Godzilla - PS4 Review

Godzilla returns in a nostalgic video game full of giant monsters typical of Japanese culture.
After a short intro in which we see a black and white Godzilla destroy the Tokyo radio tower, the game takes us 60 years later where the giant lizard is preparing to make its return but ... was it really needed?

review by WelcomeGaming

A CHARGE OF MONSTER GLORIES

This Godzilla title really amazed us, thus presenting itself from nothing at E3 this year with a trailer that already hinted at the low technical quality of the game. After last year's movie and related game we thought that, at least for another 5 or 6 years, we would never hear of Godzilla again. Evidently Namco Bandai he didn't think so and decided to distribute this mash up of forgotten monsters under the glorious name of Godzilla. The title is very reminiscent of Rampage, developed by the now defunct Midway Games, in which 3 giant monsters had to destroy the city trying to do more damage and therefore as many points as possible. In Godzilla we will have to do the same thing with the addition of destroying the towers of G Energy that will allow our lizard to grow in height.
The game takes us 60 years later to the first appearance of Godzilla which, after having destroyed the radio tower, disappeared into the sea, losing all traces. In the short time he has been on earth, humans have been able to study him and reproduce his life energy, the G energy, which after 60 years is the basis of human society. Godzilla is hungry and, awakened from the long years of hibernation at the bottom of the sea, lands again on earth attracted by the numerous sources of G Energy.The primary objective of each mission is therefore the demolition of these towers, of course, plus the level of destruction. the higher the monster becomes. You can also increase the power of the lizard by completing the secondary tasks that involve destroying a given number of warships, tanks, etc. Unfortunately, the move sector of Godzilla is very limited and we will be able to perform a total of 4 attacks: the laser beam, the charge, the tail strike and the scratches. However, all attacks can be upgraded to deal more damage but new combos cannot be learned. Godzilla will also have a super attack that consumes the bar of the laser beam and allows you to destroy the enemies in the surrounding area.
During some missions we may also be interrupted by the arrival of a Kaiju, strange giant monster, attracted by the G Energy. To continue we will necessarily have to kill the beast that will complicate the task of destroying the towers a lot. In fact, the only real danger for Godzilla seems to be the Kaiju, the human beings with the various armaments available divided between ships, tanks, cannons, turrets, missiles, etc., they seem not to scratch the armor of the monster at all, reducing the challenge level. Kaiju are represented by all the glories seen in old Japanese films like Rodan the winged monster, Ghidorah the 3-headed dragon, Athom the monster of the Galaxy, the Mechagodzilla, Gamera, Gorgo, Mothra in short, a charge of creatures that generates great nostalgia for those who have always loved disaster movies with giant monsters.

WHEN A POWERFUL NAME IS NOT ENOUGH

The basic idea wasn't bad at all, too bad that the technical realization of the game really leaves something to be desired starting with the commands of the creatures that are uncomfortable and capable of making even the most determined of players lose patience. Players will be able to use the analog to move the monster but to turn or turn they will necessarily have to rely on the backbones that allow the creature to rotate on itself and turn in the desired direction. It's okay to miss robots and giant lizards but we could honestly do without one control system reminiscent of the darts of the PS1, where the diagonal did not exist and the player had to stop and rotate the character before changing direction. Unfortunately the flaws do not end there, in addition to the gameplay described above, the game offers practically nothing else and the missions of the main story repeat themselves obsessively with only some aesthetic differences.
The main mode provides for the rise of Godzilla who returns, landing from the sea, until he reaches the heart of energy G. The secondary modes instead show us a Versus Mode, in which it is possible to use all the unlocked Kaiju, an Upgrade mode, which only serves to enhance the monsters with the genes obtained in the mission and a kind of editor, called Diorama, which allows you to create your own city by inserting the monsters obtained in the other modes. There is also a section describing the characteristics of each Kaiju and an online versus that we didn't get to try due to the deserted servers before the game was released.

BETWEEN TECHNICAL MOSTRUOSITY AND PRIMITIVE GRAPHICS

As we said, in addition to the destruction of the Towers in the "Story Mode", then there is nothing of Story because the plot is told by small dialog boxes between some army commanders, and some versus, boring and extremely annoying by way of of the controls, the game is a vain attempt to exploit a powerful name, such as that of the lizard, to sell a title totally unsuitable for both the new generation and the past. The game appears to have been resurrected from the PS2 years, if not earlier and features old, monotonous, and lackluster graphics. Cities are often identical, featuring only 3 or 4 different models, the technical realization of the buildings and of each surrounding element is poorly cared for, graphically primitive as well as the slow and woody animations. Fortunately, the creatures are well crafted and they seem to come directly from the films of origin but their movements were better on the films of the 50s. The game locations are also narrow, the player seems to have an immense city in front of him when in reality his movements are limited by some yellow stripes in the ground and after having destroyed the first buildings, it turns out that you have only a small portion of the city that you see.

FINAL COMMENT

Godzilla is the game we did not expect, we did not want and absolutely fails to overcome today's standards of videogame sufficiency with obvious flaws ranging from graphics to gameplay.
The idea of ​​resurrecting all the giant monsters of a cinematic generation could work but the whole game must be placed in another way, with another title and above all a different technical development, especially in the controls which are the least performing element of the whole production. It is difficult to recommend such a title, but if you are fond of giants and monsters you want to find out who is stronger between Godzilla or King Kong, having 4 laughs with friends, you can try this title even if the films of the 30s about the lizard are an attractive alternative!