health is gone. In Osaka, he fails after he is defeated. GDF mechas do not fight Gyozen. There are also three crystal towers in a mission the player must destroy no matter which faction the player is controlling (the mission is only mandatory for the Earth Defenders). There are also hidden/unlockable monsters such as Biollante and Varan whereas the player must do certain things such as destroying crystals.
The Vortaak, led by their queen Vorticia, seek revenge on planet Earth and "their mutated monstrosities" by preparing a full-scale invasion, but are stopped cold by the approaching asteroid. After repairing their ship, they assault Earth with their own monsters, eventually arriving in the atmosphere over San Francisco. Fortunately, they are brought down by the Earth Defenders, or the GDF (an Alien can also bring it down) and their crashed ship awakens Varan.
Though it is not revealed in-game, the new monsters Krystalak and Obsidius were created due to the effects of the crystal energies on Earth. Krystalak is born from a giant "egg" in New York City, and is a result of monster DNA combining with the crystal energies. The Vortaak, on their last legs, try to take the crystal egg's energies, but wind up releasing Krystalak instead. Obsidius, conversely, arose from the deep continental plates where crystal energies affected the magma deep within the planet. While trying to destroy the crystals turning Seattle into a volcanic wasteland, the GDF accidentally awaken the monster.
There are endings in Unleashed for all four factions, depending on how you play.
In Godzilla: Unleashed, there are 26 playable monsters in the Wii version, and 20 playable monsters in the PS2 version. Monsters are divided up into 4 factions: Earth Defenders, Global Defense Force, Aliens & Mutants. In Story Mode, monsters of particular factions have different goals and so take a different order of missions. Each Faction also has different styles of play and what they consider friend or foe. Some choose to use the crystals while others intend to destroy them and so will reflect this depending on how the player chooses to act throughout. The total number and look of playable monsters differs between the Wii and PS2 versions. While you gain points with some factions for obtaining Power Surges, obtaining all seven Power Surges will null any allegiances the player has and unlock a secret level called "Tyrant", in which the player's chosen monster is given unlimited Critical Mass but is forced to brawl against several monsters which may or may not have been former allies. The "Tyrant" level is the default ending level for all Mutants, though you do not loose your Mutant alliances if you didn't accumulate every Power Surge.
These are natural monsters that are very instinctive and protective of their territory, Planet Earth. They see the crystals and Vortaak as threats and go out their way to destroy them, even if it means destruction of human cities. Earth Defenders ally themselves with monsters that destroy crystals but because of this, they will attack those who use them to attain Critical Mass. The Earth Defenders are:
Human engineered Mechas, built to protect humanity from other monsters, the Vortaak and the crystals. They usually ally themselves with monsters that don't destroy a sufficient amount of human structures and those who fight Alien forces, and fight those that do the opposite. Due to their autonomous minds, Global Defense Forces mechas can fall victim to and become corrupted by the crystals energy. The Global Defense Force mechas are:
The Alien faction is made up of monsters that have allied themselves with the Vortaak invaders and thus their prime goal is to destroy the humans and conquer Earth. Alien monsters are driven by power surges and so attack monsters that destroy Surge (or regular) crystals or Vortaak forces and buildings. They will on the other hand ally themselves with those who preserve crystals or destroy human forces. The Alien monsters are:
Monsters from the mutant faction are driven by lust for power more than anything else. Because of this they are drawn to crystals and so will destroy all in their path to get such power; monsters, humans and even Vortaak, and so Mutants will ally themselves with others monsters that do just this and attain Critical Mass. They will fight monsters that do not do enough destruction. The Mutant monsters are:
All of the arenas have been altered by the bombardment of crystals.
An IGN interview with Pipeworks states that the title is completely new and is specifically designed with the Wii Remote in mind. There were also plans to use WiiConnect24 support for downloading purposes, but they seemed to never have happened. IGN has a development blog running, but it is updated irregularly. The Wii version of the game, while much more developed than the PS2 version, has been criticized in early reviews for somewhat unresponsive controls.
The Wii, PlayStation 2[8] and PlayStation Portable versions of Unleashed are in development by Pipeworks Software. The PlayStation 2 version has two exclusive characters unavailable to any other console apart from Double Smash. The PlayStation 2 version has 20 monsters, including the two exclusive characters. While the game was in early development, a screenshot was also shown with the press release on some websites, but it was revealed to be a falsely edited from screenshots of Unleashed and Godzilla: Save the Earth.
On September 14, 2007, two screenshots from an early build of the PS2 version of the game were released, revealing Godzilla 2000 and Anguirus with similar models to their Save the Earth designs, and crystals on a Monster Island arena.[9] It has been speculated that the gameplay would be a rebuild of the Save the Earth mechanics.
On September 27, 2007, IGN posted a new PS2 video showing Godzilla 2000, Destoroyah, Orga, Anguirus, SpaceGodzilla, Moguera, Fire Rodan, Megalon, King Ghidorah, Baragon, Jet Jaguar, Mechagodzilla 2, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Megaguirus and Showa Gigan. This left five monsters to go. It also furthered the idea that it is a rebuild of Save the Earth as several characters are completely unchanged, including King Ghidorah, Megaguirus and Gigan, who were revamped for the Wii version. On the following day, Tohokingdom.com posted an area for PS2 holders to watch. They have placed a character confirmed list on it, which shows all of the characters that were seen in the PS2 video.
On October 10, 2007, it was announced that summonable monsters would not reappear, according to an interview. Two days later, IGN's development blog has revealed that Heavy Melody created the soundtrack for the game and that every monster has a unique theme song that ties to the overall feeling of their faction for the Wii version.
On October 19, 2007, IGN stated that the PSP version of Godzilla: Unleashed was canceled; however, if the Wii version of the game sells well there could be a PSP version coming out in 2008.
Atari stated that the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed would be released on November 20, 2007, the same day as the Nintendo DS version.[10] Atari later stated that the PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed would be released on November 20, 2007, along with the Nintendo DS and Wii version.
On November 9, 2007, GameSpot posted its sixth and final designer diary with Simon Strange talking about the factions' importance.
On November 19, 2007, GameSpot put up a Monster Battles feature to have people vote for which monsters they want to face off. Also, Battra was revealed to be in the game, as he is one of the monsters in the character pool.
The PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed has 20 monsters. Beyond Battra (exclusive to the system) and Obsidius, the roster is completely lifted from Save the Earth, featuring none of the other new characters in the Wii version. The PS2 version is a modified version of Save the Earth only with Battra and Obsidius. However, Battra is just a clone of Mothra and Obsidius is just a clone of Orga.
On November 30, 2007, Atari put up a contest for the upcoming Wii version. The contest was a trivia game. If the players guessed the answers correctly, they would have a chance to win a poster of Godzilla: Unleashed, 10% off digital downloads at Atari, or Atari T-shirts. Also on the same day, all of the "monster cards" on the official website were revealed.
On December 16, 2007, King Caesar won the GameSpot Monster battles while Baragon was in 2nd place. Obsidius got the least amount of votes (9380 votes).
On December 23, 2007, Tohokingdom.com came out with the Godzilla: Unleashed Soundtrack.
It was revealed in an interview with one of the producers of the game that there are no plans for a PSP version.
Obsidius was selected from a roster of 4 original monsters created by Pipeworks. Under the working names Magmouth, Firelion, the Visitor, and Lightning Bug, IGN ran a poll for viewers to vote on which monster would be developed as a fighter. After attracting 6,000 voters, Magmouth was the winner. Later, second poll selected "Obsidius" as the chosen monster's new name while beating out alternatives "Dotoryo", "Kazango", "Pyrodorah", and "Volcanis". Obsidius was not seen on any official gameplay until September 12, 2007. He was briefly seen on the extended trailer for the game being attacked by King Ghidorah. Obsidius's official biography and character model was revealed on September 21, 2007 in an animatic along with Megaguirus and Mecha-King Ghidorah on IGN. There is also a video of Obsidius fighting Kiryu at Gameradar that was revealed on October 9, 2007.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Game Informer | 4/10 |
| GameSpot | 3.5/10 |
| GameTrailers | 5/10 |
| IGN | 4.9/10 |
| Nintendo Power | 5.5/10 |
Play Magazine called it "among the best fighters for the system"[11] while GameSpot stated " Unleashed is the worst thing to happen to Godzilla since getting killed by Mothra's babies."[12]
GameSpy praised the large lineup of playable kaiju as "ample fan service" while showing disappointment over the new original kaiju, Obsidius and Krystalak, being "a shame that these guys make the cut while classic foes like Hedorah and Battra are MIA (or confined to the PS2 version in Battra's case)".[13]
The controls were criticized the most by critics, reportedly being unresponsive at times. Nintendo Power said that "though Godzilla Unleashed is fairly accessible, even casual gamers may wonder why their creatures don't always do what they want"[11] while IGN experienced "a good deal of lag between when you swing the Wiimote and when your monster attacks".[14] Game Informer, however more bluntly called them a "complete slop".
The visuals were also criticized with Game Trailers stating that "the films are often seen as classics because of their low production values and hokey monster designs. Still, Godzilla Unleashed is simply unattractive with its low-res textures and washed-out color palette",[15]
Player reactions to both versions of game have been much more positive. The game received praise for inclusion of fan favorites like Biollante, and Godzilla 1954 in the Wii version, as well as the custom mode, which allows the player to tweak the gameplay to their liking. Several negative reviews still conclude that the game is great for Godzilla fans.[16][17] The PlayStation 2 version, sometimes jokingly referred to as "Save the Earth 1.5" in the fandom, is unpopular, however. It is cited as a minor update to the previous game, particularly due to the lack of new monsters as Battra and Obsidius possess almost identical movesets to Mothra and Orga respectively.
The PlayStation 2 version of Unleashed is an update of Godzilla: Save the Earth.
Movement returns to a traditional control scheme, instead of the motion controls found in the Wii version. Furthermore, a number of playable monsters are missing such as Varan, Titanosaurus, King Caesar, and Biollante (though Battra is present as a PS2 exclusive playable monster). The PS2 version of the game adopts few of the mechanical changes from the Wii version, and instead retains those found in Save the Earth. However, it does incorporate most of the music and stages from the Wii version.
The Nintendo DS version of Unleashed, Double Smash features gameplay akin to a side-scroller, similar to that of the Godzilla: Monster of Monsters.[18] Although graphically 3D, its 2D gameplay could be said to make the game 2.5D, much like in New Super Mario Bros. or Sonic Rush. Using the two-screen display of the Nintendo DS, flying monsters appear on the top screen, while grounded monsters appear on the bottom screen.[18] A multi-player option will allow for a different player to control each monster.[18]
Critical reaction to Double Smash was mostly negative. The game holds a rating of 28 out of 100 on both GameRankings[19] and Metacritic.[20] IGN gave the game a score of 3 out of 10, saying: "None of the recent Godzilla games have been very good, but at least they were fun. Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash cannot make this claim. It looks terrible, and reduces the King of the Monsters to a mush of no-texture polygons, then puts him in a tedious series of punching planes and kicking boats."[21] GameSpot gave Double Smash a 2 out of 10, calling it "one of the worst DS games ever made," adding: "With a perfect storm of terrible game design, bad play mechanics, and uninspired destruction, this game does what oxidation bombs, volcanoes, and Matthew Broderick couldn't: It kills Godzilla."[22] GameSpy gave the game a 1 out of 5, saying: "This brain-dead combat is perhaps the worst part of Double Smash. Slowly plodding through the stale levels, fighting the same enemies, and using the same techniques to win grows old almost immediately."[23]
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